SOUTH BOSTON, Va. - Richard Childress Racing development driver Ty Dillon is doing all he can to tackle the learning curve of competing as a rookie in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East.
Driving the legendary black No. 3 car that the late Dale Earnhardt made famous for his grandfather (Richard Childres), the third-generation driver was 19th in final practice for this afternoon's South Boston 150 at South Boston Speedway.
Dillon, brother of NASCAR driver Austin Dillon and son of former NASCAR driver Mike Dillon, made his K&N Pro Series East debut on March 27 and finished 18th at Greenville Pickens (S.C.) Speedway.
"We were just a victim of a bad restart and the guy behind me jacked me up off the corner and it took the rear tires off the ground and I spun it into the wall," the 18-year-old Dillon said referring to the multicar crash he was involved in at Greenville Pickens.
"We had a better car then where we finished," Dillon said, who is a junior at Forsyth Country Day School in Lewisville, N.C. "We also ended up getting into a little trouble earlier in the race. We had higher expectations but I learned a lot and had a good time at Greenville."
Dillon wasn't too pleased with his practice speeds at South Boston but was determined to do better in qualifying.
"This track is really throwing us a curve ball," Dillon said. "We just can't get any forward (grip)."
Dillon had plenty of praise for crew chief Wayne Orme.
"Wayne's great and he keeps me calm under pressure like when I'm struggling in practice here today," Dillon said, who qualified 15th. "I'm sure we'll be great in the race. He's a great leader as a crew chief."
Dillon's spotter, Mike Herman, is no stranger to South Boston having competed here in late models and the Hooters Pro Cup Series.
"I think the thing that RCR has done to help Ty is to surround him with veteran guys that have been around (NASCAR) for a long time," Heman said. "Wayne's from the (Sprint) Cup level and has had to deal with days like we're having today and I'm a former driver myself. I've raced here a lot and I know what Ty's going through. We've got time to right this ship and get him to the front."
When not competing in NASCAR East, Dillon also races in UARA at Hickory Speedway and Tri-County. His next race in East competition will be at Iowa Speedway on May 23.
Gresham wins first NASCAR East pole at South Boston
Starting on the pole for today's East race will be Joe Gibbs Racing development driver Max Gresham, while teammate Brett Moffitt will start second. The pole is the first of Gresham's NASCAR career.
Rounding out the top five were Darrell Wallace Jr., Matt Kob yluck and Ryan Truex.
James Civali was quickest in NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified practice. The Southern Mods will hit the track at the conclusion of today's East race. Zach Brewer won the pole for the Modified race for his first career-pole and track record at South Boston with a time of 14.765 seconds.
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