2014 Driver Reviews: No. 20 Austin Dillon

After doing exit interviews for Sprint Cup Series drivers in 2013, we’re turning the tables. We want the drivers to sell themselves. So here are the resumés for all full-time Sprint Cup Series drivers in 2014. Then, at the end, we’ll provide a summation of the driver’s season in 150 words or less.

Name: Austin Dillon

NASCAR Experience: 2011 Camping World Truck Series champion. 2013 Nationwide Series champion. 2015 Sprint Cup Series champion?

Most recent team: Richard Childress Racing

Most recent season finish: 20th

2014 accomplishments: Completed more laps than any other driver in the Cup Series not named Jeff Gordon. Finished fifth at Daytona in July.

Most memorable moment: Winning the pole for the Daytona 500. You can’t forget that the No. 3 was back, could you? And please promise to not tell Ryan Newman about the 500. He’s still happy about finishing second and we don’t want to rehash that.

Strengths: Only Greg Biffle has a shot at a three-peat.

2015 goals: A championship, duh. Look at the pattern. Though a Chase berth would be nice.

FTM’s Take: For the flurry of attention that winning the pole at Daytona received, Dillon settled into relative NASCAR anonymity. And while it was because he didn’t have many super-strong runs, it’s because he was like his teammates. There were few brutally bad ones either. Maybe there’s something in the water at RCR? We should have Carrie Underwood investigate.

No, it’s not realistic that Dillon will win the 2015 title, but if the consistency carries over, there’s no reason for Chase hopes to not exist into August. We’ve seen how avoiding bad finishes can pay off in the Cup Series, and if it’s a skill, Dillon’s showing that he has it.

Previous reviews: No. 21 Paul Menard, No. 22 Brian Vickers, No. 23 Marcos Ambrose, No. 24 Martin Truex Jr., No. 25 Tony Stewart, No. 26 Casey Mears, No. 27 Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 28, Danica Patrick, No. 29, Justin Allgaier, No. 30, David Gilliland, No. 31 Cole Whitt, No. 32 David Ragan, No. 33 Michael Annett, No. 34 Reed Sorenson, No. 35 Alex Bowman