NXS: 2015 NASCAR XFINITY Series Preview – Ty Dillon

Following a solid rookie season in the NASCAR XFINITY Series, Ty Dillon is back to run the schedule once again.

Looking Back at 2014

For a rookie season, you could say that the 2014 campaign was a success for Ty Dillon. A rookie is supposed to go out there and run all the laps they can, learning as much as they can. Dillon did just that as he completed 97.8% of the laps over the course of the 33 races. But he wasn’t simply just completing laps, but rather being a top-10 contender. Dillon would score seven top-fives and 24 top-10s over the course of the 2014 season en route to finishing fifth in points. For a rookie, that’s rather impressive and higher than normal intended goals. All in all, give the season a solid grade.

He also was able to pick up his first career victory – Indianapolis – which just adds to how well the season went for him. The victory is huge as the track is well known for it’s prestige and value in racing. Some drivers just crave for a victory, some drivers crave to win at one of the historic venues – Dillon now doesn’t have to go the rest of career asking for either those things as that goal is already marked complete.

Looking Ahead to 2015

Now with his rookie season under his belt, it’s time for Dillon to go out and win the championship. He has the experience on his side and he’s had a string of solid runs so he has what it takes to do it. The key will be putting that consistency together over the course of the year, and continuing to put himself in contention near the front of the field.

Being able to do that may be tough, though, as Richard Childress Racing hasn’t shown the performance to match that of Team Penske, Joe Gibbs Racing and JR Motorsports. To be successful, Dillon and Danny Stockman will have to close the gap in finding what RCR is missing versus their competitors. It will prove to not be the easiest journey, though, with losing one of their key leaders in the form of Brian Scott’s crew chief Phil Gould. Gould will now be working with Elliott Sadler at Roush Fenway Racing.

Richard Childress Racing has proven that they can get it done before in XFINITY, and is a proven champion. With that said, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Dillon was the champion at season’s end.