NASCAR CUP SERIES CHICAGOLAND SPEEDWAY TEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTES JULY 4, 2026 |
Austin Dillon, driver of the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series qualifying session at Chicagoland Speedway. | MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom |
NASCAR CUP SERIESCHICAGOLAND SPEEDWAYTEAM CHEVY DRIVER QUOTESJULY 4, 2026 |
Austin Dillon, driver of the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, met with the media in advance of the NASCAR Cup Series qualifying session at Chicagoland Speedway. | MEDIA RESOURCES: Photo Gallery | Race AdvancesChevrolet Newsroom |
Media Availability Quotes: The other day, you had the chance to travel to Washington D.C. You went to the Great American State Fair, and you got to sit with Richard Childress and Steve O’Donnell. Can you talk to us a little bit about that?“Yeah, it was a special backdrop for sure, being in front of the Capitol and hanging out with Jim Campbell, Steve O’Donnell, our Secretary of Labor and Secretary of Agriculture, just talking about the impact that NASCAR has had over 250 years; the impact that cars, the automobile industry and motorsports continues to have; and the employees that we were able to create with the innovation of our sport. It was very special and it was an awesome experience.” How did it feel showing former NFL players that you’re kind of ready for a combine with that bench press performance?“When I showed up in there — Paul Swan is always full of juice and him and Taylor (Lewan) were wrestling around in there and I was like, gosh, man, I do not want him to hit me like that or break me in half. They finally calmed down and Taylor was like, hey, before we go on the bus, the tradition is everybody throws up 145 for a couple… are you in? And I’m like, oh, it was probably a year after COVID the last time I benched (laughs). I was trying to make excuses and they were like, look, Noah (Gragson) kind of started it and he did four. And I’m like, shoot, if I can’t do four, I just need to go home. And they were like, William (Byron) didn’t do it. Jesse (Love) did like two. And I’m like, dude, I can do this. Paul’s like, hey, you got 15, no problem. So I went one more than what Paul said and I was pretty proud of that. My lower back started to lock up at 15, so I called it quits after that.” Practice yesterday, with the different patches, the seams, just everything kind of going on with this aged surface; do you have a good idea of what lane will be best when you’re heading out there for qualifying or kind of have to just go all out?“Yeah, I think it seemed like in turns one and two, a lane or two up was the fastest way through there. It was cool to see the rubber start to lay down and the track gradually move up. I think we’ll be out by the fence pretty fast in the race tomorrow in turn one and two. Turn three and four, it seems like it takes a little bit longer for that to come in or the speed to just slow down. I do think that’s where the race will be. We’ll be up by the fence by the end of it. The bumps are definitely two of the biggest factors that you’re trying to build your car around; the entry to one and then dead center of three and four. I thought we did a decent job making our car better there. But overall, we just need raw speed from our camp. Hopefully as the track rubbers up, we can see some fall-off. That’s good for us.” Should we come back to Chicagoland or just abandon this place and move on?“I hate to abandon any racetrack. Every one of them has character and this one definitely has a lot of character. I would say from a character standpoint, this is the closest thing we have to Homestead or maybe Darlington. But mile-and-a-half wise, this thing has a lot of character, so I love it and I think it’s going to put on a great show for TV. I think the only other factor is showing up. You know, we’ve got to make sure that everybody shows up and enjoys it. But if we put on a good show, I think ticket sales will always go up, and I hope to see that come Sunday.” Obviously, you had a pretty special experience in Washington D.C. earlier this week. What’s probably your favorite July 4th memory? What was Independence Day like in the Dillon household growing up?“It usually revolved around Daytona, fireworks and good eats. Just tuning into Daytona, usually, on July 4th. That’s what I remember it as growing up.” Where have you seen Austin Hill make the biggest growth since he got into the sport, especially now since he’s kind of expanding his repertoire with Cup racing?“I think he has won at every level when it comes to the Truck and O’Reilly series. He’s been able to take bad days and turn them into good days. I’ve liked watching him in the O’Reilly Series over the last couple of years of where he consistently just puts himself in position to have a shot. He’s consistent. I think that ability to take one step at a time makes him a consistent factor. While we were first meeting about Austin, it was like, you know, you’re always going to have a shot at road courses and speedways with him in the car. That’s a big percentage of our races. I feel like he’s a high-percentage road racer and speedway racer. And then, there are certain mile-and-a-halves and short tracks that he’s just going to get better. That’s going to take the time from the Next Gen side, just understanding the differences between an O’Reilly’s car and a Cup car when you get to these ovals. That learning curve takes a minute. But I think on speedways and road racing, he’s going to be competitive each and every time.” I talked to your brother, Ty (Dillon), yesterday, and he said somewhere down the road, he sees the two of you running the company. He said you guys are kind of yin to the other’s yang. Talk about the balance between the two of you and what makes you guys work so well together.“Yeah, for sure. I think we’ve always had different personalities, but probably one is my mom and one is my dad. I don’t know. Each one of them would claim different parts of us, I feel like. I’m so proud of what Ty’s been able to do, taking a different path and learning a lot, so I think his angle and view of things is different than mine. Hopefully that meshes well together when the opportunity comes to take RCR to the next level and into the future.” We’re here the first week of July, the new Chevy body — Can you just kind of assess where you’re at from RCR’s standpoint? Just how has that gone for you and what areas are you working on as you continue to develop this racecar?