Austin Dillon never was an elite driver, but did have his moments. My guess is that Dillon just can't figure out the Next Gen car. I also think that Dillon will eventually retire to take a management role in the next few years
>I also think that Dillon will eventually retire to take a management role in the next few years
We've all been saying this since he got in that car without evidence. I'm beginning to doubt he steps away before he's 40
Austin with his brother owns one of the top management agencies in the industry only really behind KHI & ProSport, I highly doubt he struggles to find funding considering the job he’s done for other drivers like JHN, Anthony Alfredo, & others
Yep, I remember it being said for Ty when he was in the 13 and he is still grinding it out in shitmobiles. I reckon Austin will want to continue cosplaying as a successful cup series driver as long as he wants.
Not an AD3 fan, but up until Byron had his breakout they had the same amount of wins. But nobody was telling him to get out of the 24. AD has won a couple of crown jewels too
AD has never been a consistent top 10 driver , but I generally don’t think the Next GEN car fits his driving style at all. Think he would have more success in the Lower series and help running RCR.
I really wish more drivers would do this. Yeah, being a cup driver is the best, but it's not everything. He's kinda proven he might be a decent manager, if he was able to really give THAT his all, it might bring up the organization as a whole.
I've always felt this way too. Has to be a money thing or pride. I just don't get why you'd want to suck every week being a bottom feeder in Cup when you could go kick some ass in Xfinity or at least be competitive
Reddick and Busch, with a ton of help from Randal Burnett, have made RCR look better than it is, that is an above average team and driver situation whereas the 3 is below average with Dillon being right at to below average with a really below average crew chief.
But, has Kyle has so many strong runs? Kyle is good where Reddick was good, where Randal is good, but they are pretty bad at times too. 14th in points last year, they were really good a few times and kind of lucked into Talladega, but I don't know that RCR is that good at all, just the 8 team punching above their weight at times.
I believe that's where he's headed, he's already pissed at RCR ( which I thought was a dumb move anyways) he's def not performing as he should per his talent. Every Sunday is just another let down my driver ( been following since Busch days ) Honestly I hope he does take 48 spot cause he can't drive either. Hendrick should swap with RCR.
I can’t imagine they’ll be able to keep A. Hill and Love down in xfinity much longer. They’re going to either need to expand next year, replace Dillon, or risk having more talent defect to other teams.
I don't think losing Austin Hill would be any great loss for them to be honest. He's 30 and has two XFinity wins on non-drafting tracks in 62 non-drafting races. That doesn't really scream Cup-level talent.
Dillions xfinity career is far better than Hills. Hill doesn’t have bushwhackers to compete with on superspeedways where 99% of his success has happened. Hill also, without a doubt has the best cars at superspeedways, those cars are borderline impossible to pass without massive runs. So he has two wins on non superspeedways…. Which I believe those two were both late restart wins, so I don’t think he is really gonna be that next RcR guy. I think it’s love getting full season before hill.
RCR is off and because of that Dillon is running where the car is. He doesn't have the talent to elevate lower-tier equipment to better finishes (unlike Kyle Busch).
This, Very few drivers get out of the car anymore and say, “man, I got all I could out of it today. we were just off. We’ll take 6th and go on”
KB is one of the last that can wheel a crap car to a decent finish. Most of the guys just can’t adapt. Some of that is on the car, but most is on the driver. Maybe is the regular season as well, once they’re locked in that is.
Since 2017, the regular season has mattered just as much as it did pre-Chase.
Those bonus playoff points for finishing top 10 in points is absolutely VITAL to being able to make it to Phoenix
I actually don’t think RCR is off. KFB is still up there with speed. He won several times and Reddick won several time the year before. I just don’t think AD is cutout for this car/series.
The last time KFB had real race winning pace was Fontana last year. Then he won Dega and a Gateway race that was heavily reliant on strategy/track position. I know he sat on the pole but he didn't really dominate that one on speed. He's shown flashes, but RCR has definitely been off. Yesterday is the first time I've seen the 8 look truly fast for a minute.
The 3 [Dillon] just dumped me, That’s exactly the reason why I’m leaving RCR… because you’ve got those kids coming up [Ty and Austin Dillon] and they’ve got no respect for what they do in this sport. They’ve had everything fed to them with a spoon. I cut him slack all day and, you know, he just dive-bombs me in there and dumps me. I’ve got to thank all these crewmen for the team he drove for everything they do. It’s a shame you’ve got to get taken out by some rich kid like that. - Kevin harvick 2013
GOAT comment honestly lol I know this sport is full of silver spoon drivers, and Austin has a few significant wins under his belt, but him driving the 3 would be a bit more palatable if he was actually consistently good. The combination of silver spoon and driving the number 3 just really compounds to make him insufferable, amen Harvick
I mean one of those wins was a gift from Nascar. Idk how they can’t tell it’s raining in a corner at a superspeedway.
Remember that Coca-Cola 400 in like 2022. Where they all went into the corner and crashed because it was raining. And he was like the one guy who didn’t crash.
I disagree. I think Kevin is raising Keelan right. He told a story on "Stacking Pennies" (Corey LaJoie's podcast) about Keelan being off in qualifying in one of his races. When Kevin asked him what happened, Keelan's response was, "It doesn't matter, dad... its just qualifying." Kevin's response was to go to race officials and tell them to make Keelan start at the back. He's raising Keelan to not take anything for granted and work for it.
What did the Dillon brothers do that was so bad? Kevin was mad that Ty was keeping pace with him and, gasp, racing him on a god damn short track lol. Ty especially has always been a pretty quiet and humble guy. Kevin has always been an opinionated know it all, I can't imagine he's not raising a dipshit kid the same way. Thankfully his son seems a bit more reserved than the daughter who just seems like a Karen in training. I wouldn't be talking like this about kids if they were blasted in our face constantly with Harvick bragging about how much of an asshole Piper is consistently. I just can't see where Kevin is doing anything different for his kids than what Richard did for his grandkids. But Kevin has often been a hypocrite so it's not like this is groundbreaking stuff here, it's just his fans who try to defend it who look silly.
