"I'm having fun again": Ty Dillon embraces his NASCAR resurgence with In-Season challenge turnaround

Ty Dillon shared his thoughts on the highs of his career amid the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season. Acknowledging his unexpected run in the In-Season Challenge and his dynamics with Kaulig Racing, Dillon said he is having fun again.

In the mid-season tournament, Ty Dillon has been the talk of the town after advancing to the penultimate round as the last-seeded driver (32nd). The 33-year-old beat the top-seeded Denny Hamlin in the opening round at EchoPark Speedway, where the race had several upsets due to crashes. He also put Brad Keselowski and Alex Bowman out of contention after their matchups in Chicago and Sonoma, respectively.

With all the stars seemingly aligning, the #10 Chevrolet driver feels confident again. For one, he has a team that backs him after struggling for years to find a full-time seat. Moreover, the In-Season Challenge gives him the spotlight to showcase his talents at a point in a season when non-top drivers are barely talked about.

Describing his emotions, Ty Dillon, the younger brother of Austin Dillon and grandson of team owner Richard Childress, told CBS Sports:

“I'm having fun again. Being a part of a team that I feel like genuinely has confidence in me and my ability is building back that confidence I had when I was with a #1 team.” “To fight through what I've gone through and start building that confidence back, that's why I say I feel like there's still so much more room to go. “I know I'm better physically and mentally than I was back in those days, but the almost like a blind confidence you have in those times is starting to come back a little bit. It's super strength that you feel when you're really running up front. It's slowly starting to come back,” he added.

Austin Dillon drives the #10 Chevrolet Camaro for Kaulig Racing - Source: Imagn

His next opponent in the mid-season tournament is John Hunter Nemechek. They will face off at Dover Motor Speedway this weekend. Whoever wins will be pitted against either Tyler Reddick or Ty Gibbs for a chance to win $1 million prize money in the final round.

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“Put the most pressure we can on John Hunter”: Ty Dillon on fourth-round matchup against John Hunter Nemechek at Dover

After Ty Dillon had cheeky, playful digs against the opponents he beat in the In-Season Challenge, he hasn't come up with anything against John Hunter Nemechek, whom he describes as a good guy whose daughter is a good friend of his son. However, Dillon is geared up to put the most pressure on the #42 Toyota to try and advance to the final round.

The #10 Kaulig Racing driver said (via CBS Sports):

“That's all we're gonna do for next week in Dover is put the most pressure we can on John Hunter (Nemechek) to go out and execute his best race.”

The AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Dover Motor Speedway is scheduled for July 20. The 400-lap race will kick off at 2:00 p.m. ET on TNT Sports, NASCAR's exclusive broadcaster of the mid-season tournament.

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Edited by Tushhita Barua