Looking to contend for the championship this season in the XFINITY Series, Ty Dillon would start off his season on a strong note by finishing third in the Alert Today Florida 300.
“I’m proud of our third-place finish, but I’m frustrated we didn’t win,” he commented afterwards. “We’re fully focused on winning races and winning championships. While third place is great, I’m going to keep that ‘want to win’ attitude.”
Dillon didn’t have an easy day at it, though, as he had to make his way to the front of the field after starting near the back. However, he made that look easy by taking the lead early in the going.
Now having put himself in position, Dillon contended for the win throughout, leading laps and pulling lines to the front. The close running up front did cause a slight problem for Dillon as he would get into the wall a little bit during one of the wrecks, but was able to get the repairs necessary and get back up to the front.
“We wanted to get out front,” he shared his plan for the day. “Best place to miss wrecks. Got shuffled to the back. Me, Kyle and Elliott were stuck at the bottom right before the big one. You could see it coming. Guys being too aggressive in the wrong spots, bumping each other through the tri-oval with 30 to go. We all kind of drug the brakes back. Got out of the pack. You could see it was coming.
“I think that’s when all the carnage started happening. Then we worked our way back through the field.”
His strong run can be attributed to his never-give-up attitude, and how aggressively Dillon raced through the pack all afternoon.
“I’m aggressive all the time, no matter what. That’s what’s got me to where I am. It’s what’s won me the races that I have. That’s what got me to third tonight I feel like,” he shared. “I’m going to keep my attitude the same way. I’m a guy that tries to win every lap. I want to do that. I’m going to keep my attitude. If you win races, the points will come.
“Here and there we might make mistakes by being aggressive, but we’ll win more races than make mistakes.”
With the third place finish behind him, Dillon feels that this is just the start of something special this season for him and Richard Childress Racing.
“Our cars are awesome. This is just a taste of what I feel like we’re going to bring to the racetrack all year,” he commented. “I’m excited to get to Atlanta, to places where the driver can make a difference. The hard work that goes into these racecars, you can make more of a difference.”
He added that while the third place equals a good start to the year, he’s ready to get winning some races as that’s where they’re going to stack up more points.
