Dillon’s history leads to good feelings

Ty Dillon is searching for his first win in the NASCAR Camping World Trucks Series. A successful history at Iowa Speedway provides a boost of confidence heading in to the American Ethanol 200 on Saturday.

“I’ve got a good feeling about this weekend,” Dillon said. “You’ve got to have confidence coming in here after the good runs and success that we’ve had here.”

Dillon, who is tied for second in overall points trailing Peters by only four, won the ARCA Series Prairie Meadows 200 last year and was second in the 2010 ARCA race. Older brother, Austin Dillon, won the NCWTS race at Iowa Speedway in the same black Chevrolet No. 3 truck for their grandfather’s Richard Childress Racing in 2010. The younger Dillon said the track fits their driving style, and they will share notes.

“Last year and the years before I was watching the practices, spending every moment with him while he was here racing,” Dillon said. “I’m sure after practice I’ll be calling him and make sure to see the things I have to learn and the different things I can tell him I’m learning now.”

Dillon expects some of his old tricks from his NASCAR K&N Pro Series and ARCA performances at the 0.875-mile oval to transfer to trucks competition.

“I will probably have to drive a little bit harder with these trucks. They have so much downforce and that big windshield,” Dillon said. “I’m sure I’ll have to tweak the driving style a little bit, but little things I’ve always used here at this race track will probably stay the same.”

A trip to Victory Lane is the one thing the front-runner for Sunoco Rookie of the Year is missing. He has top-10 finishes in all eight starts this season, and two at the end of last year give him 10 in 11 starts. He said he’d give his team a “C” grade since they are in the top three of a heated points race; a jump to first or second would garner an “A” or “B,” respectively.

“My approach is to win races,” Dillon said. “You have to finish the race to win it, so if we finish it my team’s good enough to finish in the top 10, but we need to be able to win them to win the championship.”