
USA Today via Reuters
Feb 16, 2022; Daytona, FL, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Austin Dillon (3) during qualifying for the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

USA Today via Reuters
Feb 16, 2022; Daytona, FL, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Austin Dillon (3) during qualifying for the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
Earlier at the Eldora Speedway, the penultimate round of the SRX Series wrapped up. Tony Stewart returned to winning ways in the feature race, ahead of a delighted Hailie Deegan taking her first Top 3 finish. Meanwhile, championship leader Ryan Newman was in third, ahead of Bobby Labonte. However, one of the big stories was the nightmare debut of Richard Childress Racing driver, Austin Dillon.
The Richard Childress Racing star broke down what went wrong
Austin Dillon was running in the heat race when he encountered a mechanical issue on Lap 9. As it happened, his radiator hose broke and the car skidded straight into the outside wall. As if that wasn’t bad enough, it triggered a multi-car crash that knocked out five cars. Among the victims were Matt Kenseth, Tony Kanaan, Marco Andretti, and Hailie Deegan.
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Speaking with Matt Weaver after the race, Dillon said, “I can show you the lower radiator hose first. It’s in place, don’t know why it did that I have barely see it like that. You can see right here. Hose just burst. I don’t know what the plan is. That was a hard hit! The engine, I think, is actually fine, doubt the car is. It was pretty hard, we’ll look at it and see. Might be able to put a hose on now.”
WATCH THIS STORY: Dillon Slams Kyle Busch’s Bitter Rival’s “Desperation” That Stopped Him From Helping His Teammate Win Daytona 500
With the help of Weaver’s camera footage, fans got to see the car’s engine. They also got a chance to see what went wrong with Dillon’s #33 machine. In all honesty, it was interesting to see what made the SRX car tick and see what engine it used, compared to NASCAR.
Austin Dillon literally takes us, via my phone, under the hood to show us what happened to his car to start that wreck pic.twitter.com/EdTPn1vgbJ
— Matt Weaver (@MattWeaverRA) August 11, 2023
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Austin Dillon did not compete in the feature race
Sadly, that would be the last that anyone saw of him at the Eldora Speedway. As it turned out, the damage was too great, and as a part-time driver he was not able to hop in a backup car. Since Andretti and Deegan were full-time drivers, they were given a higher priority on the backup car front.

via Imago
LOUDON, NH – JULY 17: Austin Dillon 3 Richard Childress Racing Bass Pro Shops Club Chevrolet acknowledges the crowd during driver introductions prior to the NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Cup Series Crayon 301 on July 17, 2023, at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, NH. Photo by Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire AUTO: JUL 17 NASCAR Cup Series Crayon 301 EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon23071778301
While all that was happening, an oblivious Tony Stewart dominated the race weekend. This inches him closer to championship leader Ryan Newman. However, with one race remaining, does it mean that Newman has clinched the championship? All the signs do point in that direction, as there is a 39-point gap between him and Stewart. With 49 points up for grabs, Tony Stewart needs to sweep the race weekend and Newman does not score more than 10 points.
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