"That's our main focus": Austin Dillon puts Kyle Busch and Richard Childress ahead of Daytona glory for himself

Kyle Busch heads to Daytona in a must-win situation to advance to the playoffs. Busch, who last tasted a Cup win back at Gateway in 2023, is going through the worst win drought of his career. Currently, he's 19th in the standings.

But while he's in a must-win situation, his teammate, Austin Dillon, has already secured his playoff berth with a win at Richmond. And heading into Daytona, Dillon is determined to make sure he's not the only RCR driver who makes it through the regular season.

"It's a game changer for RCR if we get two cars in the playoffs and just flips the whole momentum of where we're at as a company. So yeah, I'll be helping all I can and my little brother's out there too trying to help him some," Dillon said of Kyle Busch.

When asked how much it would mean financially for RCR to have two teams in the playoffs, Austin Dillon said this is what they do it for. He recalled how, at every Christmas luncheon at RCR, Richard Childress looks back on 'a good year but not a great year.'

Dillon said he's 'tired' of that and wants to make this season a great one for his grandfather. He claimed both cars getting into the playoffs and both getting a win would not only be helpful in that, but it would 'flip everything' in a big way.

When asked how he feels about entering the final race of the season without needing a win, Austin Dillon said:

"It's pretty exciting. I mean, just getting to enjoy it and come into it knowing, we get to go run in the playoffs. I mean, it's only one week of relaxation because we're going right back to competition. I mean, if you want a trophy, Daytona is so special to win at and I mean, I'd be remiss to say I want it for my guys if we have a shot this weekend, but I know if the #8's there, that's our main focus. So, trying to get another RCR car in."

The #3 driver touched on being trustworthy on the track for Kyle Busch, where he wouldn't pull out at 'the inopportune time' and to give his teammate room to make his moves. As for fuel mileage, Dillon mentioned he'll be taking the brunt of burning the fuel while Busch can save behind him.

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Kyle Busch not feeling the pressure of a must-win situation for playoffs

Despite being in a must-win situation in order to make it to the playoffs, Kyle Busch recently ruled out being under pressure. He admitted that while time is running out, the pressure isn't any greater for him.

"It’s just a matter of being able to get it done and right now is the best time, you know, so you can go try to prepare for a championship," Kyle Busch mentioned.

He emphasized that he's not 'stressed out' about it. Busch said the #8 team enters every race with a mindset of winning it. But he also admitted that they haven't put themselves in a position to win a race yet.

So far this season, his best finishes have been a couple of 5th place finishes at COTA and Chicago Street race. Other than that, Busch has had no top 5s and only five top 10s.