To Dillon the rock is a memorable place

 

Growing up near a landmark, such as Rockingham Speedway, that provides racing fans with many memorable moments is certainly something to be treasured.

And Ty Dillon certainly does.

“I remember going with my grandfather [Richard Childress] when I was really young, just riding up the day before the race in his Corvette, spending a full day with him at the race track and really learning about racing back in the day when Dale Earnhardt was driving, and it was always a great time when Rockingham came around,” said Dillon.

Instead of going to the races as a guest of his grandfather, these days Dillon is racing around the race track as the driver of the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing.

Dillon, who is currently eighth in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series standings (28 points behind Johnny Sauter), will have the chance to compete with 35 other drivers in Sunday afternoon’s North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at The Rock Presented by Cheerwine (2:00 p.m. ET, SPEED).

The truck race is the second in as many years at Rockingham, after taking an extended break from hosting NASCAR national touring series events. Prior to last year’s truck event, the last time the one-mile track hosted such an event was in February 2004, when both the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series competed there.    

In last year’s race, Dillon finished eighth after starting 12th. Among last year’s Truck regulars in the race, he ran all 200 laps in the top 15 and had the sixth highest driver rating (96.5). The event was won by NASCAR Sprint Cup regular Kasey Kahne.

After two races in 2013, Dillon has a 6th-place finish at Daytona and an 18th in last weekend’s race at Martinsville.