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With the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series approaching, Austin Dillon from Richard Childress Racing looked back at a challenging 2023 season, during an exclusive interview with Bob Pockrass of Fox Sports.
The experienced driver reflected on 2023 as a nightmarish season of setbacks and disappointments. He said:
"Last year was a struggle."
Dillon identified the L1 penalty at Martinsville as a turning point for his 2023 race season as it affected his momentum and contributed to a difficult period afterwards. He said:
"After Martinsville (...) we had a lot of wrecks and different things happen, more DNF's I think than I've ever had in my career."
Determined to get back to winning ways, the former Daytona 500 champion said:
"The biggest thing for us is just to try to bump up there a couple more spots, because litteraly the way it works is if you're in the top ten and you have a good pit stop in those races, you can win."
The new season promises redemption for Dillon and Richard Childress Racing as they seek a fresh start. He said:
"The biggest thing is it’s a new year 2024 and not 2023. So 2023 was rough, new number of the year and so just looking forward to getting momentum started early and carrying it throughout the year."
In spite of the challenges, Austin Dillon is still determined to return and refocus for the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season.
Austin Dillon's challenging 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season
The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series turned out to be a dissapointing one for Austin Dillon. Heading into the season with great expectations, Dillon driving for Richard Childress Racing felt that he could continue to build on the team’s momentum after they signed Kyle Busch.
However, Dillon only managed to finish 29th in the Cup standings. The driver of RCR’s N.3 struggled to find his way on oval tracks and superspeedways, with a single top-five finish and seven top-tens. His average finishing position of 21.8 was a reflection of the struggles that Dillon had in the season as a whole.
The 2023 season took a downturn for Dillon after a major penalty in Martinsville. This penalty played a major role in his disappointing performance, leading to 10 DNFs.
Amidst the gloom, Austin Dillon did have a moment of glory with the third-place finish at Bristol Dirt that showed his strength on unconventional tracks. However, this could not mask his overall struggles on oval tracks.
