Austin Dillon Driver Bio

Austin Dillon’s racing career began in 2005 in Bandoleros and Legends cars, winning a number of races before moving up to a Dirt Late Model car late in 2006.

He ran more than 30 Dirt Late Model races in 2007, earning three wins, including the All Star Challenge at the Dirt Track at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He finished sixth in his first asphalt Late Model late that year in preparation for a full season of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East Series (now ARCA Menards Series East) in 2008. The grandson of Richard Childress went on to earn Rookie of the Year honors and finished second in the final point standings on the strength of one win and 10 top-10 finishes.

In 2008, he made his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at Richmond International Raceway in September and, in October in just his second series race, earned a fourth-place finish at Memphis Motorsports Park.

In 2011, Dillon won the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series championship at the age of 21. His season consisted of 10 top fives and 16 top-10 finishes, including wins at Nashville Superspeedway and Chicagoland Speedway.

Dillon also made his NASCAR Cup Series debut in 2011, finishing 26th in October at Kansas Speedway.

In 2012, Dillon moved to the Xfinity Series where he won Rookie of the Year honors and challenged for the championship before finishing third – behind Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Elliott Sadler.

Dillon had 16 top-five finishes in 33 starts, winning both races at Kentucky Speedway. He also won three poles, two in Kentucky and the other at Michigan International Speedway.

Dillon started one Cup Series race in 2012, qualifying 22nd and finishing 24th at MIS in June.

Two years after winning the Gander Truck Series championship, Dillon added an Xfinity Series crown to his NASCAR resume. He edged Sam Hornish Jr. by just three points despite going the entire 2013 season without a win. Dillon’s best finish was second three times – at Iowa, Kentucky and Charlotte.

He also made 11 starts in the Cup Series, including two races filling in for the injured Tony Stewart. Dillon’s best finish was 11th in the June race at Michigan International Speedway.

He did find his way to Victory Lane in the Truck Series in 2013, winning the inaugural race on the half-mile dirt oval at Eldora Speedway in Ohio.

Dillon moved up to the Cup Series in 2014 and opened the year by winning the pole for the Daytona 500, earning a spot in the 2015 Advance Auto Parts Clash. He finished ninth in “The Great American Race.”

That was one of just four top 10s he would get in 36 starts, finishing 20th in the final standings and missing a berth in the post-season by 55 points. Dillon finished second to Kyle Larson in the Rookie of the Year race.

After missing the post-season again in 2015, Dillon secured the No. 15 seed in the 2016 playoffs. He was eliminated from title contention in the second round following a ninth-place finish at Talladega Superspeedway.

Dillon placed 14th in the final playoff standings with a best finish of third in the spring race at Talladega. He also won two poles in 2016.

Dillon once again qualified for the playoffs in 2017, as the No. 14 seed, thanks to his first Cup Series victory in May at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Though he was eliminated early from title contention, Dillon finished a career-high 11th in the final standings.

In 2018, Dillon kicked off his Cup Series campaign in grand fashion by winning the Daytona 500. A dramatic finish led to the biggest win in Dillon’s career and his second Cup Series victory. The win put him the playoffs once again and he finished 13th in the final standings.

Dillon failed to make the playoffs in 2019 after he did not record a top-five finish in one season for the first time since becoming a full-time driver in the Cup Series.