Ty Dillon confirms talks to drive Tony Stewart’s car at Atlanta
DAYTONA BEACH, Florida – Ty Dillon said Tuesday that he could possibly replace Tony Stewart in the No. 14 car for the second race of the season.
According to multiple reports, Dillon is lined up to be the driver of the car after the Daytona 500. Brian Vickers is Stewart’s substitute at Daytona. Stewart, a three-time Sprint Cup Series champion, is out indefinitely after suffering a fractured vertebra.
“For Stewart-Haas Racing to have interest in me to begin with is an honor and if we get everything done and I’m in the car at Atlanta it would be great,” Dillon said. “But I’m not going to jump the gun and say it’s a done deal.”
“It’s been really cool to even be in the consideration for that seat for Tony.”
Dillon is driving in the Daytona 500 for Leavine Family Racing, a team that has a technical alliance with his Richard Childress Racing, his grandfather’s team. Dillon is set for a partial schedule with LFR in the Cup Series while driving a full season in the Xfinity Series for RCR.
Interest in Dillon likely also has to do with a common sponsor between the two teams. Stewart’s car has sponsorship from Bass Pro Shops, who also sponsors Dillon in the Xfinity Series. The Atlanta race is sponsored by Bass Pro too, so there doesn’t seem to be any danger of Dillon jinxing a contract agreement by speaking about the possibility.
According to NBC Sports, Dillon is the likely driver of the 14 car at Phoenix, California and Talladega this spring too. Not-so-coincidentally, Bass Pro is set for sponsorship roles on Stewart’s car in all of those races. The site also said Brendan Gaughan, a Las Vegas native who drives for RCR in the Xfinity Series, could be a candidate for the No. 14 car at Vegas.
Adding Gaughan to the lineup would likely be a sponsorship driven decision too. He’s sponsored by his family’s South Point Casino in the Xfinity Series and it reasons that South Point would sponsor him in Cup too.
Dillon’s brother Austin replaced Stewart in the No. 14 for two races in 2013 when Stewart was sidelined by a broken leg.
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