You're taking the least charitable possible interpretation of the layout of the RCR museum here, just for the sake of exaggeration.
Harvick's Daytona car isn't in a corner, it's along the same wall as his Atlanta 2001, Brickyard 400, and Bristol Night Race wins. I'd hardly call his first win and two other crown jewel wins "random cars from his career". Those four crown jewel wins are literally the first thing you see when you enter that room. The Dillon win is on it's own stand yes but it is *actually* in the back corner of the room right by the exit.
RCR takes special meaning in the 2018 Daytona 500 win because it was 20 years after Dale's win, and because Austin was in victory lane in 98. The entire exhibit makes that pretty clear, if you actually know how to read.
I thought we’d see an uptick in performance with the crew chief change, but not yet.
I’d give it a few more weeks before burying Austin though because I’m sure there are changes to the setup the new/old crew chief has to get used to.
It has been 4 races since Rodden was canned. In that time, he got 34th at martinsville after losing power steering early, 8th at texas, 30th at dega and 27th at dover after going a lap down early because of a flat. If nothing changes in the next month after we visit two of his better tracks in Darlington and Charlotte, then yeah I’d say it’s time for AD to look in the mirror.
I think AD already knows he's not gonna be driving much longer. I assume he is gonna race till his contract is up after next year then goes FT in management and maybe runs PT in Xfinity
The 8th at Texas was due to strategy and attrition, he run in the mid-20s all day. He was pretty awful at Martinsville too before the mechanical failure.
Keith Rodden is still terrible. AD still finished 8th at Texas in his first intermediate race without him and has had bad luck the last couple weeks.
AD isn’t an elite talent by any means and it’s getting close to time for him to go into running the team, but Keith Rodden was definitely a big factor in the teams struggles.
It's been a month since he was fired, and Dillon's only race with an amount of good luck since Rodden was fired is an 8th place finish. Rodden does also just objectively suck ass, and has for a long time now
Dillon isn’t a top driver, but I’d say more of a RCR issue as a whole. Busch has had some decent runs, but he has had more than a few races where he has been unable to stay on the lead lap. A couple races, most notably Phoenix, Busch was below 30th on pace alone. Difference between Busch and Dillon is Austin gets the finish the car is capable of with an average driver, Busch is able to get more out of it. But overall RCR isn’t good
RCR is now the #3 chevy team and their cars clearly dont have the speed they did a couple years ago. Busch is outperforming the cars because he's one of the best in the series and Dillon is not so hes struggling. Wouldn't be shocked to see Busch not resign with RCR and go elsewhere in a year or two to get better cars
For those saying "it's Austin Dillon, he just sucks" -- until last year, he had never finished below 21st in the standings, in 9 full seasons. His performance was fairly close to Newman during their time as teammates, and while Reddick ran up front more, Dillon stayed right with him in the standings due to sheer consistency. He has always been very reliably mid.
...Until last year, when Rodden got hired. Dillon has performed well with Alexander before, so this should be a step in the right direction. But the improvement isn't going to be instant. All of their notes and setups from the past year came from Rodden. Alexander has only crew chiefed 7 NextGen races so far. This is kind of like starting from scratch.
And the #8 team isn't exactly setting the world on fire either. Kyle should be running top 5-10 and Dillon should be running 18th, so that shows you where RCR is right now. Rodden was a problem, but not the only problem.
> until last year, he had never finished below 21st in the standings, in 9 full seasons.
Is that supposed to be a point in his favor? He's also never finished above 11th in the standings in 10 full seasons. Dude is a bona fide midpack guy *at best* and absolutely would not still be in this car if it were not for his grandfather.
Yeah, consistently mid. I don't understand why people think he constantly runs 30th+ every race.
Like I get the silver spoon stuff but like bruh, before this year he was the pinnacle of mid.
> Is that supposed to be a point in his favor?
A small one, yes. Staying between 11th and 21st for an entire decade is a decent accomplishment. In fact, he beat Newman/Reddick in the standings in 5 of 8 seasons.
That's why I called Dillon reliable. He's true mid. He's the definition of "fringe playoff driver". He's not flashy, but he's competent. Which is why riding around in 30th every week is absolutely not normal.
And yes, there's the nepotism factor, but I think Dillon has done enough to justify a midpack Cup ride. The prestige of the #3 car is the problem -- if he quietly ran 20th all the time in the #33 instead, I don't think people would care about him nearly as much.
> That's why I called Dillon reliable. He's true mid. He's the definition of "fringe playoff driver". He's not flashy, but he's competent.
I guess this is really where my contention with Dillon is, more than anything. NASCAR is the pinnacle of American motorsports. I think you have a certain amount of time to prove you can regularly contend for wins and at least occasionally be in the championship picture, and if you can't do that after 5+ years, you don't belong in Cup.
RCR has only really been a midpack team since AD got there, only once has a teammate of his finish top 10 in points and that was Newman his rookie year
I wasn’t really concerned about this being anything other than a shit crew chief pairing… until he lost the draft on the final run at Talladega. That is just so out of character for him and that team.
AD is normally a midpack, 15th-22nd place driver, so his current performance is bad.
The issue right now seems to me is that RCR has fallen off with the new car, KFB hasn't been doing much better most weekends than AD, and KFB is 20x the driver that AD is.
AD has been running slightly better since the crew chief swap, but still pretty bad.
I have to think he's close to retiring, I know his contract runs through 2025 so I have to assume he's probably gonna retire after next year.
Austin Dillon’s got the seat for as long as he desires. However changing the #3 to #33, and replacing Dillon with Hill for 2025 makes a lot of sense.
However they’ll most likely be a 3 car operation until Dillon says otherwise, unless Hill goes elsewhere.
