As the wins glow brightly this NASCAR season, the losses are equally prominent. And one of the former most thriving Cup Series teams is caught right in the thick of it – Richard Childress Racing. For the past few races, the spotlight has been on Kyle Busch for all the wrong reasons. But his teammate isn’t earning any brownie points either!

Currently, Austin Dillon is 32nd in the points standings and is mired in a deep slump. Dillon’s ongoing misery has prompted fans to draw up a theory. He may be the reason behind the downfall of a significant sponsor group.

Is Austin Dillon possibly ‘the ugly duckling’?

The Coca-Cola Racing Family features a select group of NASCAR drivers. The common factor uniting them is the sparkling Coca-Cola stamp on their cars as their official sponsor. As an official sparkling beverage partner since 1998, this elite group previously featured some Cup heavyweights like Bill Elliott, Todd Bodine, Jeff Burton, Dale Earnhardt, Bobby Labonte, Steve Park, Kyle Petty, and Ricky Rudd. Yet in recent years, the same group, now featuring the newer generation, has dwindled in terms of size, in sync with Richard Childress‘ falling wins.

The Coca-Cola went through several upheavals since 2017 – that year the group consisted of Austin Dillon, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Ryan Newman, Danica Patrick, Daniel Suarez, and Bubba Wallace. But Patrick left after 2017 to be replaced by Kyle Larson, who also left in 2020. Wallace also packed his bags as 23XI roped in Dr. Pepper as his sponsor. In 2018, the Coke family went off the grid. Chase Elliott was inducted in 2023, mainly because the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports team lacked sponsorship from a drink brand following Adrenaline Shoc’s departure.

That makes us think – why is the Coca-Cola Racing Family so silent? Hamlin is brilliant this season, owning three victories, and Elliott also reigns the points grid with one win and a spectacular race showing. Logano is slowly carving his way to the top, while Suarez is in the mid-pack with a single win. But the only driver displaying a huge disparity is Richard Childress’ grandson. Austin Dillon owns just two top-tens this season, mostly finishing outside the top-25 in races.

This is a far cry from his 2017 victory in Charlotte when he won Coca-Cola’s premier Cup race. That victory marked the 34-year-old’s first Cup win and also the No. 3’s first win since October 2000, when Dale Earnhardt won at Talladega. So Dillon oozed with pride to be able to represent the same car: “I love trying to represent it, and I think the fans that I do have love to see it out there and I enjoy that.” 

However, the tides have changed. NASCAR fans have reached the other end of the spectrum for Dillon on Reddit.

NASCAR fans slam Dillon for Coke’s silence 

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Of course, Coca-Cola still has a dominating presence in NASCAR. The crown jewel Coca-Cola 600 race is still a tremendous crowd puller, as this year’s dramatic rain-battered finish drew a lot of controversy. Yet, the same cannot be said about the Coca-Cola Racing Family, which has not whispered for over a year. And the NASCAR community drew a harsh take on this, blaming Richard Childress’ family. One fan savagely teased Dillon’s faltering performance as the reason for Coke’s silence. “Probably because they don’t want to remind us Austin Dillon is a Coke driver.”

Notably, the brand’s website still notes NASCAR as a sport and entertainment partner on their website: “Our long-term partnership with NASCAR runs through the 2023 season. Additionally, we are proud to be represented by our Coca‑Cola Racing Family, an annual partnership with top drivers that represents the best of NASCAR racing.” Additionally, if you take a look at the ‘Coca Cola Racing’ X handle, the brand is anything but quiet when it comes to its drivers, who retweets and posts.

Yet, other stock car racing enthusiasts joined this blame game with some hilarious jabs at the No. 3 driver. Another fan added to the previous take, further bashing Dillon’s ability as a driver. “Probably because they don’t want to remind us Austin Dillon is a  driver. Fixed it for you. Happy Cake Day!” Somebody else took it up a notch, a little excessively, actually. “Probably because they don’t want to remind us Austin Dillon is . Fixed it even further.” The original trendsetter agreed with both: “Guys, guys. You’re BOTH right.”

This is not the first time that Dillon has come under fire. Conversations about nepotism has always been at the forefront when it comes to the Dillon brothers. And who can forget the infamous rant by Kevin Harvick calling out RCR, just one year before jumping ships to Stewart-Haas Racing?

“Exactly the reason why I’m leaving RCR because you’ve got those kids coming up, and they’ve got no respect for what they do in this sport and they’ve had everything fed to them with a spoon,” he said about Austin Dillon’s brother Ty Dillon, pointing out the probable favoritism culture going on within the team. Rare instances like these do provide a glimpse into what might actually be going on behind closed doors.

As for the Reddit criticism treain, one NASCAR bug analyzed the Coca-Cola Racing Family photo featuring all five drivers. And the negative end of their analysis inevitably touched upon Richard Childress’ grandson. “What a weird group of drivers. 3 of the 8 or so best drivers in the sport. A midpack driver, and Austin Dillon who is just….bleh.” Somebody else took a funny angle, emphasizing Dillon’s height difference. “The real question is how much closer to the camera is Austin than Joey to make up for the almost foot of height difference 🤣”

Evidently, Richard Childress’ fold is struggling to keep up this season. Austin Dillon and Kyle Busch would keep receiving raps for bad performance unless they thought of a fast solution.