Run-in with debris spoils solid run by Ty Dillon

If Austin Dillon found plenty of satisfaction in his fourth-place run in the Consumers Energy 400 at Michigan International Speedway, brother Ty Dillon took nothing but consternation away from the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race.

Ty Dillon was fighting for a spot in the top 20 when he ran over a large piece of debris on the backstretch and went rocketing into the outside wall. Consensus was that the debris was actually a backup battery that had fallen out of another competitor’s car.

“I saw it, but I had nowhere to go,” Dillon said. “We were two-wide there. You can’t really turn your car out of the way quick enough to miss it. I was just hoping it was a glove or something that wouldn’t collect it.”

Dillon knew from the impact that the object was no glove. It punched a hole in the nose of his car.

“As soon as it hit, it was like hitting a wall, and I had no control of the car,” Dillon said. “I just drove it straight at 218 mph into the wall, no brakes, no nothing.

“So, hopefully, NASCAR finds whose piece that was, because that shouldn’t happen in our sport. There shouldn’t be batteries laying on our tracks. Not to tear down, I know a lot of these people have to do a lot to make these cars come to the race track, but things like that can’t happen, because it’s too dangerous at a place like this.”

Greg Engle
About Greg Engle 7421 Articles
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. 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.