“Yeah, I think we’re behind, obviously. I think that’s the honest thing to say. I was really excited at the beginning of the year from a drag standpoint. I think at the speedways, we showed promise, so hopefully Atlanta is a good direction for us. But we’re all working hard at Chevrolet to try and get to where we need to be. If you just look at the performance side, we’re not where we need to be. We need to get that new body dialed in as fast as possible and make a concerted effort to catch up.” You look at Austin Hill and the qualifying has been there. The results are starting to get better and better. You look around the landscape a little bit. It seems to make sense that he would stay in the car into next year on the Cup side. Is that fair to say?“I think he’s doing a great job. You know, I’m not going to ‘Christopher Bell’ what the future is of that (laughs). I’ll wait and let RCR make that call.” I got your reaction back at the All-Star race when you found out that Richard (Childress) was going to go back racing. But now, we’re about 13 days away from him being back on the track. Has he done any preparation for the New England 900? What have you gotten to experience?“All I told him is he better get with somebody at the shop and get the cool shirt up to that Crown Vic or whatever he’s driving up there because it’s probably going to be toasty and he’s got to run more miles than he’s used to. I think he’s walking an extra mile a day probably. But I never put anything past my grandfather. He literally can work anybody in the ground, even at his age. All I know is you’ll probably see him use the bumper up there. If he’s fast enough to get to somebody, he’s going to use it and move them. I think my brother’s in the race, too, and (Danny) Stockman, so they’ll have lead blockers and all kinds of stuff. I think it’s his race to lose. Cleetus (McFarland) better put a big power unit in that thing, or he’ll have an ECR engine sent up there if it’s not.” So just to confirm, you are not going to be in the race?“Cleetus gave me the opportunity, but we’ve got to get our cars running better, and my focus needs to be locked in on that. I just want to make sure everybody in this room knows where my focus is at RCR and trying to make our cars better. They’ve got a great contingency of people that are going to be there with him, and my brother’s going to be doing it, as well, so I think he’ll be taken care of up there.” Regardless of what the sanctioning body decides to do with the schedule next year, what are going to be some of the keys to continuing to grow and expand this sport in the Chicagoland market?“This market in particular? I mean, why don’t we go dirt racing? There are some awesome dirt tracks in Illinois. That would be awesome. But I don’t know. I’m good with any kind of new ideas. I love going to places for the first time. It creates opportunity for all the drivers. Trying to figure out something the fastest is cool. You see what we were able to do in San Diego at Coronado and just the fanfare there. I mean, they sold out of merch, I believe. One of the best overall merch sales ever was in San Diego, compared to Daytona this year, so that shows you that any type of new idea, any time you put something new in fans’ faces, it’s a good thing.” To add on to the topic of racing in the Chicago metro, would racing on the Chicago Street Course be something you’d be open to doing again? There’s been murmurs about it, potentially racing at both Chicagoland and the Street Course. How would you feel?“I mean, I loved the street course. It was great. (Carson) Hocevar knocked a fence down in front of me and took me out last year. I had to stop, and I got wiped out. But, I mean, other than that, I’ve had a blast going to downtown Chicago. I think it’s epic. You get great places to eat down there. That really makes me happy. The view is good. The fireworks show was great last year. I think from a July 4th perspective, we’ve got to do a good job of making sure it’s a great show for our fans and the fans that show up.” What are the goals for the No. 3 team for the second-half of the season, and do you think that the Chevrolet body will have an effect at places like Richmond, where you’ve been so dominant the last two years?“Yeah, I think we’ve got to see a steady incline of performance. We’re in a pretty deep hole right now from where we are to the next person in points, and it’s the same from behind us. But this stretch of races is a great stretch for us with Chicagoland, North Wilkesboro, Indianapolis and Iowa. We can get around Atlanta. All those places are places that we should perform, and if we’re not performing, we’ve got to really reflect on where we’re at. We’re focused on getting a win right now. That’s the biggest thing is trying to figure out a way to get to victory lane. But also, just steady progress. Yesterday, our cars were not where they needed to be on raw speed, but the 10-lap average was a little closer. That just tells me we’ve got to go to work.” I talked to a couple of IndyCar drivers a few weeks ago when I went to one of their events, and they are just ecstatic about what happened at Phoenix this year and having kind of a combined series race. What do you guys think about teaming up for a combo race in the next couple of years?“I think it’s great. I mean, it makes sense. I think IndyCar and NASCAR, when you look at like America 250 and July 4th, I think you could pair them up because it’s kind of our two forms of racing that really lead the pack in motorsports here. I think it’s a great showcase for what we do in America for motorsports.” Yesterday, Tyler Reddick got out of the car and said afterwards that the track didn’t act like an old surface. He was kind of thrown for a loop of, I guess, with what he experienced in practice. From your perspective, what did you expect going in versus what happened, and does that change maybe any expectations for tomorrow and how it will race with everybody out there?“I was thinking that there was going to be more fall-off, I think, from that perspective. I thought we only rubbered up like half the track, so as more and more rubber lays down, it will be interesting to see what happens. This tire, I think when you get deeper into runs, it starts to really fade. But like he said, I really didn’t see the forward drive loss that I thought we were going to have. But our car did build quite a bit of air to the right rear, so we’ll see.” |