Although he competed in two races, Austin Dillon had just one scheduled start in the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series a year ago, as the second start came as the replacement for the suspended Austin Hill.
This season, he once again had just one O'Reilly Series race on his schedule, and that race was the race at Texas Motor Speedway earlier this month, which he finished in 23rd.
It marked just the second time this season that Richard Childress Racing, which field the No. 2 Chevrolet full-time for reigning series champion Jesse Love and the No. 21 Chevrolet full-time for Hill, fielded a third car in the series.
This weekend, they are set to do so again.
Austin Dillon replacement confirmed for Texas
The first time the team fielded their third car, they used the No. 33, rather than the No. 3 they used for Dillon at Texas, and the fielded that car for Garrett Mitchell, better known as Cleetus McFarland, at Rockingham Speedway in early April. Mitchell finished 32nd in his series debut.
This weekend at Nashville Superspeedway, the No. 33 has returned, as Mitchell is set to make his second career O'Reilly Series start.
He had initially aimed to compete in the race at Talladega Superspeedway in late April, but NASCAR did not approve him to run that race and instead mandated that he run at least a handful of races on intermediate tracks first.
With Nashville being a four-turn, 1.333-mile (2.145-kilometer) oval, despite its "Superspeedway" name, Mitchell was approved to compete at this track, and the race is set to mark his first appearance in the series on a track longer than one mile; Rockingham is a four-turn, 0.94-mile (1.513-kilometer) track.
Beyond this weekend, Mitchell does not have any more O'Reilly Series starts confirmed for 2026, although depending on how the Nashville race goes, it would not be surprising to see that change.
The third RCR car does not currently have any other drivers lined up to drive it this year either, which could open the door for more opportunities for him in the near future.
The CW Network's live coverage of the Sports Illustrated Resorts 250 is set to begin at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, May 30. Start a free trial of FuboTV today and don't miss any of the action from Nashville Superspeedway!
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