Talladega: Austin Dillon preview

* This Weekend's Realtree Outfitters Chevrolet Silverado at Talladega Superspeedway ... Austin Dillon will pilot Chassis No. 019 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Camping World Truck Series stable in this weekend's Mountain Dew 250 powered by Fred's. This Chevrolet was purchased from Kevin Harvick, Inc. earlier this season. In 2008, KHI's Ron Hornaday drove this former No. 33 Silverado at Daytona International Speedway. He started fifth and was running second when the o-ring on the oil pump broke, resulting in a 25th-place finish. Since then, this chassis was used as a back-up race truck.

* First Timer ... The Lewisville, N.C., native will not only make his restrictor plate debut when he takes the green flag for Saturday's 150-mile race at Talladega, he will also become the first driver to start a restrictor-plate Truck Series race for RCR. Childress ended his truck series program in 1999 to purse racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, one year before the inaugural NCWTS restrictor-plate race occurred at Daytona International Speedway in February 2000.

* Dillon's Third Truck Race ... In two previous truck series starts, Dillon has earned 12th- and 15th-place finishes at Iowa Speedway and New Hampshire Motor Speedway, respectively. He boasts a 6.5 average start and has completed 399 of 400 laps contested.

* Family Values ... Dillon is a third-generation NASCAR driver. His grandfather, Richard Childress, made 285 Sprint Cup Series starts between 1969 and 1981, earning six top-five and 76 top-10 finishes. Austin's father, Mike Dillon, drove from 1995 to 2001 in each of NASCAR's top-three series, including three starts in the NCWTS from 1997 to 1998.

* Back to Where it All Started ... Dillon's grandfather, Richard Childress made his debut at Talladega in 1969. Forty years later, his Welcome, N.C.,-based organization has earned 12 championships among NASCAR's top-three series, seven in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (Dale Earnhardt -- 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993 and 1994), five in the NASCAR Nationwide Series (Kevin Harvick -- 2001, Harvick and Johnny Sauter -- 2003, Harvick -- 2006, Jeff Burton and Scott Wimmer -- 2007, and Clint Bowyer -- 2008) and one in the NCWTS (Mike Skinner- 1995). Childress is the first owner to win championships in all three divisions.

* Multitasking ... While pursuing his racing career, the 19-year-old Dillon is currently enrolled as a freshman at High Point University, where he is studying at the Nido R. Quebin School of Communications. Earlier this season, the university sponsored Dillon in a NASCAR Nationwide Series event at Iowa Speedway.

* Dillon Familiar with the No. 3 ... Over the past two seasons, Dillon has raced the No. 3 Chevrolet in 15 NASCAR Camping World Series East starts, earning one win, seven top-five and 12 top-10 finishes. Additionally, Dillon has driven Team Dillon Racing's No. 3 Asphalt and Dirt Late Models since 2005.

* History of the No. 3 Truck ... The 19-year-old driver is the third driver to compete in RCR's No. 3 entry, joining Mike Skinner, who drove the GM Goodwrench-sponsored entry from 1995 to 1996, and Jay Sauter, who took the reigns in 1997 and drove the No. 3 truck until 1999.

* RCR's Truck History ... This weekend marks the 132nd start by an RCR entry in a NCWTS event. In all, RCR-prepared trucks have earned 20 wins, including the series' inaugural race in 1995 with Skinner at Phoenix International Speedway. Along with Skinner, drivers including Mike Dillon, Bill Cooper, Dave Marcis, Jay Sauter and Jim Sauter have recorded 59 top-five and 85 top-10 finishes for the organization. Skinner captured the inaugural NCWTS championship title for RCR in 1995.

AUSTIN DILLON:

What does it mean to be racing at Talladega?

"I'm really excited about this weekend. It is going to be one of the biggest thrills I've experienced, so far, in my career. I'll be in the No. 3 truck and that number means a lot to the great fans that show up to Talladega each year. I'm also excited to get the chance to run where my grandfather started his entire racing career 40 years ago which, in itself, is something special for my entire family to be a part of together."

What are your goals this weekend?

"Talladega is a big intimidating track, but we're looking to go out there and be aggressive in single car runs during practice. We're not sure how much drafting we'll be doing because we don't have a back-up Realtree Outfitters Chevrolet with us. We want to show off the Earnhardt-Childress Engines for sure and start towards the front. Once the race begins, I'm going to learn all I can about drafting, but at the same time, I want to be competitive."

DAN DEERINGHOFF (Crew Chief):

What are your goals this weekend?

"Talladega is a place where you have to have a car that goes fast. You don't worry too much about handling because the track is so smooth. With it being Austin's first time on a superspeedway, we're going to use a lot of the time during practice to get him settled into the track and have him ride around alone. If we draft, it won't be for too long, because the last thing we want to do it get caught in someone else's mistake before we even get to take the green flag. Our first goal is to make it to the end of the race and, if we have a competitive car, finish strong."

-credit: rcr