Photo Credit: Noel Lanier
An injury for one brings forth an opportunity for another as while Tony Stewart continues to heal after breaking his back, Ty Dillon will be behind the wheel of the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet in the Sprint Cup Series.
“First of all, I have to thank Stewart-Haas Racing for the opportunity to be in the 14 car,” Dillon said. “I think everyone wants to see Tony (Stewart) in this car. With those unfortunate circumstances, I was able to be in the car this weekend, which is good for me to get the experience in such great equipment. I can’t thank them enough for the opportunity. It’s an honor to drive the 14 for Tony.”
Stewart is currently on the sidelines after suffering a burst fracture of the L1 vertebrae in after a dune buggy accident in San Diego three weeks ago. Stewart returned to North Carolina in the days following, where he underwent surgery. He was at the track on Friday, walking around and talking to people.
The Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 will mark Dillon’s ninth Cup start and second of the season. He ran this year’s Daytona 500 for Circle Sport – Leavine Family Racing, finishing 25th. Dillon has a career-best finish of 14th in the Sprint Cup Series, which came last season at Michigan International Speedway.
Going into the weekend, though, Dillon says that he has set high expectations for himself as he is the type that always sets his goals high.
“I want to go out there and impress a lot of people and show people what I’m made of and what I can do in these race cars,” he said.
The plan is to simply make the best out of the situation that they’ve been dealt, by having the best run possible. The first key – finishing all of the laps on Sunday, though Dillon adds that with the equipment SHR has, he feels that they should be able to finish on the lead lap in the top-15, with a top-10 being a bonus.
The situation brings forth something new for Dillon though, as throughout his career he has always driven cars for or equipment associated with his grandfather’s organization, Richard Childress Racing. However, Stewart-Haas Racing does not have any ties with RCR as they use Hendrick Motorsports chassis and motors.
“It’s been great and an awesome experience for me,” Dillon said. “It’s helped me grow not just as a driver but as a person and learning how to go about things different. I’m excited for what this brings. It’s definitely a different feeling coming into this weekend but it’s not a worse feeling. It’s really good.”
There have been rumors that Dillon could possibly run more races beyond Atlanta while Stewart heals. Brian Vickers is currently scheduled to be in the car for next weekend’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Beyond that, SHR has yet to release any information about intern driver(s).
“We’ll see. The main focus right now is just here,” Dillon said. “This whole process has been day-to-day. We’ll see but right now we’re going to focus on doing the best we can here in Atlanta and go forward from there.”
