NASCAR Cup Series: 5 drivers who will regress in 2021
By Konner Metz
Drivers who will regress in 2021 – Austin Dillon
The 2020 season saw Austin Dillon have one of his best seasons yet at the Cup Series level. He ended up in 11th place in the championship standings, won his third career race at Texas Motor Speedway and put up a career-high in laps led (135).
Crew chief Justin Alexander returns on top of the pit box for Dillon in 2021. The two have proven to be a successful match at Richard Childress Racing, especially following last year’s playoff berth.
Richard Childress Racing, though, have struggled greatly with consistency from season to season, and last year’s surface-level statistics do not tell the entire story.
Dillon had an average finish of 16.2 in 2020, which was 15th best among all full-time drivers. Both he and teammate Tyler Reddick only managed nine top 10 finishes, which translates to a mediocre 25% top 10 rate (slightly higher for Dillon since he missed one race with COVID-19).
Had it not been for Dillon’s Texas win thanks to astute race strategy, the #3 team would have missed the cut for the playoffs. If a similar win does not occur in 2021, it could be a tough road to qualify for the playoffs via points.
Drivers joining new organizations, such as Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson, could push the driver of the #3 Chevrolet further down the standings. The aforementioned sophomore class alongside Bell could also pose problems for Dillon in terms of making the playoffs.
More importantly, though, Dillon and the entire Richard Childress organization need to show better race pace in 2021. A lot of their 2020 success stemmed from good fortune and opportunity, and while it was an impressive campaign, it is unlikely to be duplicated.