“I want to be a contender”: Austin Dillon cites Denny Hamlin’s career as a guide for his own amid future within RCR

Austin Dillon shared his thoughts about continuing his journey with Richard Childress Racing. When asked if he would prefer to be an official rather than a driver within the team, Dillon said that he wanted to be a "contender" the same way as Denny Hamlin.

Speaking to Corey LaJoie on the recent Stacking Pennies podcast, Dillon shared his thoughts about racing in NASCAR and how life at RCR looked. While he was discussing his career, he was asked if he would prefer to lead the company at some point by coming out of the driver's seat.

Replying to it, Dillon stated that he wanted to dominate the sport the way Denny Hamlin did in the last few years when it comes to race wins. Hamlin, coming into 2025, won four races, the highest for a Cup Series driver this season. Speaking about it, here's what the RCR driver said:

"I think, right now I think the team and I've been bragging about a lot the team that we've built is probably the best team that I've been a part of. I feel that way. So if we can't go out and compete, you know, the rest of this year, the next year, we got to think about, you know, we got to think about what that direction is for me."

"I want to be a contender. Dang, that wind felt really good at those things change things. I mean, I remember looking at Denny's career a couple years back when he had a winless season or two and then he comes out and wins I don't know however many he's won since then. So, it's just where I can best suit the company and help from RCR," Dillon further added. (33:40-34-30)

Austin Dillon is a full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver who drives the #3 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing, a team owned by his grandfather, Richard Childress. He is the son of Mike Dillon, who works as RCR's General Manager. As a result, there is a high probability that Dillon might end up as an official once he retires as a driver.

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How is Austin Dillon performing in 2025?

Currently, Austin Dillon is in 25th place in the regular season championship with 460 points after 25 races. He won the recently concluded Cook Out 400 at the Richmond Raceway last weekend and qualified for the playoffs.

Austin Dillon (3) celebrates in victory lane after winning the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway. - Source: Imagn

Besides this, the driver from Welcome, North Carolina, has a Top 5 and five Top 10s to his name, along with 115 lead laps. Dillon's average start position has been 19.84, and his average finish position has been 19.88.

By winning at Richmond last weekend, Austin Dillon was able to redeem his fate from last year. It was the time when the RCR driver won the race at the same track last year, but did not get to qualify for the playoffs after NASCAR disqualified him for wrecking Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin on the way to the Checkered Flag.