Dillon coming on strong since recovering from COVID-19

Of the three drivers who tested positive for COVID-19 this season, can you name the one who has emerged as a force in the NASCAR playoffs?

Hints: He’s not a seven-time champion. Nor does he hail from Las Vegas.

While Jimmie Johnson and part-time Cup Series driver Brendan Gaughan tested positive for the virus after NASCAR returned to the track in May after shutting down for the virus in March, only Austin Dillon is still alive in the championship battle.

“I actually had the symptoms,” said Dillon during a cellphone chat before the recent playoff race at Bristol, Tennessee, where he finished 12th. “It wasn’t fun. Luckily I was able to recover fast and get back on the track.”

He’s been driving as fast as he recovered. Dillon qualified 1oth among the 16 playoffs drivers after locking himself into the postseason with a win at Texas before finishing second in the playoff opener at Darlington, South Carolina, and fourth at Richmond, Virginia, and moved up the points ladder.

“It’s been a solid year,” said the driver of the No. 3 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing before using an adjective befitting the times. “We’re working hard so we can kind of continue this momentum so that it’s contagious.”

Off to flying start

While a lot of racing people were startled by his impressive runs starting the playoffs, the former Little League World Series infielder — Dillon played for the 2002 Clemmons, North Carolina, squad that advanced to Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and in 2019 he was enshrined in the Little League Hall of Excellence — said it was just a matter of realizing potential.

“We love what we’re doing on the track right now, it’s happening at the right time of the year,” said the 27-year-old in his seventh season as a full-time Cup Series driver. “We’ve had speed, we feel like, at a number of these places. We just haven’t been able to show it when we needed it to.”

Las Vegas is another track where Dillon has shown speed flashes.

Over his past six races at the 1.50-mile oval Dillon’s average finish is 14.7 — his fifth-best track among the 24 at which NASCAR competes. He finished fourth behind Joey Logano, Matt DiBenedetto and Ricky Stenhouse at the Pennzoil 400 in February during cooler weather and hopes that form will shine through during 100-degree temperatures forecast for Sunday’s South Point 400.

“I’ve always enjoyed that place and won there in Xfinity and Truck,” he said, “and I want to circle that one as a place we need to win.”

Contact Ron Kantowski at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow @ronkantowski on Twitter.