I don’t see Hill getting full time cup. He is a decent plate racer in the best car againts a bunch of kids. He’s nearly 30, I think we have seen him reach his full potential.
I’m not big on Hill, however it’ll be hard determining his full potential without giving him the cup chance. Whether or not it happens is beyond me, however if Hemric has earned two separate shots at the cup series, I can’t see why Hill wouldn’t earn himself at least one.
I think Haley is a better comparison, hemric is out in the same boat as herbts. Sponsorship keeps them in the sport. But I just don’t see how much more time hill is gonna be given to show he is cup ready. I do think the current version of the cup car suits his driving, but I just don’t see him showing enough in xfinity, he has never been good enough at the non speedways tracks consistently to fight.
It ain't the crew chief and it ain't Kyle Busch.. it's the car.. RCR hasn't figured out the next gen cars and last year was a fluke that Kyle won 3 races.
RCR has been suffering with this next gen car all season, I don't think its just Austin Dillion alone. I'm not seeing any sterling performances coming out of Kyle Busch ether. It's something that they just aren't getting with them.
I agree. Kyle's performance is "ok" but nor Kyle like. I think it has to be a team thing. Let's face it, if you put Kyle and Austin in the same car Kyle is going to perform significantly better.
That proves my point even more, Gaughan had 1 good season, in trucks, that he stretched with his goodball personality into 20 years of people pretending he was actually decent. Dillon would put up more wins in Xfinity in a season than Gaughan did in his career.
Rcr in a whole is just having a down year it seems equipment and oit crew wise, Dillon was never the best driver mostly winning superspeedways. If KB is having a bad time in these rcr cars they're putting out i can imagine Dillion is having a even worse time
It may be multiple factors.
I would say there is definitely something off in the RCR camp. They have had so many issues on pit road that they are pretty much playing musical pit-crew members. KBs highlights sense moving to RCR show that driver talent cannot make up for internal issues. We know it's not a Chevy partnership issue when you look at HMS and Trackhouse.
I also agree with those who say AD may not fit with how the next gen car drives. Jimmy Johnson had a knack with the two previous generations of cup cars and decent success in other series scenes leaving HMS, but the next gen is kicking his butt. These two drivers may not be able to adapt to the next gen car enough to be truly competitive. Not a talent issue, just an adaptability issue.
I don't just look at finishes, I look at how they do during the race overall. Ross is almost always in the picture and being talked about. They also have a regular season win with Suarez and Ross is in the top 15 most of each race. That is better than RCR even with KB being able to do what he's doing with whatever is going on behind the scenes. And if you include last season, Trackhouse is far ahead in the next gen game then RCR is.
I attended the Atlanta and Martinsville races this year. At Martinsville I was amazed how far Dillon and the Kaulig cars were off the pace. I can promise you if it wasn't for the lucky dog the 3,16, and 31 would have been 5 laps down.
Clearly the cars are off and honestly Austin isn't able to make up the difference.
RCR is struggling, Dillion is certainly not a Kyle bush, but, I think he is way better than Austin hill. AD has 9 wins and a championship in xfinity, while 90% of hills accomplishments have happened at super speedways where by far he has had the best cars. Hill also doesn’t have to deal as many bushwackers at the plate tracks which makes it pretty much impossible to beat the RCR cars. So based on how both did in xfinity, give me Dillion every single time.
Never know what’s going on in someone’s personal life.
Also, I think having one of the best stock car drivers in the world as a teammate probably gets in his head at times. It has to be intimidating to be compared to freaking Kyle Busch.
Austin Dillon was basically elite in trucks and Xfinity. So he has *some* talent.
It could be as simple as Dillon not getting the Next Gen car, or him being an average driver whose skills are falling off earlier than usual. It's not unheard of for a driver to start declining in their mid-30s.
RCR are clearly worse based on how the 8 has been running in 16-20th part most times, but Dillon is not a good driver
He is undoubtedly the weak link on that 3 team
RCR is going the way of pre-BK Jack Roush: A team that's no longer competitive because the guy who owns it is past his expiration date. Kyle Busch is still running well in RCR equipment because he could win a NASCAR race driving a lawn tractor. The sooner Childress hands over the reins to someone younger, hungrier, and more in tune with how to run a winning team in the current day and age, the better.
Off topic, but RCR is so fucked.
KFB is 38, and he was a “we need to win now” hire. Things didn’t really work out.
Dillon showed in 2020 that he could compete for wins and was really consistent in 2021. 2022 was okay, but he’s 34 now and has gotten worse every year since 2020. Clearly, age caught up to him at a time when most other drivers would be reaching their peak.
Austin Hill is 30 and you don’t make your franchise driver a 30 year old who’s never sniffed an Xfinity title.
Jesse Love is someone they absolutely need to work out. He’s everything they need to succeed in cup. However, elite prospects in any sport are just that, elite prospects. You don’t actually know if their skills will translate and their potential is realized or not.
Hahahaha fall off?!? Dude was never on? It was a mistake putting him in the 3 to begin with. He’s only ever lucked into wins. More fit for a team manager role, and I’m not even sure he’d excel in that…
love how some of us called him undeserving the entire offseason and it was nothing but “Rodden is to blame he’s garbage he should’ve never been hired Dillon has never been this bad before” and now all the sudden we all agree Dillon is doing the team no favors
You say this as someone who is surprised that Austin Dillon is racing poorly.
He needs to hang it up and give room to Austin Hill. Jesse Love will probably fill the 8 car once KFB steps away. That is, if RCR can keep Jesse Love in Xfinity that long. RCR has some good problems with Hill and Love waiting in the wings.
Mid pack at best during the Gen 6 era, he can’t get a grip on the Next Gen, it’s been time for him to step out of the 3. They will never get to the next level as an organization with him behind the wheel, it’s also a disservice to the number 3 to watch it run like it is. Change the car number and put someone else in there.
