Austin Dillon has spent nearly his entire NASCAR Cup career behind the wheel of his grandfather’s team, Richard Childress Racing. That dynamic brings not just the weight of family legacy but plenty of feedback flowing in both directions.
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When Dillon joined SpeedFreaks recently and was asked whether his relationship with Richard Childress feels intimidating or more like a friendly back-and-forth, the driver of the No. 3 explained that their bond allows for candid conversations.
As he put it, “I think your best friends in life are the ones that tell you sometimes what you need to hear, not what you want to hear. So, when it comes to my grandfather, I feel like I have a relationship we can be open with him and I and I know his feelings when I go too far and overstep, but it’s all for just trying to be better. And, I love it when he jumps in my butt and tells me, ‘Hey, you got to do better.'”
He added, “So, it’s a two-way street. When you ask, you’re probably going to receive some, too. So, it’s been good, and I’m enjoying the relationship we’re having, especially being able to just be around my grandfather at his age and letting the competitive juices flow. It’s been, you know, something I’ll cherish forever.”
However, in an earlier conversation with Corey LaJoie on his Stacking Pennies podcast, Dillon admitted that while their grandfather pushes both him and Ty to succeed on the racetrack, Childress has been equally clear that he doesn’t want them to sacrifice family or personal lives in the process, a lesson drawn straight from his own path.
In fact, what brings Childress the most joy now is watching his grandsons bond and stand as best friends. It seems to fill a void from his own childhood, giving him a sense of fulfillment he never had growing up.
This season, Dillon has one win to his name, Richmond, where he defended his victory from last year but did it cleanly this time, along with a single top-five and five top-10 finishes. Still, he bowed out after the Round of 16, ranked 15th in the standings.
In the playoffs, though, the results haven’t stacked up, with his best showing in five postseason starts coming at New Hampshire Speedway, where he climbed from 28th on the grid to finish 13th.
