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Austin Dillon, grandson of Richard Childress and driver of the famed no. 3 car in the Camping World East Series, currently sits in first place in the points standings. In just his first year in the series, after four starts, Austin has already accumulated a win, 2 top-five’s, and 3 top-ten finishes. His lone victory came in the opening race at Greenville Pickens Speedway back in April, and he also finished 2nd at South Boston Speedway in May.

The 18-year old Dillon is most known for the popular notion that he will one day drive the no. 3 car for Richard Childress Racing in the Sprint Cup Series. Childress retired the number following the death of Dale Earnhardt Sr. back in 2001, but Austin’s aspiration to drive the car number that he has driven since he was a small child could very well pursuade Richard to bring the car number back out of retirement.

With nine races remaining on the schedule, Dillon currently holds a 55 point lead over second place Brian Ickler, and 57 points over third place Steve Park. The series will return to the tracks at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on June 27th.

Post from: EveryJoe

For Austin Dillon, There’s No Place Like 1st Place

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Some of the most popular talk this year in NASCAR’s ever growing rumor mill has circulated around Tony Stewart and his contract with Joe Gibbs Racing, which currently carries him through the 2009 Sprint Cup season. With numerous rides potentially being opened for 2009, and offers reportedly being thrown at him all over the place, the media has long speculated that Tony has asked for an early release from his contract following the conclusion of this year, though sources have yet to confirm such allegations. Many want to believe him to be a solid candidate to fill the new seat opening up over at Richard Childress Racing, while some claim that he is looking towards Haas CNC Racing or maybe even JR Motorsports (should Dale Earnhardt Jr. elect to bring the team into Cup competition next year) where he could potentially gain ownership interests in the team, as well as reviving his long-standing relationship with GM and Chevrolet.

On the other side of the spectrum, there’s been a lot of hype revolving around 18 year old, Joey Logano, who is set to make his Nationwide Series debut this weekend at Dover for the Heluva Good! 200 on Saturday. Not since the emergence of Jeff Gordon to the stock car world in the early 90’s has a driver’s NASCAR debut been so highly anticipated, and some have even taken to nicknaming the kid as “Sliced Bread,” in reference to the ol’ saying, “the best thing since sliced bread.” Mark Martin spotted Logano out three years ago at the age of 15 and already claimed that he was a driver to keep an eye on. Since then he’s managed to win the 2007 Camping World East Series championship in a season that brought him seven victories, and he also won in his ARCA Series debut earlier this year. He’s so highly thought of that Joe Gibbs Racing has even decided to debut him in the Nationwide Series behind the wheel of the no. 20 car – the winningest car in the series so far this year – and, even signed him to an 18 race deal this year.

The only problem currently staring the suits at Gibbs Racing in the face right now – and, it’s a good problem to have – is that they have too much talent, right? Already filling their lineup in the Cup Series is a two-time Cup Series champ in Stewart, the current points leader in Kyle Busch, and Denny Hamlin, who made the Chase field in both of his first two seasons in the series, and appears to be well on his way to doing so again this year. So, when you take these two stories and add them together, the quick summation is that Logano would be a very likely candidate to take Stewart’s place upon his departure from Joe Gibbs Racing … but, according to David Newton over at the Sporting News, that’s not exactly what Gibbs has in mind.

JD Gibbs, president of Joe Gibbs Racing, says that rather than focusing on replacing one of their current drivers, their goal is to have Logano seat a fourth team car when he’s ready to progress to the Sprint Cup Series. He stated that they’re still negotiation with Stewart for an extenstion beyond 2009. He also stated that under no circumstances would they release Smoke from his current obligations, and also reitterated the fact that Tony has never asked to be released.

“We’re still just trying to feel out exactly where he is and exactly he feels. We want him to be here,” says Gibbs. “I want him to be here for a long period of time. At the end of the day, all we can control is through next year.”

A large factor in determining Tony’s future with the organization also lies with sponsor, Home Depot, whom has sponsored Stewart since his arrival to NASCAR in 1999. Home Depot reported a first quarter decline in earnings of 66 percent, and their long-term future in the sport is reported to be uncertain.

“They really are in a lot of ways the decision maker,” Gibbs added. “We want to make sure whatever we do is something that encourages them. We wouldn’t do anything unless they were on board and excited about it.”

I fully expect Stewart to not only finish out his current contract obligations with Joe Gibbs Racing, but to also sign another long-term contract that will lock Tony up with the organization until the near-end of his driving career. I do, however, see him pursuing ownership opportunities outside of JGR, very much in the same fashion that Dale Earnhardt Sr. did late in his career. The only obstacle to doing so is JGR’s current commitment to Toyota, but if anybody could cut a deal to drive for one manufacturer and run a team in the same series under another, a name like Tony Stewart just might be it. Then again, with the horsepower that Toyota’s pumping out, as well as the money and resources they carry in their pocketbook, the best business decision for Tony should he pursue this course could very well be the emblem already on his car.

