Mike Dillon (racing driver)

{{short description|American racing driver}}

{{BLP sources|date=April 2025}}

{{Infobox NASCAR driver

| name = Mike Dillon

| birth_name = Michael Dillon

| image = Mike Dillon (33137323926) (cropped).jpg

| caption = Dillon at the 2017 Daytona 500

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1965|02|01}}

| birth_place = Lexington, North Carolina, U.S.

| achievements =

| awards =

| Total_Cup_Races = 1

| Years_In_Cup = 1

| Best_Cup_Pos = 66th (1998)

| First_Cup_Race = 1998 California 500 (Fontana)

| Cup_Wins = 0

| Cup_Top_Tens = 0

| Cup_Poles = 0

| Total_Busch_Races = 154

| Years_In_Busch = 7

| Best_Busch_Pos = 12th (1998)

| First_Busch_Race = 1995 Sundrop 400 (Hickory)

| Last_Busch_Race = 2001 Cheez-It 250 (Bristol)

| Busch_Wins = 0

| Busch_Top_Tens = 15

| Busch_Poles = 0

| Total_Truck_Races = 3

| Years_In_Truck = 2

| Best_Truck_Pos = 79th (1999)

| First_Truck_Race = 1997 GM Goodwrench / Delco 300 (Phoenix)

| Last_Truck_Race = 1999 DieHard 200 (Milwaukee)

| Truck_Wins = 0

| Truck_Top_Tens = 0

| Truck_Poles = 0

}}

Michael Dillon (born February 1, 1965) is an American former professional stock car racing driver for Richard Childress Racing and the current General Manager for the team after having raced in all three national series. He is the father of Austin Dillon and Ty Dillon and the son-in-law of Richard Childress.

Racing career

{{no citations|date=April 2025}}

=Winston Cup Series=

Dillon made one Cup Series start in his career. Subbing for the injured Mike Skinner, he qualified the No. 31 Lowe's Chevrolet in the 27th position in the 1998 Fontana race. Dillon struggled in the race, finishing 35th, 11 laps down.

Dillon also competed in the 1997 Mountain Dew Southern 500 as a relief driver for Dale Earnhardt, finishing the race after Earnhardt blacked out on the first lap.

=Busch Series=

Dillon made his NASCAR debut in 1995. That year he ran five of twenty-six races for Richard Childress Racing in the No. 12 Kennametal/Salem National Lease Chevrolet, making his debut at Hickory, where he started 12th and finished 16th. He would make his next start at Myrtle Beach, getting his first career top-10 starting spot of 9th, before leading 5 laps en route to a 17th-place finish. He would then follow it up with an 18th-place result at South Boston Speedway. Dillon crashed out of the other two races, with a 42nd at Charlotte and 29th at Rockingham. However, he did beat his best career start with an 8th place start in Charlotte.

Dillon ran for NASCAR Busch Series Rookie of the Year in 1996 in the No. 72 Detroit Gasket Chevy for Parker Racing, but only made 21 of 26 races and struggled to 23rd in points. He earned his first career top-10 of 10th at South Boston.

Dillon made all the races in 1997, and finished 15th in points. Still running in the No. 72, Dillon scored his first career top-5 at Dover. He also added on a pair of 6th and a 10th to have 4 top-10 finishes. Dillon set his career best start of 4th at Richmond, and also led 21 laps at Gateway before a late crash.

Dillon's best career season came in 1998. He had 2 top-5s and 7 top-10s en route to 12th in points. The two top-5s were a 4th at Hickory (led 54 laps) and a 5th at Watkins Glen International.

In 1999, he moved to the No. 59 Kingsford team owned by ST Motorsports. He did not qualify for two of the races and that relegated him to 16th in the final points. In addition, Dillon only had one top-10, with a 7th place coming at Watkins Glen. Despite the lack of top-10s, Dillon stayed in 16th in points largely because he finished all but two of his races.

In 2000, Dillon moved back to Richard Childress Racing (RCR), driving the newly formed No. 21 Rockwell Automation Chevrolet. Dillon did not improve that much, as he did not qualify for the season ending race at Miami, and his best finishes were a pair of top-10s. (9th at Daytona and 8th at Dover). The result was 23rd in points.

Dillon's driving career ended in 2001 after getting injured in a wreck at Bristol Motor Speedway. Before then, Dillon had no top-10s and his best 2001 finish was 18th at Atlanta. The following was a quote from RCR:

"Richard Childress Racing (RCR) named Mike Skinner as the driver for its BGN No. 21 Rockwell Automation team this weekend at Texas while fulltime driver Mike Dillon recuperates from injuries sustained from a March 24 crash at Bristol. "Mike (Dillon) took a hard lick at Bristol so he's pretty sore and stiff," said Richard Childress, president and CEO of Richard Childress Racing Enterprises, Inc. "He also took a hard lick a couple of weeks ago testing in Nashville. Everyone knows racing at Texas Motor Speedway can be very tough. So, to do what's best for our team and for Rockwell Automation, we've asked Skinner to step in for now to get the job done." None of Dillon's injuries were serious and a CT scan proved negative. His status will be reevaluated after this weekend."