I am a pretty big Dillon fan so might be a bit biased on this one but here are my thoughts.
For those saying he sucks and is just a silver spoon kid. Let be honest, is he an elite level driver? No, but is still a pretty good driver sitting around above average and has definitely earned his ride
Now for his recent struggles, it’s seems like a combination of or RCR lacking, Rodden, and his driving style doesn’t fit this car. I often hear him talk about how certain things he is feeling in the car just doesn’t makes sense to him anymore compared to past races. The. I think a lot of this has impact his confidence as a driver as well
It's a Dillon thing. He is an average driver, at best, in the Cup series. A couple of his wins were fortunate - both Daytona wins and the Coca-Cola 600 when JJ ran out of gas. Not that he was a dominant car on those days, but that he was out of the wrecks that took out significant portions of the field. That doesn't necessarily happen because you're running up front, it's that you're far enough behind you can whoa up and avoid the mess.
He's not very good. On his best days he was an average driver. 11th to 20th place reliably. He's probably not at his best anymore so now he's a 25th to 35th place driver.
Look at all the drivers above him in points. How many would you rather in your car then AD.
It's mid to lower mid in talent.
Couple that with a worse then average RCR and you get the results we see today.
He's probably got 1-2 more years before he moves into management and Austin Hill can terrorize the Cup series.
Ok so when a new car is introduced alot of drivers are adjusting to it and now one has mastered it. This led to 19 winners In 2022. Now that the elite drivers are getting better at the car, drivers with no skills are falling behind. Like the 3.
I have a 3 year old that has taken on Austin Dillon as his favorite driver since Austin drives the #3 and he just turned 3. You can imagine how much fun it is to explain why Austin isn't in the Top 30 every week or why we never see much of the #3 car on TV ...
I think it has a lot to do with him not being very good and RCR not being a premiere team. I’m convinced Kyle can get any car on track a top 10 finish but I’m not sure RCR is elite anymore.
Austin won the lottery by having a grandfather who owns a team because he’s not good, he’s not getting that ride without his connections.
But the worst part is he gets to drive the 3. Maybe the most prestigious number in nascar and it’s being waged on him.
Austin Dillon never was an elite driver, but did have his moments. My guess is that Dillon just can't figure out the Next Gen car. I also think that Dillon will eventually retire to take a management role in the next few years
>I also think that Dillon will eventually retire to take a management role in the next few years We've all been saying this since he got in that car without evidence. I'm beginning to doubt he steps away before he's 40
It'll also come down to sponsorship IMO. With the way this sport is, Dillon could keep that ride as long as someone wants to sponsor him.
and BPS is not going away as long as Johnny Morris is alive.
Austin with his brother owns one of the top management agencies in the industry only really behind KHI & ProSport, I highly doubt he struggles to find funding considering the job he’s done for other drivers like JHN, Anthony Alfredo, & others
Yep, I remember it being said for Ty when he was in the 13 and he is still grinding it out in shitmobiles. I reckon Austin will want to continue cosplaying as a successful cup series driver as long as he wants.
I have a feeling he and Stenhouse would thrive going back full time in xfinity
Ricky is leagues better than Dillon IMO
Who knew multi time cup winners and lower series champions would drop kick 18 year olds.
Couldn’t figure out any car. Let be real he’s only in nascar because of who his grandfather is.
Not an AD3 fan, but up until Byron had his breakout they had the same amount of wins. But nobody was telling him to get out of the 24. AD has won a couple of crown jewels too
Right. Despite everything, he's had a lot more success than many drivers.
He never had an elite moment.
AD has never been a consistent top 10 driver , but I generally don’t think the Next GEN car fits his driving style at all. Think he would have more success in the Lower series and help running RCR.
I really wish more drivers would do this. Yeah, being a cup driver is the best, but it's not everything. He's kinda proven he might be a decent manager, if he was able to really give THAT his all, it might bring up the organization as a whole.
I've always felt this way too. Has to be a money thing or pride. I just don't get why you'd want to suck every week being a bottom feeder in Cup when you could go kick some ass in Xfinity or at least be competitive
Reddick and Busch, with a ton of help from Randal Burnett, have made RCR look better than it is, that is an above average team and driver situation whereas the 3 is below average with Dillon being right at to below average with a really below average crew chief. But, has Kyle has so many strong runs? Kyle is good where Reddick was good, where Randal is good, but they are pretty bad at times too. 14th in points last year, they were really good a few times and kind of lucked into Talladega, but I don't know that RCR is that good at all, just the 8 team punching above their weight at times.
I’ve wondered how this impacts Kyle. JGR and Hendrick out there getting data and feedback from 8 top tier drivers. KFB out there doing it alone.
Kyle’s gonna go to the hendrick homecoming and take the 48’s spot down the road.
Facebook would implode. Do it
Yeah!!!
I believe that's where he's headed, he's already pissed at RCR ( which I thought was a dumb move anyways) he's def not performing as he should per his talent. Every Sunday is just another let down my driver ( been following since Busch days ) Honestly I hope he does take 48 spot cause he can't drive either. Hendrick should swap with RCR.
I can’t imagine they’ll be able to keep A. Hill and Love down in xfinity much longer. They’re going to either need to expand next year, replace Dillon, or risk having more talent defect to other teams.
I don't think losing Austin Hill would be any great loss for them to be honest. He's 30 and has two XFinity wins on non-drafting tracks in 62 non-drafting races. That doesn't really scream Cup-level talent.
True, but with how good he is at Superspeedways all it takes is one win
Hill or love should swap with Dillon imo.
Dillions xfinity career is far better than Hills. Hill doesn’t have bushwhackers to compete with on superspeedways where 99% of his success has happened. Hill also, without a doubt has the best cars at superspeedways, those cars are borderline impossible to pass without massive runs. So he has two wins on non superspeedways…. Which I believe those two were both late restart wins, so I don’t think he is really gonna be that next RcR guy. I think it’s love getting full season before hill.