DYN Imposes:
This week, Do You NASCAR also asks its readers …

1. Will Tony Stewart sign a deal with JGR past the 2009 season?
2. Logano or Stewart – Who would Home Depot rather sponsor on a long-term deal?
3. How long will it take for Joey Logano to progress to the Sprint Cup Series?
4. Which driver will give JGR their next Cup Series championship?

Post from: EveryJoe

Gibbs Says Logano Not Replacing Stewart at JGR

10. Justin Allgaier – 21 years-old, currently driving in his third full season in the ARCA/REMAXX Series. Has compiled one victory in each of the past three seasons.

9. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. – 20 years-old, has recorded 2 wins and 4 top-five’s through his first 20 races in the USAC Series.

8. Brad Keselowski – 24 years-old, currently driving in the Nationwide Series for Bob & Kay Keselowski. Currently 7th in points with 4 top-ten finishes.

7. Steve Wallace – The twenty-year-old son of Rusty Wallace; finished 17th in the Nationwide Series points standings last year, and currently 15th in points with a top-five and two top-ten’s.

6. Marcos Ambrose – The 30-year-old Australlian native has won several accolades in lesser series, and is known as an accomplished road racer. He’s turning that into some noticeable stock car success, and through two seasons has 2 top-five’s and 8 top-ten’s. He’s currently 16th in the Nationwide points standings.

5. Brad Coleman – Brad has a future with Joe Gibbs Racing, though the timeline is still a bit sketchy as long as JGR has Joey Logano in the waiting. He made his debut in the Nationwide Series this year and is currently 17th in points with one top-ten finish through ten races.

4. Austin Dillon – Being the grandson of Cup Series teamowner, Richard Childress, is sure to have its perks, and having the fortune to know that you can one day bring Dale Earnhardt’s former number back into NASCAR one day is one of them. He already has a win this season in the Camping World East Series, and is expected to win quite a few more before long.

3. Chrissy Wallace – She earned herself a top-20 finish in her first career start in the Craftsman Truck Series in March, and has recently signed a deal with Germain Racing that will have her competing full-time in 2009. With her family name, superior backing inside the NASCAR garage, and her appeal as a standout female star, big things could be on the horizon for Chrissy Wallace.

2. Aric Almirola – He’s scheduled to run a part-time schedule this year inside the no. 8 car for DEI that includes 12 races, the first of which came earlier in 2008 with a top-five run at Bristol. He’s currently slated to run full-time for the organization when Mark Martin goes into full retirement, which could be as early as next year.

1. Joey Logano – His future lies with Joe Gibbs Racing, producer of three Cup Series championships, and could have a pretty sweet deal lined up for himself depending on what Tony Stewart decides to do at the end of his contract in 2009. He recently won his first-ever start in the ARCA series a little over a week ago in Rockingham, and will make his first Nationwide start at the end of this month when he turns 18 years old.

Post from: EveryJoe

the Big Ten: Potential Stars in the Waiting

Santerre said to reporters, “Needless to say we are shocked and disappointed. We are being made an example … We admit there was a rules infraction, but it was a shock to us with as much as it was unintentional and unknown prior to post-race inspection.”

The team is obviously disappointed that they have been penalized with the loss of their race win on top of whatever other penalties NASCAR decides to hand to them, but to make matters worse, they deemed the car with a  30th place finish. The win was then awarded to Sellers’ teammate and original second-place finisher, Austin Dillon – grandson to Sprint Cup Series car owner, Richard Childress.

In Other News:
- Due to the Nationwide Series’ race in Talladega and the Craftsman Truck Series race in Kansas both being held on Saturday, Kyle Busch has conceded running the truck race this weekend. The series’ points leader will be replaced in the no. 51 Billy Ballew Motorsports truck by Shane Sieg. Shane has made 29 career starts in the truck series and has posted two top-ten finishes. One of those top-ten’s actually came behind the wheel of a Billy Ballew Motorsports truck last year at Loudon.

- Haas CNC Racing’s recent release of Jeremy Mayfield has left them scrambling for drivers week-to-week to fill the seat behind the wheel of their no. 70 Chevy Impala. The first week after firing Mayfield, they put Johnny Sauter in the car at Phoenix en route to a 37th place finish, and this weekend they’ll be hoping for better results with Ken Schrader at the helm. The team has recently locked on another driver for at least two of the season’s events with Max Papis scheduled to drive the car at both of the road course races in Watkins Glen and Infineon.

Post from: EveryJoe

NASCAR Taketh Away

The top rated motorsports blog was given an overall score of 9.0, so we’re almost there. I would like to thank Blogged.com for this special recognition. Within due time, hopefully this site will find itself moving up that list!

Click here for the complete listing of racing blogs ranked by blogged.com!

Post from: EveryJoe

DYN Gets a Top Ten of Their Own!