A Title At Stake, Dillon Determined To Stay Calm
11-16-2011 11:29 am

All told, it has been a fun week for NASCAR Camping World Truck Series point leader Austin Dillon.

Following the Truck Series' most recent race held two weeks ago at Texas Motor Speedway, Dillon stayed in the Lone Star State a few extra days to explore one of his favorite pastimes: Deer hunting.

This past Sunday, the 21-year-old attended a game in Charlotte, N.C., between the National Football League's Carolina Panthers and Tennessee Titans.

On Monday, Dillon was back in the woods hunting again - only this time closer to home in North Carolina.

The grandson of legendary team owner Richard Childress admits he's deliberately been trying to stay busy to keep his nerves calm before leaving for South Florida to hunt his most coveted prize yet: The 2011 Truck Series title.

"I'm doing a little bit of everything to try and keep my mind off of what's coming up but I've also been studying a lot on last year's (Homestead) races and trying to get as prepared as I can going into Friday night," Dillon said. "I feel like I'll be fine once I get in the truck but the nerves will run right up until then. Right now, I'm not nervous at all other than thinking about it, trying to keep my mind off of it. I haven't put too much pressure on myself going into this week so I'll just wait until I get there and go get it."

Dillon can become the series' youngest ever champion by finishing 16th or better; 17th or better with at least one lap led; or 18th or better with the most laps led in Friday night's season-ending Ford 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET on SPEED).

If championship runnerup Johnny Sauter - who trails Dillon by 20 points - has anything less than a perfect race, Dillon can finish even further down the order and still be crowned champ.

But Dillon, whose family knows a thing or two about running for championships (Childress won six in the Sprint Cup Series with the late Dale Earnhardt), is taking nothing for granted.

Dillon's grandfather and father, Richard Childress Racing vice president of competition Mike Dillon, are particularly on edge as the weekend approaches.

"I'm more worried about my grandfather and my dad getting sleep," Austin said with a laugh. "I'm fine. I'm ready to go win the race. I feel like we'll be just fine and that whatever happens it's God's will. It's out of our hands."

A championship would be the culmination of a spectacular year for Dillon, who is moving up in 2012 to a full-time Nationwide Series ride also fielded by Richard Childress Racing. The youngster claimed Truck Series' rookie-of-the-year honors in 2010 and continued his steady progression this season, which started off a bit shaky but has produced two wins and stellar consistency down the stretch run.

The only drivers with a mathematical shot of leapfrogging Dillon for the title at Homestead are Sauter and third-place James Buescher, who sits a distant 28 points out of first.

Sauter isn't conceding the title just yet.

"All you can ask for is a shot, and I'm privileged right now," said the ThorSport Racing driver. "It's a pretty tall order, 20 points, but there are a lot of competitive trucks out there. It's a full field and a tough road for anybody to hoe. We just need to sit on the pole, lead laps and win. That's the coolest thing about racing - you just never know how it's all going to turn out."

Sauter has little to lose by being aggressive but the same isn't true for Dillon, who must be mindful of potential hazards that could give his rivals a shot.

Dillon, however, doesn't plan to drive overly cautious in an effort to avert trouble.

"I've said the last five weeks that you have to play offense because if you play defense that's when you usually get wrecked - and I still believe that," he said. "I feel like you've got to be smarter. I feel like making too many moves is putting yourself in a dangerous position but I feel like when you start lifting for other people driving into the corner and stuff, that's when you usually get wrecked trying to judge where everybody else is going to be."

Driving smart should indeed be Dillon's main focus at Homestead, according to RCR driver Kevin Harvick.

"As we go into this weekend, he needs to be smart about what he does," said Harvick, whose Kevin Harvick Inc. organization has entered Dillon in select Nationwide Series events this season. "It's good to race for championships. I think as you go through your career, no matter what kind of championship it is, if you have the opportunity to race and get those feelings and emotions of ups and downs of the end of the year as you're trying to close that championship out, you remember those thoughts and experiences forever that carry on into other championships."

Winning this championship - in a black No. 3 truck owned by his grandfather - would undoubtedly be extra special for Dillon.

"It will definitely be the biggest racing moment of my career and probably one of the happiest moments of my career, too," he said. "Especially as tough as the Truck Series is this year - there's great competition out there - it would be unbelievable."