DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.: After a less than ideal start for the 23Xl Racing team at the Busch Clash at DAYTONA on Tuesday night, former ARCA Menards Series champion Ty Dillon is looking forward to his opportunity to qualify for Sunday’s Daytona 500 for Gaunt Brothers Racing.
Because Dillon had earned eligibility for the Clash from his stage win last fall at the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway ROVAL, Dillon will go into the record books as the first driver for 23XI Racing to take the wheel aboard the No. 23 Root Insurance Toyota Camry.
Battling the Daytona International Speedway Road Course, Dillon maintained speed with the lead pack and even entered inside the top-10 but an unscheduled pitstop for loose lug nuts with two laps to go ruined the opportunity for a solid storyline.
Instead, he finished 18th and looked out the windshield towards making this year’s Great American Race.
Because Gaunt Brothers Racing does not have a charter, Dillon will have to earn one of four spots available for NASCAR’s Super Bowl – either being one of the fastest two cars in qualifying Wednesday night or racing his way into the starting grid on Thursday night at the Bluegreen Vacation Duels at Daytona.
Ahead of qualifying, Dillon spoke about his chances of putting his No. 96 Bass Pro Shops | Black Rifle Coffee Company Toyota Camry.
“I feel very confident in my ability with a little bit of practice just to be able to get in the car and be able to run a qualifying lap. I’ve had a lot of experience – this will be my seventh attempt at the Daytona 500 – so I feel confident about being able to hit my marks with the qualifying lap and just see what the Bass Pro Shops | Black Rifle Coffee Toyota can run for speed.”
“We have a really strong effort going out there and I’m looking forward to putting it in on speed on qualifying night. But if it comes down to having to get in via the Duel, I feel very confident.”
After a disappointing qualifying effort Wednesday night, Dillon will have to race his way into the Great American Race at the Bluegreen Vacation Duels at Daytona on Thursday night.
“We felt good after practice,” said Dillon after qualifying. “We knew we needed some speed here in qualifying to try to get locked in, but we kind of went the other way a little bit. I feel confident being able to race my way in, and I know what it takes to get the job done.
“We would have liked to get this Bass Pro, Black Rifle Coffee Toyota locked in tonight, but the cards didn’t work out that way and so we will race our way in Thursday night.”
Dillon knows if he wants to earn a starting spot in the Daytona, he has to make it through his duel race.
“You’ve got to get the car into the race, but to get it in you’ve got to finish the race,” added Dillon. It’s just that. It’s a balance. Put yourself in the right situation. These races are wild. I remember my first duel. It’s way more aggressive than you think it’s going to be as far as a qualifying race.
“I think having some experience definitely helps, but we are going to do whatever it takes. We want to get this car in, so hopefully, we are in a good duel with some Toyota partners and have some people to work with to get us into a good spot.”
Five of Dillon’s six top-10 finishes in the NASCAR Cup Series have come at the superspeedways of either Daytona or Talladega. He hopes his craft on the bigger tracks will prove to be an asset on Thursday night should he need it.
“Superspeedways have been a strength of mine over the years as far as being able to put myself in position to have a shot at winning those races,” added Dillon. “I’ll just use the same method and approach that I’ve always used at the superspeedways to hopefully get us a good finish and get us advanced into the race.
“I feel confident about our ability to get in and we’ll see how it goes.”
Follow Grace Krenrich on Twitter @Grace3140.
CATCHFENCE.com senior writer Chris Knight contributed to this report
