Ty Dillon

Dillon is back for season three at Germain Racing in the No. 13 Chevrolet. Primary sponsor GEICO is also back, and that's great news for this small race team. Dillon posted his first-career Cup Series Top-10 finish last summer in the July Daytona race. That was a great accomplishment for this driver and this small race team, but there's much more work to be done. Dillon did see a slight fall off in starting and finishing position last year, and that's something that needs to be turned in the other direction. Crew chief, Matt Borland, is back for another season with the team and Dillon, and that continuity and chemistry should help. Dillon ended last season well with a pair of Top 15s and three Top 20s in the last six races. The team should ride that momentum into 2019.

The rookie campaign had many ups-and-downs. Dillon started last season hot with Top-15 finishes at Bristol, Talladega, Kansas and Dover in the spring. He climbed to as high as 21st in the driver standings by May, but that would be the peak. Dillon would finish outside the Top 20 most weeks during the summer, before heating up again a bit in the fall. It all added up to a campaign with no Top-10 finishes and a 24th-place ranking in the final driver standings. Gone is crew chief Bootie Barker, and in is new crew chief Matt Borland. The No. 13 Germain Racing team signed Dillon to a multi-year extension, so he's not going anywhere anytime soon. Dillon should take some steps in the upcoming season, but we don't expect a quantum leap of any kind. It should lead to more consistent racing and hopefully more Top-15 finishes in 2018.

The Richard Childress Racing youngster will get the big promotion to NASCAR's top division this season. He won't be racing for Rookie of the Year under that banner, but for RCR affiliate team Germain Racing. Dillon takes over the seat of Casey Mears at that camp. He'll be teamed with crew chief Bootie Barker and he'll do his very best to challenge Erik Jones for ROTY honors. Dillon has a pretty impressive NASCAR resume with four combined victories in the Camping World Truck and Xfinity Series in 164 starts. He finished runner-up in the truck series standings in 2013, and he's finished within the Top 5 of the driver standings of the Xfinity Series each of the last three seasons. At 24-years-old Dillon is a seasoned young driver making the jump to the Monster Energy Cup Series. He made 11 starts in this series last year to help prepare him for a successful rookie season.

Dillon will return for his third full season in the Xfinity Series in 2016. The 23-year-old RCR driver has compiled some nice stats over his first two years of racing in this series. Dillon nabbed a victory in 2014, and he’s combined to claim 49 Top-10 finishes over the last two seasons. It all added up to a great third-place finish in the final driver standings of 2015, but still short of the goal. Dillon will set out with crew chief, Nick Harrison, once again in pursuit of this series’ championship. It will be a tough battle with the likes of veteran Elliott Sadler and up-and-comers Erik Jones and Daniel Suarez around, but Dillon will make a strong bid.

The Richard Childress Racing youngster had a very successful rookie season in the truck series in 2012. Dillon claimed one win, three pole positions and 17 Top 10’s during the 22-race schedule. That was good enough to waltz away with the Rookie of the Year award and come within a close brush of the championship during the wild season finale at Homestead. Dillon returns to the same team and crew chief in 2013 and will shift from rookie honors to winning the championship. We expect multiple race wins and a fantastic season for this NASCAR rising star. Dillon will set the pace for this field of young drivers.