NASCAR: 10 small-team drivers who deserve Danica Patrick’s ride
By Asher Fair
#2 – Ty Dillon, Germain Racing, No. 13 Chevrolet
As a NASCAR Cup Series rookie driving for Germain Racing this season, Ty Dillon, 25, has flown under the radar, especially with rookies Erik Jones and Daniel Suarez becoming regular contenders to win races. But of the small-team drivers, of which most are listed in this article, he is the highest in the championship standings out of all of them up in 23rd place, which is five spots higher than Danica Patrick’s position, and she drives for a top-tier organization in Stewart-Haas Racing.
Dillon has driven in 41 career Cup Series races, 23 of which this season. In the 2014 and 2015 seasons, he drove some races for Richard Childress Racing. Last season, he drove some races for Leavine Family Racing and Stewart-Haas Racing. While he has yet to finish a race in the top 10, he has consistently brought his car home in one piece, which is impressive given the fact that he drives for just a one-car team.
So far in his 41-race Cup Series career, he has failed to finish just three races, with two of those DNF’s coming this season. In the 21 of 23 races that he has finished so far this season, he has finished in the top 20 on 15 different occasions, which is impressive for a rookie, especially given the fact that he is driving for Germain Racing.
In several races, including those at Talladega, Dover and Daytona, he has been a factor late to potentially earn his first career victory. But despite establishing himself as a race contender, he hasn’t been able to pull through yet and has only finished as high as 13th place at Talladega.
Still, for Dillon, a rookie who has finished no higher than 13th place in a race, to be five spots higher than Patrick in the championship standings driving for Germain Racing while she drives for Stewart-Haas Racing is very telling, and it shows that he deserves to drive for a top-tier team such as Stewart-Haas Racing more so than she does.