Austin Dillon has been associated with his grandfather’s team, Richard Childress Racing, since the beginning of his full-time career in the NASCAR Cup Series and has bagged six wins off 435 starts. His best finish in a season is P11, which came in 2017, 2020, and 2022. However, looking ahead to 2026 and the revised format, Dillon believes he can contest for multiple wins.
His confidence comes from the prior victories he earned during the previous Chase format. Dillon grabbed titles in both the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and the Xfinity Series under the Chase format. For instance, his 2011 Truck Series title came with two wins and nine top-five finishes across 25 races.
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Two years later, his Xfinity Series championship came, despite Dillon not recording a single trip to victory lane. Yet he remained a fixture near the front. He qualified on the pole six times during a seven-week stretch in the summer and led the series with seven poles overall. Over the full campaign, he logged 13 top-five finishes and 22 top-10 results. Dillon also ranked either first or second in the standings for 14 weeks, including each of the final 11 races.
And that’s why in his recent appearance on The Backstretch Podcast, Dillon said, “Yeah, I do,” feel pretty good about the new format. “My two championships come from being consistent. I think the biggest thing at the cup level is you got to have the speed and the performance behind you. That helps the consistency part of it. And I think we’ve learned a lot from stage racing that you have to stay aggressive to be able to gain stage points.”
“So, one focus or emphasis for us is to gain more stage points this year. But for me personally, the goal is to win multiple races this year. If I could get two wins in a season, that would mean a lot to me. Um, we’ve been able to win one a lot of different seasons throughout my career, but I’d like to win two,” he continued.
Dillon closed the most recent season fifteenth in the final standings. He earned his lone victory in the penultimate race of the regular season at Richmond, the same track where he also visited Victory Lane in 2024. Beyond that win, his year included five top-10 finishes, though no additional top-five results followed.
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Dillon is excited about the new season
The previous season featured visible frustration from Richard Childress, who voiced concern over the inability of both Dillon and Kyle Busch to secure consistent finishes. At Dover, where Busch entered as the winningest active driver, the team failed to reach the top 10.
Over the radio, Childress showed his frustration, “Gotta get some race cars. We are in trouble. Period.” And seems after that, even Dillon is positive about Childress doing everything to get better cars for his drivers, and also about Chevrolet’s new body that’s going enter this season.
Dillon said the team’s continuity fuels that outlook. He pointed to familiar personnel returning to the garage and expressed confidence in the incoming Chevrolet body. From Daytona onward, Dillon views the 2026 season as a chance for Richard Childress Racing to reset expectations.
The post Austin Dillon Thinks He Can Contest for Wins This Season With RCR appeared first on The SportsRush.
