SPARTA, Ky. –Although the NASCAR XFINITY Series cars are markedly different from Sprint Cup cars in terms of their respective rules packages, Austin Dillon feels seat time in Friday night’s Alsco 300 XFINITY race will prove invaluable in Saturday night’s Quaker State 400.
“I definitely do,” said Dillon, who has two victories in four XFINITY starts at the 1.5-mile track. “When you get in a car and can get used to running fast right off the bat… because Turn 1 is really fast right now.
“With all that grip (on the repaved surface), you’re carrying a ton of speed and running through the center of the corner with a lot of momentum.
Dillon didn’t participate in the June 13-14 organization test at Kentucky (Paul Menard represented Richard Childress Racing), but he found another way to get a head start on his competition by practicing and running the XFINITY car.
“That will help me once I run that Xfinity car to know what I can do in my Cup car,” Dillon said. “It might take the guys that haven’t seen (the track) or haven’t tested 30 extra minutes or 45 minutes to get comfortable with that corner (Turns 3 and 4), where I will be able to go to work and maybe have that 25-to-30 minute advantage on them and hopefully be able to carry that throughout the weekend.
“Definitely hope it’s the advantage I think it is. Not only that – it’s just good for me to be prepared when I get in that Cup car to be ready to go.”
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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