Austin Dillon's NASCAR Cup Series contract status with Richard Childress Racing, the team owned by his grandfather Richard Childress, is seemingly always considered "uncertain", but it is pretty much understood that he will be in the No. 3 Chevrolet for as long as he wants to keep driving.
Dillon, a past Daytona 500 and Coca-Cola 600 winner, has been with the team at the Cup level since 2014, and now a return has been confirmed for 2026, albeit as a part of another driver's contract extension.
Teammate Kyle Busch, who was without a contract for 2026, recently signed a contract extension with Richard Childress Racing to continue driving the No. 8 Chevrolet, ending the speculation that he could end up reuniting with Toyota at 23XI Racing.
Richard Childress Racing lineup full for 2026
And in the team's news release about the extension, it was noted that the two-time Cup Series champion is set to continue competing alongside Dillon.
It also mentions that the team plan to continue operating as a two-car team, indicating that they have no plans on expanding back to a three-car full-time effort for the first time since 2017.
The confirmation solidifies their two seats for 2026 and removes one potential landing spot from any pending free agent's list of possibilities.
There was speculation last summer that, with Stewart-Haas Racing looking to sell three charters, they could be a potential buyer and expand back to three cars, but it never came to fruition.
The team do still run the No. 33 Chevrolet on occasion and have entered it a few times already this season for Austin Hill and Jesse Love, their two full-time Xfinity Series drivers. Hill has made one start and has four more planned, while Love has made two and has one more planned.