Ty Dillon

Ty Dillon Bio

Tyler Reed Dillon, known professionally as Ty Dillon, is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 10 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Kaulig Racing. Born on February 27, 1992, in Welcome, North Carolina, Dillon first made his name as the 2011 ARCA Racing Series champion, becoming the youngest champion in series history at the time. Over more than a decade in NASCAR, he has built a reputation as a steady and versatile competitor across the top three national touring series.

Standing 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing 185 pounds, Dillon carries a well-known racing pedigree. He is the grandson of NASCAR team owner Richard Childress, the younger brother of fellow driver Austin Dillon, and the son of former driver and team executive Mike Dillon. That family connection helped open doors in the sport, but Dillon has earned his seat through consistent results and a willingness to race anything put in front of him.

Early Life and Background

Ty Dillon was born and raised in the Piedmont Triad region of North Carolina, a hotbed of stock car racing talent. He grew up in Welcome, a small community in Davidson County, surrounded by extended family deeply tied to the sport. His grandfather, Richard Childress, founded Richard Childress Racing, one of the most successful organizations in NASCAR history. His father, Mike Dillon, spent years behind the wheel as a driver before transitioning into a front-office role as general manager of RCR.

Racing was a natural path for the young Dillon. He started in go-karts and Bandolero cars as a child, learning the basics of car control and race craft on short tracks across the Carolinas. By his early teens, he had advanced to the K&N Pro Series East, where he ran a partial schedule in 2009 and returned in 2010 to compete for the series championship, finishing 13th in points despite running only eight of the ten races. That early exposure to stock cars set the stage for a quick rise through the development ranks.

Path to NASCAR

Dillon’s path to the national NASCAR series ran through the ARCA Racing Series, a traditional stepping stone for young talent. After making three starts and winning twice in 2010, including a victory at Kansas Speedway, he moved into a full-time ARCA ride in 2011. He won seven races that year and captured the series championship, beating Chris Buescher by 340 points. At 19 years, 7 months, and 19 days old, Dillon became the youngest ARCA champion in history, a record that stood until Ty Gibbs surpassed it in 2021.

That same year, Dillon made his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start at Kentucky Speedway, finishing 18th. The outing was a clear sign that he was ready for the next level, and Richard Childress Racing responded by giving him a full-time Truck Series seat for 2012. Within months, Dillon had gone from a teenage short-track driver to a championship contender on NASCAR’s national stage.

Ty Dillon Career

Early Career (2011-2012)

Dillon’s first full NASCAR season came in 2012 in the Camping World Truck Series, driving the No. 3 Chevrolet for RCR. He scored a top-ten finish in each of his first five races and quickly established himself as a frontrunner. On August 31, 2012, he picked up his first career Truck Series victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway, a breakthrough moment that confirmed his potential. He capped the year by being named the 2012 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Rookie of the Year.

Beyond the Truck Series, Dillon made his first NASCAR Nationwide Series (now Xfinity Series) start at Dover in June 2012. In just his second appearance at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, he brought home a third-place finish, showing he could adapt to new tracks quickly. These early years laid the foundation for a long and varied NASCAR career across multiple series.

Craftsman Truck Series Breakthrough (2012-2013)

Dillon’s Truck Series work peaked in 2013, his second full season. He returned to victory lane at Kentucky Speedway in June and later won at Texas Motor Speedway, where his victory marked the 100th NASCAR national series win for a No. 3 car or truck. He finished the year second in the championship standings behind Matt Crafton and was voted the series’ Most Popular Driver by the fans.

The 2013 season also produced one of the more memorable moments of Dillon’s Truck Series career, a hard-fought late-race battle with 17-year-old Chase Elliott at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Contact in the final turn sent Dillon into the tire barrier and gave Elliott the win, a finish Dillon later said left him motivated. After 2013, his full-time Truck Series run paused, and he returned to the series only in selected starts for several years.

NASCAR Xfinity Series (2012-2021)

Dillon moved to the Nationwide Series on a full-time basis in 2014, taking over the No. 3 Chevrolet for RCR. The highlight of that rookie year came at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where he passed Kyle Busch on a late restart and held on to win the Lilly Diabetes 250, his first and only Xfinity Series victory. He also showed qualifying speed, winning poles at Las Vegas, Kentucky, and Kansas. He finished second to Chase Elliott in the Rookie of the Year standings.

In 2015, Dillon recorded a career-best third-place finish in the Xfinity Series final points standings with 25 top-ten finishes, even though he did not win a race. He returned to victory lane in the standings by making the Xfinity Chase in 2016 and finishing fifth in points. After stepping up to the Cup Series full-time in 2017, he continued to run part-time Xfinity races, with 16 top-tens in 2017. In 2021, he ran a part-time Xfinity schedule for Joe Gibbs Racing and Our Motorsports, including the season opener at Daytona.

NASCAR Cup Series (2014-Present)

Dillon made his Cup Series debut in 2014 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in the No. 33, finishing 25th. Over the next several years, he pieced together a Cup career through a mix of RCR-affiliated teams, including Circle Sport-Leavine Family Racing and Germain Racing. In 2017, he was named the full-time driver of the No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet for Germain Racing, a role he held through the 2020 season. He earned his first career Cup top-ten at the 2018 Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona, finishing sixth.

After Germain Racing closed at the end of 2020, Dillon bounced between Cup opportunities, including a 2021 Daytona 500 attempt with Gaunt Brothers Racing in a Toyota, his first non-Chevrolet in NASCAR. He then moved to GMS Racing’s No. 42 for the 2022 Cup season, spent 2023 with Spire Motorsports in the No. 77, and ran a partial Cup schedule in 2024 for Kaulig Racing, Team AmeriVet, and a one-off return to RCR’s No. 33 at the Brickyard 400. In 2025, he returned to Cup full-time, taking over the renumbered No. 10 at Kaulig Racing.

