Austin Dillon Salvages 16th-Place Finish at Bristol

NASCAR XFINITY Series – Drive to Stop Diabetes 300
April 18, 2015 – Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol TN

Austin Dillon and the No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet team finished 16th at Bristol Motor Speedway after being involved in an incident on pit road in the early stages of the Drive to Stop Diabetes 300. Dillon started the 300-lap affair from the third position and raced as high as second in the first 50 laps. The Richard Childress Racing driver reported to the Rheem team he was too loose in the exit of the turns. A caution on lap 58 slowed the field and crew chief Nick Harrison called Dillon to pit road for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment. As Dillon was exiting his pit stall, he made contact with another competitor and received right-side damage. Dillon returned to pit road the following lap to repair the damage on the No. 33 Rheem Chevrolet and returned to the racing surface in 17th-place. Dillon worked through traffic and was scored in the ninth position on lap 130. Dillon radioed to the No. 33 team on lap 135 he felt a tire going down. The team pitted under green-flag conditions on the following lap for right-side tires. Dillon returned to pit road one lap later for the team to work on the right-rear fender to alleviate any additional tire rub. After his visits to pit road, Dillon was 26th and four laps down to the leaders. In the last 50 laps of the race, Dillon gained one of his laps back and improved his position to 16th before crossing the finish line.

It was a tough day for Rheem team, but I’m really proud of them. We got hit on pit road and had a right-rear tire rub, but we were still fast enough to battle back to a decent finish. These guys worked hard and kept their heads up today. We’ll go get them next weekend in Richmond. – Austin Dillon

Start – 3, Finish – 16, Laps Led – 0, Owner’s Points – 7