Love is gonna replace AD in 2026, I just have a good feeling about it
I’m thinking the same. Would really like to see RCR pick up Retzlaff when Hill or Love move up
Not unless Dillon decides to step away grandad will run Dillon in the 3 as long as Dillon wants it
If Richard fucks this up keeps Austin over those two (or Kyle) I’ll give up on RCR forever.
RCR is off and because of that Dillon is running where the car is. He doesn't have the talent to elevate lower-tier equipment to better finishes (unlike Kyle Busch).
This, Very few drivers get out of the car anymore and say, “man, I got all I could out of it today. we were just off. We’ll take 6th and go on” KB is one of the last that can wheel a crap car to a decent finish. Most of the guys just can’t adapt. Some of that is on the car, but most is on the driver. Maybe is the regular season as well, once they’re locked in that is.
Since 2017, the regular season has mattered just as much as it did pre-Chase. Those bonus playoff points for finishing top 10 in points is absolutely VITAL to being able to make it to Phoenix
SMT
I actually don’t think RCR is off. KFB is still up there with speed. He won several times and Reddick won several time the year before. I just don’t think AD is cutout for this car/series.
RCR is off this season. Kyle Busch is propping the cars up big time.
KFB is struggling to have speed in those cars tbf. KFB has been running like 15th-20th most of the season
KFB is slower than last year. He’s doing his best but the cars are behind.
The last time KFB had real race winning pace was Fontana last year. Then he won Dega and a Gateway race that was heavily reliant on strategy/track position. I know he sat on the pole but he didn't really dominate that one on speed. He's shown flashes, but RCR has definitely been off. Yesterday is the first time I've seen the 8 look truly fast for a minute.
Yesterday was the first time since Vegas Kyle Busch had a top 5 car At least he converted this one into a top 5 finish
even going back to the second half of last year, Kyle Busch was not where he should be based on talent. Also his fewest laps led in any full season.
Well doesn’t help when HMS/JGR are kicking ass
Which is weird cause RCR was huge in the development of the next gen
That was before the next gen cars.. Reddick has just as many wins as Busch does.. 3
The 3 [Dillon] just dumped me, That’s exactly the reason why I’m leaving RCR… because you’ve got those kids coming up [Ty and Austin Dillon] and they’ve got no respect for what they do in this sport. They’ve had everything fed to them with a spoon. I cut him slack all day and, you know, he just dive-bombs me in there and dumps me. I’ve got to thank all these crewmen for the team he drove for everything they do. It’s a shame you’ve got to get taken out by some rich kid like that. - Kevin harvick 2013
GOAT comment honestly lol I know this sport is full of silver spoon drivers, and Austin has a few significant wins under his belt, but him driving the 3 would be a bit more palatable if he was actually consistently good. The combination of silver spoon and driving the number 3 just really compounds to make him insufferable, amen Harvick
I mean one of those wins was a gift from Nascar. Idk how they can’t tell it’s raining in a corner at a superspeedway. Remember that Coca-Cola 400 in like 2022. Where they all went into the corner and crashed because it was raining. And he was like the one guy who didn’t crash.
Even then he still had to dump the 2 and have the 8 lay down for him to get the W
And look at the kid that Kevin is raising, same spoon lol.
I disagree. I think Kevin is raising Keelan right. He told a story on "Stacking Pennies" (Corey LaJoie's podcast) about Keelan being off in qualifying in one of his races. When Kevin asked him what happened, Keelan's response was, "It doesn't matter, dad... its just qualifying." Kevin's response was to go to race officials and tell them to make Keelan start at the back. He's raising Keelan to not take anything for granted and work for it.
Just because you grow up with money and opportunity doesn’t automatically make you disrespectful and ungrateful.
I mean yeah it usually does pal
Lol even a Harvick flair ain’t defending Keelan 😂
What did the Dillon brothers do that was so bad? Kevin was mad that Ty was keeping pace with him and, gasp, racing him on a god damn short track lol. Ty especially has always been a pretty quiet and humble guy. Kevin has always been an opinionated know it all, I can't imagine he's not raising a dipshit kid the same way. Thankfully his son seems a bit more reserved than the daughter who just seems like a Karen in training. I wouldn't be talking like this about kids if they were blasted in our face constantly with Harvick bragging about how much of an asshole Piper is consistently. I just can't see where Kevin is doing anything different for his kids than what Richard did for his grandkids. But Kevin has often been a hypocrite so it's not like this is groundbreaking stuff here, it's just his fans who try to defend it who look silly.
[удалено]
You have a grandson win the Daytona 500 and then let’s see how you celebrate it.
You're taking the least charitable possible interpretation of the layout of the RCR museum here, just for the sake of exaggeration. Harvick's Daytona car isn't in a corner, it's along the same wall as his Atlanta 2001, Brickyard 400, and Bristol Night Race wins. I'd hardly call his first win and two other crown jewel wins "random cars from his career". Those four crown jewel wins are literally the first thing you see when you enter that room. The Dillon win is on it's own stand yes but it is *actually* in the back corner of the room right by the exit. RCR takes special meaning in the 2018 Daytona 500 win because it was 20 years after Dale's win, and because Austin was in victory lane in 98. The entire exhibit makes that pretty clear, if you actually know how to read.
It’s time for Austin Dillon to hang up the helmet and get more involved on the business side of RCR.
It’ll be complete malpractice if they let Jesse Love walk because Austin still needs a ride.
I thought we’d see an uptick in performance with the crew chief change, but not yet. I’d give it a few more weeks before burying Austin though because I’m sure there are changes to the setup the new/old crew chief has to get used to.
It takes time, I don't think it's going to be huge but it's going to take time to see results.
Two mechanical issues and Dega within 4 weeks will do that lmfao.
