Dillon Brothers Two-Step up Racing Career Ladder

Posted Wednesday, February 1; Source - NASCAR Communications

Austin (left) and Ty (right) Dillon with grandfather Richard Childress...
(photo, Nov 2011 - Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Special to NASCAR Wire Service

Austin and Ty Dillon don't claim to have a sibling rivalry, but there is some element of competition in their bloodlines. There's also little coincidence that their career arcs have strikingly similar parallels.

Austin, 21, will jump to the NASCAR Nationwide Series this season, one year removed from becoming the youngest champion in the history of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Ty, who will turn 20 the day after the Feb. 26 Daytona 500 (FOX, 1 p.m. ET), will be taking his older brother's place in the truck series, fresh from an impressive march to the ARCA series title in 2011.

Both are champions, both are moving up, both will campaign the famed No. 3. But does one brother have an advantage over another? It depends on who you ask.

"So far, I've got more wins, so me, and I'm always going to say me," Ty Dillon says with a wink. "That's the answer to that question, but I believe in my brother, too. It's the both of us right now; it's more about the Dillon name succeeding in NASCAR."

True enough, Ty claimed a 7-2 margin over his brother in the win column after last season, a point Austin readily concedes.

"Ty is his own guy, you know. To me, he kind of creates his own identity with the way he likes to drive," Austin Dillon said. "We work together well; we push each other tremendously, so it's nice having a very talented brother to make you want to do your best each and every week."

As they make the leap up the ladder this season, both Dillons will lean on each other as resources on a Richard Childress Racing team laden with them. But two more generations of family will also have their eye on the farm -- father Mike Dillon is the RCR general manager and their grandfather is the legendary owner and team namesake.

Advancing deeper into the ranks of NASCAR's top three national series may seem like pretty heady stuff for two relatively young drivers, but based on their reactions to questions on last week's NASCAR Sprint Media Tour presented by Charlotte Motor Speedway, they seem unfazed by any perception of pressure.

"I try not to think about it too much," Ty Dillon said. "I focus on my main goal, which is winning races and fighting for a championship. I've been given the greatest opportunity in the world to drive for my family, which is an awesome organization in RCR."

For his part, Austin Dillon isn't treating his transition as a millstone around his neck, either.

"There's always pressure in whatever you do, but it's how you handle it and if you take advantage of it," he said. "I think, in my situation, I like pressure. I feel like pressure makes you rise to the occasion most of the time. The more you have, you have to go out and do something about it or handle it the right way."