Ty Dillon remains determined to be a NASCAR Cup Series competitor despite the news he will not return to Petty GMS Motorsports after this season.
Dillon and the team announced their mutual separation on Friday afternoon ahead of this weekend’s race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (Sunday, 3 p.m. ET, USA Network). Petty GMS brought Dillon back to the Cup Series to drive No.42 Chevrolet at the start of this year after he lost his full-time ride at the end of the 2020 season.
Dillon is 27th in the standings with one top-10 finish. Once he completes his tenure with Petty GMS, he’ll have five years of full-time Cup Series experience.
“First of all, I want to thank Maury Gallagher and Richard Petty for giving me the opportunity this year,” Dillon told NBC Sports during Xfinity Series qualifying. “You hate for a relationship to end so soon, not even halfway into your first season together, but I’m not going to waste my time thinking about things that could have happened.
“I’m excited for my future. I see this as a bridge to what’s next. It might not be today, it might not be next month, this year, but I will win races in the Cup Series. I will win championships.
“You’re going to have to put a straitjacket on me and tie me down to keep me from working hard to accomplish that dream. I know in my heart I can do it. The next opportunity is going to be right around the corner, and I’m going to work hard.”
After running select Cup Series races between 2014 and 2016, Dillon earned a full-time ride at Germain Racing in 2017. He moved to the premier level after three consecutive years in the Xfinity Series, where he finished top five in points each year and won at Indianapolis (2014). Before that, Dillon won three races in the Camping World Truck Series, finishing fourth and second in the series standings in 2012 and ’13.
Dillon is pulling double duty at New Hampshire this weekend. In addition to his Petty GMS ride, Dillon qualified 17th for Big Machine Racing.
The the call to race the No.48 Chevrolet was perfect timing, in a way – Dillon plans on using the weekend to help boost his resume now that he’s back on the job hunt.
“I did a lot of things in my younger years in the Xfinity Series and the Truck Series to get where I got in Cup, and I think it’s time to show people again that I can win just like anybody else,” he said. “It’s been a tough road the last five or six years. I’m grinding hard, I’m working hard, and I’ll never give up on my dream.”