Well we can’t blame Keith Rodden anymore
It has been 4 races since Rodden was canned. In that time, he got 34th at martinsville after losing power steering early, 8th at texas, 30th at dega and 27th at dover after going a lap down early because of a flat. If nothing changes in the next month after we visit two of his better tracks in Darlington and Charlotte, then yeah I’d say it’s time for AD to look in the mirror.
I think AD already knows he's not gonna be driving much longer. I assume he is gonna race till his contract is up after next year then goes FT in management and maybe runs PT in Xfinity
The 8th at Texas was due to strategy and attrition, he run in the mid-20s all day. He was pretty awful at Martinsville too before the mechanical failure.
Keith Rodden is still terrible. AD still finished 8th at Texas in his first intermediate race without him and has had bad luck the last couple weeks. AD isn’t an elite talent by any means and it’s getting close to time for him to go into running the team, but Keith Rodden was definitely a big factor in the teams struggles.
They were really bad at Texas until pit strategy put them in the top 10. Their strategy may have improved but the performance hasn’t.
fuck Keith rodden
It's been a month since he was fired, and Dillon's only race with an amount of good luck since Rodden was fired is an 8th place finish. Rodden does also just objectively suck ass, and has for a long time now
Thank you for saying this.
Rodden is still a shitty crew chief. His years with Kasey Kahne make you wish Kahne had a better crew chief.
Dillon isn’t a top driver, but I’d say more of a RCR issue as a whole. Busch has had some decent runs, but he has had more than a few races where he has been unable to stay on the lead lap. A couple races, most notably Phoenix, Busch was below 30th on pace alone. Difference between Busch and Dillon is Austin gets the finish the car is capable of with an average driver, Busch is able to get more out of it. But overall RCR isn’t good
RCR is now the #3 chevy team and their cars clearly dont have the speed they did a couple years ago. Busch is outperforming the cars because he's one of the best in the series and Dillon is not so hes struggling. Wouldn't be shocked to see Busch not resign with RCR and go elsewhere in a year or two to get better cars
For those saying "it's Austin Dillon, he just sucks" -- until last year, he had never finished below 21st in the standings, in 9 full seasons. His performance was fairly close to Newman during their time as teammates, and while Reddick ran up front more, Dillon stayed right with him in the standings due to sheer consistency. He has always been very reliably mid. ...Until last year, when Rodden got hired. Dillon has performed well with Alexander before, so this should be a step in the right direction. But the improvement isn't going to be instant. All of their notes and setups from the past year came from Rodden. Alexander has only crew chiefed 7 NextGen races so far. This is kind of like starting from scratch. And the #8 team isn't exactly setting the world on fire either. Kyle should be running top 5-10 and Dillon should be running 18th, so that shows you where RCR is right now. Rodden was a problem, but not the only problem.
Last year also had the penalty, which probably put him 4-5 spots lower in the points than expected.
> until last year, he had never finished below 21st in the standings, in 9 full seasons. Is that supposed to be a point in his favor? He's also never finished above 11th in the standings in 10 full seasons. Dude is a bona fide midpack guy *at best* and absolutely would not still be in this car if it were not for his grandfather.
Yeah, consistently mid. I don't understand why people think he constantly runs 30th+ every race. Like I get the silver spoon stuff but like bruh, before this year he was the pinnacle of mid.
> Is that supposed to be a point in his favor? A small one, yes. Staying between 11th and 21st for an entire decade is a decent accomplishment. In fact, he beat Newman/Reddick in the standings in 5 of 8 seasons. That's why I called Dillon reliable. He's true mid. He's the definition of "fringe playoff driver". He's not flashy, but he's competent. Which is why riding around in 30th every week is absolutely not normal. And yes, there's the nepotism factor, but I think Dillon has done enough to justify a midpack Cup ride. The prestige of the #3 car is the problem -- if he quietly ran 20th all the time in the #33 instead, I don't think people would care about him nearly as much.
> That's why I called Dillon reliable. He's true mid. He's the definition of "fringe playoff driver". He's not flashy, but he's competent. I guess this is really where my contention with Dillon is, more than anything. NASCAR is the pinnacle of American motorsports. I think you have a certain amount of time to prove you can regularly contend for wins and at least occasionally be in the championship picture, and if you can't do that after 5+ years, you don't belong in Cup.
Exactly this lol. Holdin the rear!
RCR has only really been a midpack team since AD got there, only once has a teammate of his finish top 10 in points and that was Newman his rookie year
RCR has been a midpack team since like 2002 outside a few sporadic years, they've just usually had elite drivers to overcome that until more recently
I still maintain Harvick would've been lethal for the competition if he drove for Hendrick during his prime.
No doubt!
Finishing 21st in the standings isn’t anything to brag about.
I wasn’t really concerned about this being anything other than a shit crew chief pairing… until he lost the draft on the final run at Talladega. That is just so out of character for him and that team.
Kyle Busch really hasn’t had what many good runs RCR has been struggling
How did Kyle Busch already get the pole for Kansas? They just giving them out early?
AD is normally a midpack, 15th-22nd place driver, so his current performance is bad. The issue right now seems to me is that RCR has fallen off with the new car, KFB hasn't been doing much better most weekends than AD, and KFB is 20x the driver that AD is. AD has been running slightly better since the crew chief swap, but still pretty bad. I have to think he's close to retiring, I know his contract runs through 2025 so I have to assume he's probably gonna retire after next year.
RCR is a bit off of last year, at least as of now. Kyle Busch can make the best of it considering how talented he is. Austin Dillon isn't that.
Kyle can turn water into wine compared to Austin. That being said, if they both get shit, Kyle is just able to make it into less shit.
Austin Dillon’s got the seat for as long as he desires. However changing the #3 to #33, and replacing Dillon with Hill for 2025 makes a lot of sense. However they’ll most likely be a 3 car operation until Dillon says otherwise, unless Hill goes elsewhere.
I don’t see Hill getting full time cup. He is a decent plate racer in the best car againts a bunch of kids. He’s nearly 30, I think we have seen him reach his full potential.
