Ty Dillon’s run in NASCAR’s first In-Season Tournament turned heads, pushing him to the final at Indianapolis and giving him a level of visibility he had rarely enjoyed before. Though he fell short of the $1 million prize, the 33-year-old’s underdog surge became one of the feel-good stories of the season.
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With 267 Cup Series starts and seven full-time seasons since 2017, Dillon openly admitted he was “invisible” when the bracket challenge began a month ago, but his Cinderella journey soon captured the spotlight.
His run started with a pair of fortunate breaks, first surviving a major wreck at Atlanta Motor Speedway to advance, then benefiting from Brad Keselowski’s early exit in Chicago. At Sonoma, Dillon fought tooth and nail all day, ultimately pulling off a last-lap bump-and-run on Alex Bowman to continue his improbable charge.
The drama peaked at Dover, where Dillon traded spots with John Hunter Nemechek before executing a pass in double overtime and securing his place in the final. Though the finale didn’t unfold as he had hoped, Dillon remained competitive throughout the month and left a lasting impression where fans got to know quite a lot about him.
For example, off the track, Dillon confessed that his competitive streak often flares up when it comes to his brother, Austin Dillon. Speaking on Jeff Gluck’s 12 Questions segment, he admitted, “Probably something to do with my brother, I’m sure, competing in golf or anything. We’ve always competed in everything. I’ve backed it down a little bit now since I’ve had kids. I leave it all for the racetrack.”
Recalling their younger days, he added, “Man, when we were younger, Austin and I would fight and carry on about competing. It didn’t matter what it was, paintball, hunting, or any sport we played, like basketball, football, golf. We’re going to compete and probably get way too overboard, and everybody around us is going to be embarrassed by the way we’re acting.”
In addition, when asked about the misconceptions people have about him, Dillon admitted that many are surprised once they get to know him. Early in his career, he recalled, a lot of people assumed that he and his brother were simply fortunate to have a grandfather who owned a race team.
However, Ty emphasized that few understood how much the Dillon brothers valued that opportunity or how much hard work they had invested to make the most of it. “People don’t realize the gratitude that we do have. So a lot of people say, ‘You’re different than I thought,’ and I think most of the time it’s in a good way,” he concluded.