Kaulig Racing Era (2024-Present)

Dillon’s current chapter is rooted at Kaulig Racing, where he has built one of the most consistent stretches of his career. In 2024, he drove the No. 25 truck full-time for Rackley W.A.R., then took on part-time Cup duties with Kaulig starting at Richmond. In 2025, he was promoted to the No. 10 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for the full Cup Series schedule, replacing Daniel Hemric. The 2025 season marked his return to Cup competition on a full-time basis after a year of split work across teams.

His connection to Kaulig has also stretched into the Truck Series, where the team fields the No. 25 Ram 1500 with Dillon sharing driving duties. The multi-series deal gives him a chance to stay sharp on a variety of tracks, from intermediate ovals to road courses to superspeedways, while representing the same organization across the board.

Driving Style and Strengths

Dillon is known for being a smooth, mistake-free driver who excels on superspeedways and restarts. His best Cup finishes have come at Daytona and Talladega, where drafting and positioning matter more than outright pace. He has also shown he can perform on road courses, with a strong run at Watkins Glen in 2015, and has produced solid stage finishes on intermediates. Working with experienced crew chiefs has helped him convert steady race runs into top-15 and top-20 results, the kind of consistency that keeps a team in the game week after week.

Notable Races and Milestones

Among Dillon’s most memorable results are his first Cup top-ten at the 2018 Coke Zero Sugar 400, a fourth-place run at the rain-shortened July 2019 Daytona race, and a career-best third-place finish at the 2020 YellaWood 500 at Talladega. He also won his first career Truck Series race at Atlanta in 2012 and scored his lone Xfinity victory at Indianapolis in 2014. His 2011 ARCA championship, won at a record young age, remains the headline achievement of his development years.

Ty Dillon Career Wins

Ty Dillon’s win ledger is built on a strong development foundation and a handful of signature national series victories. His biggest trophy came in 2011 with the ARCA Racing Series championship, a season in which he won seven races. He followed that with three NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series wins, his first Xfinity Series victory, and zero Cup Series wins, a tally that reflects his role as a steady runner rather than a weekly dominator.

ARCA and Truck Series Highlights

Dillon won nine ARCA Racing Series races in total, including two in a part-time 2010 campaign and seven in his 2011 championship season. His first ARCA win came at Kansas Speedway, and his last came at Pocono Raceway in 2011. In the Truck Series, he scored three wins, first at Atlanta in 2012, then Kentucky and Texas in 2013. The Texas win was especially meaningful because it marked the 100th NASCAR national series victory for a No. 3 entry, a nod to the iconic Childress family number.

Other Wins and Performances

Beyond the headline national series, Dillon scored one win in the ARCA Menards Series East in 2010 at Gresham Motorsports Park and picked up regional short-track victories earlier in his career, including a 2008 Patriot Nationals win. In 2014, he added a DIRTcar Nationals UMP Modified championship, showing he can adapt to dirt as well as asphalt. He also finished 13th in the 2010 K&N Pro Series East standings and made one Trans-Am Series start at Road America in 2014, finishing fourth.

Ty Dillon Family

Family Background and Racing Lineage

The Dillon family is one of the most recognized names in American motorsports. Ty’s grandfather, Richard Childress, is a former NASCAR driver who built Richard Childress Racing into a championship-winning organization and was himself part of the NASCAR Hall of Fame conversation for years. His father, Mike Dillon, raced in NASCAR’s top series before moving into management, and his mother, Tina Dillon, raised the family in North Carolina. His older brother, Austin Dillon, is a Cup Series regular who drives the No. 3 for RCR.

Growing up in that environment gave Ty a clear view of what a NASCAR career demands, both on and off the track. He has spoken often about the influence of his grandfather and father, and the lessons he learned while spending time around the RCR shop as a kid.

Personal Life

Ty Dillon married Haley Carey, a former driver and Charlotte Hornets cheerleader, on December 20, 2014, at Childress Vineyards in Lexington, North Carolina. The couple welcomed their daughter, Oakley Ray Dillon, in November 2017, and their son, Kapton Reed Dillon, in October 2020. Outside of racing, Dillon has hosted a YouTube vlog series called The Ride, made a cameo in the 2019 film Stuber, and was once named Fin & Field’s Most Interesting Sportsman in the World for Spring 2017.

2025 Season Performance

Ty Dillon’s 2025 season is his first full-time Cup Series campaign since 2022. Driving the No. 10 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Kaulig Racing, he is working to re-establish himself as a regular presence in the top 20. The early going has featured the typical mix of learning a new team setup, building chemistry with his crew chief, and chasing consistency on intermediates, where the Cup Series spends most of its weekends. The 33rd-place standing listed in his career history reflects the rebuilding nature of this stage of his career.

Beyond the Cup schedule, Dillon continues to share driving duties in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series with Kaulig’s No. 25 Ram 1500 program. The extra seat time is a chance to stay sharp on a variety of tracks and bring back notes that help the Cup side of the garage. With Kaulig investing in both programs, Dillon is positioned as a key piece of the organization’s long-term plan across the national series ladder.

Looking ahead, the goal for 2025 is straightforward: lock in top-20 finishes, grab stage points when the opportunity is there, and turn the No. 10 program into a consistent playoff threat. With his experience, family background, and the resources of Kaulig Racing behind him, Dillon has the tools to make the second half of the season his strongest stretch in years.