NASCAR: Kaz Grala to replace Austin Dillon at Daytona
By Asher Fair
Kaz Grala is set to replace Austin Dillon at Richard Childress Racing for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at the Daytona International Speedway road course.
Following Austin Dillon’s positive test for COVID-19, which will force him to miss his first NASCAR Cup Series race since becoming a full-time driver back in 2014, Richard Childress Racing announced that Kaz Grala is set to replace him behind the wheel of the #3 Chevrolet in tomorrow afternoon’s race at the Daytona International Speedway road course.
Grala has never competed in a Cup Series race before, but fortunately for him, nobody else in the field has competed in any NASCAR race at this particular track either.
The first lap of Sunday afternoon’s 65-lap Go Bowling 235 will be his first around the 14-turn, 3.61-mile (5.810-kilometer) road course in Daytona Beach, Florida, and it will be everyone else’s as well.
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The 21-year-old Boston, Massachusetts native has competed part-time for Richard Childress’s team in the Xfinity Series since last year, and he has had his most success in the road course races.
While he has finished no higher than 13th place in five oval events, he recorded two top five finishes in races at Road America (fifth in 2019 and fourth in 2020).
Grala also finished in third place in the Truck Series race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park back in September of 2017 driving for GMS Racing, and he finished in eighth in the inaugural Xfinity Series race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval back in September of 2018 driving for Fury Race Cars.
He released a video wishing Dillon well and discussing his opportunity to make his Cup Series debut.
I wish @AustinDillon3 a speedy recovery while I keep his seat warm this weekend in the No. 3 American Ethanol Chevrolet. I hope to make everyone @RCRracing proud during these unfortunate circumstances. pic.twitter.com/a9QNKDBege
— Kaz Grala (@KazGrala) August 15, 2020
As Grala noted, fortunately Dillon has only experienced mild symptoms, and his wife Whitney and son Ace remain symptom-free.
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Tune in to NBC at 3:00 p.m. ET for the live broadcast of the inaugural Go Bowling 235 from the Daytona International Speedway road course.