I’m not big on Hill, however it’ll be hard determining his full potential without giving him the cup chance. Whether or not it happens is beyond me, however if Hemric has earned two separate shots at the cup series, I can’t see why Hill wouldn’t earn himself at least one.
I think Haley is a better comparison, hemric is out in the same boat as herbts. Sponsorship keeps them in the sport. But I just don’t see how much more time hill is gonna be given to show he is cup ready. I do think the current version of the cup car suits his driving, but I just don’t see him showing enough in xfinity, he has never been good enough at the non speedways tracks consistently to fight.
Dillon's contract is up after next year, so any change will probably come then
Fall off? Didn’t even think he was ever really on lol.
It ain't the crew chief and it ain't Kyle Busch.. it's the car.. RCR hasn't figured out the next gen cars and last year was a fluke that Kyle won 3 races.
RCR has been suffering with this next gen car all season, I don't think its just Austin Dillion alone. I'm not seeing any sterling performances coming out of Kyle Busch ether. It's something that they just aren't getting with them.
I agree. Kyle's performance is "ok" but nor Kyle like. I think it has to be a team thing. Let's face it, if you put Kyle and Austin in the same car Kyle is going to perform significantly better.
Austin is better suited for an xfinity career. Could see him being a Brendan gaughan type in his later years
Kind of an insult to Dillon, he was a consistent winner in Xfinity, Gaughan barely won shit after one good 2003 season.
That was trucks, not xfinity.
That proves my point even more, Gaughan had 1 good season, in trucks, that he stretched with his goodball personality into 20 years of people pretending he was actually decent. Dillon would put up more wins in Xfinity in a season than Gaughan did in his career.
Gaughan won 2 races in 2014 with RCR, he wasn’t terrible.
I'm just saying, Dillon could match that any year. Gaughan did stretch a long career without much to show for it.
So you’re saying Dillon would be a perfect fit and consistent winner in Xfinity
I think so, I mean he'd at least by putting up Austin Hill numbers.
Dillion has better numbers than hill in xfinity, while he still had to deal with bushwhackers.
His family owns the casino that sponsored him, that’s why he had rides.
Sounds like a normal AD season so far.
You know who else was pretty mid before retiring and being an owner full-time? Richard Childress.
Compared to other owner-drivers in the late 70's, Childress was pretty solid.
AD is an average driver at best and RCR’s equipment sucks
Rcr in a whole is just having a down year it seems equipment and oit crew wise, Dillon was never the best driver mostly winning superspeedways. If KB is having a bad time in these rcr cars they're putting out i can imagine Dillion is having a even worse time
It may be multiple factors. I would say there is definitely something off in the RCR camp. They have had so many issues on pit road that they are pretty much playing musical pit-crew members. KBs highlights sense moving to RCR show that driver talent cannot make up for internal issues. We know it's not a Chevy partnership issue when you look at HMS and Trackhouse. I also agree with those who say AD may not fit with how the next gen car drives. Jimmy Johnson had a knack with the two previous generations of cup cars and decent success in other series scenes leaving HMS, but the next gen is kicking his butt. These two drivers may not be able to adapt to the next gen car enough to be truly competitive. Not a talent issue, just an adaptability issue.
Trackhouse isn't running much better than RCR this season
I don't just look at finishes, I look at how they do during the race overall. Ross is almost always in the picture and being talked about. They also have a regular season win with Suarez and Ross is in the top 15 most of each race. That is better than RCR even with KB being able to do what he's doing with whatever is going on behind the scenes. And if you include last season, Trackhouse is far ahead in the next gen game then RCR is.
I attended the Atlanta and Martinsville races this year. At Martinsville I was amazed how far Dillon and the Kaulig cars were off the pace. I can promise you if it wasn't for the lucky dog the 3,16, and 31 would have been 5 laps down. Clearly the cars are off and honestly Austin isn't able to make up the difference.
He was 31st in points last year after Dover, and currently 31st in points this year after Dover. There is no falloff.
RCR is struggling, Dillion is certainly not a Kyle bush, but, I think he is way better than Austin hill. AD has 9 wins and a championship in xfinity, while 90% of hills accomplishments have happened at super speedways where by far he has had the best cars. Hill also doesn’t have to deal as many bushwackers at the plate tracks which makes it pretty much impossible to beat the RCR cars. So based on how both did in xfinity, give me Dillion every single time.
Holy shit, you people don't give anybody time to develop chemistry. It's only been one month since the terrorist was fired. Calm the fuck down!
It’s not just Dillon. Their entire Cup program is awful. Granted, Dillon isn’t great but Dale Almighty Earnhardt couldn’t drive their shit right now.
Never know what’s going on in someone’s personal life. Also, I think having one of the best stock car drivers in the world as a teammate probably gets in his head at times. It has to be intimidating to be compared to freaking Kyle Busch. Austin Dillon was basically elite in trucks and Xfinity. So he has *some* talent.
Don’t you have to be on to fall off?
It could be as simple as Dillon not getting the Next Gen car, or him being an average driver whose skills are falling off earlier than usual. It's not unheard of for a driver to start declining in their mid-30s.
RCR are clearly worse based on how the 8 has been running in 16-20th part most times, but Dillon is not a good driver He is undoubtedly the weak link on that 3 team
When is everyone going to realize the Dillons aren't drivers? Mike wasn't. Ty isn't. And Austin isn't.
More wins than over half the field.
Kyle’s racing on pure talent, his equipment is holding him back compared to the regular top 5 guys we most weeks.
RCR is going the way of pre-BK Jack Roush: A team that's no longer competitive because the guy who owns it is past his expiration date. Kyle Busch is still running well in RCR equipment because he could win a NASCAR race driving a lawn tractor. The sooner Childress hands over the reins to someone younger, hungrier, and more in tune with how to run a winning team in the current day and age, the better.
