"We both will be in Victory Lane soon" - Austin Dillon optimistic of his team's chances this season

Austin Dillon of Richard Childress Racing was in great spirits even though he retired out of last Sunday's Food City Dirt Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

The Welcome, North Carolina native could not see the checkered flag in Bristol due to a mechanical failure.

Richard Childress Racing have been on a fast track to great results this season. While Dillon failed to complete the race, he has multiple top-15 finishes, with the best result in P2 at Fontana earlier this year.

Dillon spoke to track-side media after he retired from last Sunday's race and explained what the issue was. He said:

"Both of our teams were a little worried about our air boxes because we stayed out at the end of Stage 2 instead of pitting. It didn’t work out for the No. 3 team. Too much dirt got into the engine, and we ended up losing the motor."

"It’s unfortunate because our No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/TRACKER Off Road Chevrolet was pretty good. And we had a decent restart before it shut down on me. I’m thankful no one ko’d me there. I fell back so fast that I was waiting for somebody to get me big. I tried to hold it straight. I was just completely out of power."

Tyler Reddick, Dillon's teammate, showed what the car was capable of and led the race after the last restart. However, a late move by Chase Briscoe saw both of them spin out.

Dillon acknowledged his peers' great race and believes he will see the team at Victory Lane sooner rather than later, especially if they maintain their current level of performance. He said:

"I want to congratulate my teammate, Tyler Reddick, on a great race. He drove his butt off, got up there and was good. He didn’t get his win tonight, but if RCR keeps giving us cars like these we both will be in Victory Lane soon."

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Austin Dillon gives his suggestions for next Bristol dirt race

Austin Dillon has had a good 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season so far. Despite his retirement, the 2018 Daytona 500 winner enjoyed racing on the dirt at Bristol Motor Speedway for the Food City Dirt Race.

Notable journalist Bob Pockrass took to Twitter to post a clip from an interview with Dillon, where the 31-year-old gave his recommendations for the dirt race next year. He said:

"I would like to see where it gets more Eldora like it gets black from top to bottom and we can kinda slide and make momentum work."

See the interview below:

Watch out for Austin Dillon in this Sunday's GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.