Dillon was more injured than originally thought, and eventually, Dillon quietly stepped aside from the team. Mike Dillon currently serves as the General Manager of Richard Childress Racing's three NASCAR Cup teams. Beginning in 2007, Dillon was the spotter for the Richard Childress owned No. 33, then driven by Clint Bowyer.

=Craftsman Truck Series=

Dillon made three career starts in the Craftsman Truck Series, all for Richard Childress. In 1997, Dillon made his debut at Phoenix driving the No. 33 Realtree Chevy, where he started 29th and finished 26th.

The other two starts were in 1999, running at Watkins Glen and Milwaukee. The 26th in '97 would remain his best finish as he finished 30th at the Glen and 32nd at Milwaukee. However, he did set his career best start of 24th at Watkins Glen.

Personal life

Dillon's sons Austin and Ty compete in the NASCAR Cup Series. Mike is the son-in-law of Richard Childress.

Motorsports career results

=NASCAR=

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

==Winston Cup Series==

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:75%"
colspan=45| NASCAR Winston Cup Series results
Year

! Team

! No.

! Make

! 1

! 2

! 3

! 4

! 5

! 6

! 7

! 8

! 9

! 10

! 11

! 12

! 13

! 14

! 15

! 16

! 17

! 18

! 19

! 20

! 21

! 22

! 23

! 24

! 25

! 26

! 27

! 28

! 29

! 30

! 31

! 32

! 33

! {{Tooltip|NWCC|NASCAR Winston Cup classification}}

! Pts

! Ref

1997

! rowspan=2| Richard Childress Racing

! 3

! rowspan=2| Chevy

| DAY

| CAR

| RCH

| ATL

| DAR

| TEX

| BRI

| MAR

| SON

| TAL

| CLT

| DOV

| POC

| MCH

| CAL

| DAY

| NHA

| POC

| IND

| GLN

| MCH

| BRI

| style="background:#fff;"| DAR
RL{{sup|†}}

| RCH

| NHA

| DOV

| MAR

| CLT

| TAL

| CAR

| PHO

| ATL

| colspan=1|

! NA

! -

! n/a

1998

! 31

| DAY

| CAR

| LVS

| ATL

| DAR

| BRI

| TEX

| MAR

| TAL

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| CAL
35

| CLT

| DOV

| RCH

| MCH

| POC

| SON

| NHA

| POC

| IND

| GLN

| MCH

| BRI

| NHA

| DAR

| RCH

| DOV

| MAR

| CLT

| TAL

| DAY

| PHO

| CAR

| ATL

! 66th

! 58

! {{cite web|url=https://www.racing-reference.info/drivdet/dillomi01/1998/W|title=Mike Dillon – 1998 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Results|work=Racing-Reference|publisher=NASCAR Digital Media, LLC|access-date=April 15, 2023}}

colspan=41| – Relieved Dale Earnhardt in race.

==Busch Series==

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:75%"

!colspan=42| NASCAR Busch Series results

Year

! Team

! No.

! Make

! 1

! 2

! 3

! 4

! 5

! 6

! 7

! 8

! 9

! 10

! 11

! 12

! 13

! 14

! 15

! 16

! 17

! 18

! 19

! 20

! 21

! 22

! 23

! 24

! 25

! 26

! 27

! 28

! 29

! 30

! 31

! 32

! 33

! {{Tooltip|NBSC|NASCAR Busch Series classification}}

! Pts

! Ref

1993

!

!

!

| DAY

| CAR

| RCH

| DAR

| BRI

| HCY

| ROU

| MAR

| NZH

| CLT

| DOV

| MYB

| GLN

| MLW

| TAL

| IRP

| MCH

| NHA

| BRI

| DAR

| RCH

| DOV

| ROU

| CLT

| MAR

| CAR

| style="background:#FFCFCF;"| HCY
{{small|DNQ}}

| ATL

| colspan=5|

! NA

! -

! {{cite web|url=https://www.racing-reference.info/drivdet/dillomi01/1993/B|title=Mike Dillon – 1993 NASCAR Busch Series Results|work=Racing-Reference|publisher=NASCAR Digital Media, LLC|access-date=April 15, 2023}}

1995

! Richard Childress Racing

! 12

! Chevy

| DAY

| CAR

| RCH

| ATL

| NSV

| DAR

| BRI

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| HCY
16

| NHA

| NZH

| CLT

| DOV

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| MYB
17

| GLN

| MLW

| TAL

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| SBO
18

| IRP

| MCH

| BRI

| DAR

| RCH

| DOV

| style="background:#EFCFFF;"| CLT
42

| style="background:#EFCFFF;"| CAR
29

| HOM

| colspan=7|

! 54th

! 449

! {{cite web|url=https://www.racing-reference.info/drivdet/dillomi01/1995/B|title=Mike Dillon – 1995 NASCAR Busch Series Results|work=Racing-Reference|publisher=NASCAR Digital Media, LLC|access-date=April 15, 2023}}