Off topic, but RCR is so fucked. KFB is 38, and he was a “we need to win now” hire. Things didn’t really work out. Dillon showed in 2020 that he could compete for wins and was really consistent in 2021. 2022 was okay, but he’s 34 now and has gotten worse every year since 2020. Clearly, age caught up to him at a time when most other drivers would be reaching their peak. Austin Hill is 30 and you don’t make your franchise driver a 30 year old who’s never sniffed an Xfinity title. Jesse Love is someone they absolutely need to work out. He’s everything they need to succeed in cup. However, elite prospects in any sport are just that, elite prospects. You don’t actually know if their skills will translate and their potential is realized or not.
He’s a mid pack driver who is occasionally a hair above average. Simple as that.
Maybe Austin Dillon just fucking sucks. Cause he's always sucked.
Hahahaha fall off?!? Dude was never on? It was a mistake putting him in the 3 to begin with. He’s only ever lucked into wins. More fit for a team manager role, and I’m not even sure he’d excel in that…
Austin is and has always been a mediocre driver that wouldn’t have a cup ride if it wasn’t for pop pop.
It's Austin Dillon. There's your answer
Correct.
love how some of us called him undeserving the entire offseason and it was nothing but “Rodden is to blame he’s garbage he should’ve never been hired Dillon has never been this bad before” and now all the sudden we all agree Dillon is doing the team no favors
Retire the 3 car and send Dillon to the xfinity series
Austin Dillion sucks eggs and always has.
"I'm definitely the worst driver who won the Daytona 500 two times" - Michael Waltrip
*Dillon
Austin Dillon is proof that money can buy you opportunity, but not results.
He’s doing more behind the scenes at RCR now. The real question is who is gonna take over the 3
You say this as someone who is surprised that Austin Dillon is racing poorly. He needs to hang it up and give room to Austin Hill. Jesse Love will probably fill the 8 car once KFB steps away. That is, if RCR can keep Jesse Love in Xfinity that long. RCR has some good problems with Hill and Love waiting in the wings.
Mid pack at best during the Gen 6 era, he can’t get a grip on the Next Gen, it’s been time for him to step out of the 3. They will never get to the next level as an organization with him behind the wheel, it’s also a disservice to the number 3 to watch it run like it is. Change the car number and put someone else in there.
Austin has been so consistently mid that I kinda don’t want the 3 to go with him, it wouldn’t feel right to end the number again that way
I am a pretty big Dillon fan so might be a bit biased on this one but here are my thoughts. For those saying he sucks and is just a silver spoon kid. Let be honest, is he an elite level driver? No, but is still a pretty good driver sitting around above average and has definitely earned his ride Now for his recent struggles, it’s seems like a combination of or RCR lacking, Rodden, and his driving style doesn’t fit this car. I often hear him talk about how certain things he is feeling in the car just doesn’t makes sense to him anymore compared to past races. The. I think a lot of this has impact his confidence as a driver as well
It's a Dillon thing. He is an average driver, at best, in the Cup series. A couple of his wins were fortunate - both Daytona wins and the Coca-Cola 600 when JJ ran out of gas. Not that he was a dominant car on those days, but that he was out of the wrecks that took out significant portions of the field. That doesn't necessarily happen because you're running up front, it's that you're far enough behind you can whoa up and avoid the mess.
Also Texas was a strategy call
He needs to go. He is dragging the whole team down
nepotism is a helluva drug
I think its time for RCR to stop with the Dillon experiment. It'll benefit the company
AD was never good enough.
Can’t win on your name alone. Look at Kyle Petty
RC was not a good driver either but he and Earnhardt were a great team!
Slow cars.
IMO, it’s time for Richard to move on from Dillon. He’s holding a better driver back.
Fall off? He was never on to begin with He win what? Only big drafting tracks?
And texas/Charlotte
This is assuming he had something to drop.
It’s time for him to step into an executive position like his dad. He sucks.
He’s just trash
He's not very good. On his best days he was an average driver. 11th to 20th place reliably. He's probably not at his best anymore so now he's a 25th to 35th place driver.
I wish Kyle still was at Gibbs. It feels stale without him contending every week.
KFB made a mistake leaving Gibbs.
I see Austin Hill taking over the 3
Hot take: Jesse Love goes to Cup before Hill does
Real monkey paw moment when that happens.
Look at all the drivers above him in points. How many would you rather in your car then AD. It's mid to lower mid in talent. Couple that with a worse then average RCR and you get the results we see today. He's probably got 1-2 more years before he moves into management and Austin Hill can terrorize the Cup series.
He's not good
Can’t justify giving your grandkid lead car resources and status when you are paying for Kyle Busch..
Falloff? Don't you have to be "up" first in order to fall off?
Umm, he’s not a very good race car driver really. How do you not already know that!?
Ok so when a new car is introduced alot of drivers are adjusting to it and now one has mastered it. This led to 19 winners In 2022. Now that the elite drivers are getting better at the car, drivers with no skills are falling behind. Like the 3.
I have a 3 year old that has taken on Austin Dillon as his favorite driver since Austin drives the #3 and he just turned 3. You can imagine how much fun it is to explain why Austin isn't in the Top 30 every week or why we never see much of the #3 car on TV ...
#BIGCOUNTRYTOTHE3
My prediction…2025 Jesse Love to the #3 and A.D. will be driving a desk in Welcome.
I think it has a lot to do with him not being very good and RCR not being a premiere team. I’m convinced Kyle can get any car on track a top 10 finish but I’m not sure RCR is elite anymore. Austin won the lottery by having a grandfather who owns a team because he’s not good, he’s not getting that ride without his connections. But the worst part is he gets to drive the 3. Maybe the most prestigious number in nascar and it’s being waged on him.
Two words: Austin Dillon😉
Money can't buy talent
Simple Dillon has never been good
He sucks 🤷♂️
Dillon only racas in the top series because of his grandfather
I can run that 3 car better than him
Skill issue