1996

! rowspan=3| Parker Racing

! rowspan=3| 72

! rowspan=3| Chevy

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| DAY
15

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| CAR
32

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| RCH
23

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| ATL
14

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| NSV
20

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| DAR
26

| style="background:#FFCFCF;"| BRI
DNQ

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| HCY
26

| style="background:#EFCFFF;"| NZH
25

| style="background:#FFCFCF;"| CLT
DNQ

| style="background:#EFCFFF;"| DOV
38

| style="background:#FFDF9F;"| SBO
10

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| MYB
21

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| GLN
19

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| MLW
33

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| NHA
23

| style="background:#EFCFFF;"| TAL
29

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| IRP
21

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| MCH
35

| BRI

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| DAR
22

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| RCH
18

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| DOV
28

| style="background:#FFCFCF;"| CLT
DNQ

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| CAR
15

| style="background:#FFCFCF;"| HOM
DNQ

| colspan=7|

! 23rd

! 1945

! {{cite web|url=https://www.racing-reference.info/drivdet/dillomi01/1996/B|title=Mike Dillon – 1996 NASCAR Busch Series Results|work=Racing-Reference|publisher=NASCAR Digital Media, LLC|access-date=April 15, 2023}}

1997

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| DAY
18

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| CAR
31

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| RCH
14

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| ATL
26

| style="background:#FFDF9F;"| LVS
10

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| DAR
27

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| HCY
16

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| TEX
13

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| BRI
31

| style="background:#EFCFFF;"| NSV
34

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| TAL
15

| style="background:#EFCFFF;"| NHA
35

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| NZH
21

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| CLT
14

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| DOV
19

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| SBO
15

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| GLN
18

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| MLW
31

| style="background:#FFDF9F;"| MYB
6

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| GTY
19

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| IRP
11

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| MCH
38

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| BRI
30

| style="background:#EFCFFF;"| DAR
39

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| RCH
16

| style="background:#DFDFDF;"| DOV
4

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| CLT
33

| style="background:#FFDF9F;"| CAL
6

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| CAR
23

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| HOM
21

| colspan=3|

! 15th

! 3008

! {{cite web|url=https://www.racing-reference.info/drivdet/dillomi01/1997/B|title=Mike Dillon – 1997 NASCAR Busch Series Results|work=Racing-Reference|publisher=NASCAR Digital Media, LLC|access-date=April 15, 2023}}

1998

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| DAY
24

| style="background:#FFDF9F;"| CAR
8

| style="background:#FFDF9F;"| LVS
7

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| NSV
42

| style="background:#FFDF9F;"| DAR
6

| style="background:#EFCFFF;"| BRI
31

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| TEX
14

| style="background:#DFDFDF;"| HCY
4

| style="background:#EFCFFF;"| TAL
17

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| NHA
19

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| NZH
15

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| CLT
21

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| DOV
15

| style="background:#EFCFFF;"| RCH
37

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| PPR
24

| style="background:#DFDFDF;"| GLN
5

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| MLW
16

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| MYB
20

| style="background:#FFDF9F;"| CAL
10

| style="background:#EFCFFF;"| SBO
16

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| IRP
14

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| MCH
13

| style="background:#EFCFFF;"| BRI
40

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| DAR
40

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| RCH
26

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| DOV
19

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| CLT
18

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| GTY
32

| style="background:#FFDF9F;"| CAR
7

| style="background:#EFCFFF;"| ATL
33

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| HOM
24

| colspan=2|

! 12th

! 3250

! {{cite web|url=https://www.racing-reference.info/drivdet/dillomi01/1998/B|title=Mike Dillon – 1998 NASCAR Busch Series Results|work=Racing-Reference|publisher=NASCAR Digital Media, LLC|access-date=April 15, 2023}}

1999

! ST Motorsports

! 59

! Chevy

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| DAY
18

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| CAR
19

| style="background:#FFCFCF;"| LVS
DNQ

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| ATL
13

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| DAR
34

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| TEX
28

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| NSV
18

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| BRI
32

| style="background:#EFCFFF;"| TAL
26

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| CAL
13

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| NHA
32

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| RCH
13

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| NZH
21

| style="background:#FFCFCF;"| CLT
DNQ

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| DOV
16

| style="background:#EFCFFF;"| SBO
27

| style="background:#FFDF9F;"| GLN
7

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| MLW
35

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| MYB
30

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| PPR
27

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| GTY
31

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| IRP
23

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| MCH
19

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| BRI
23

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| DAR
31

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| RCH
27

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| DOV
13

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| CLT
12

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| CAR
33

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| MEM
18

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| PHO
37

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| HOM
27

| colspan=1|

! 16th

! 2795

! {{cite web|url=https://www.racing-reference.info/drivdet/dillomi01/1999/B|title=Mike Dillon – 1999 NASCAR Busch Series Results|work=Racing-Reference|publisher=NASCAR Digital Media, LLC|access-date=April 15, 2023}}

2000

! rowspan=2| Richard Childress Racing

! rowspan=2| 21

! rowspan=2| Chevy

| style="background:#FFDF9F;"| DAY
9

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| CAR
17

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| LVS
22

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| ATL
19

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| DAR
13

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| BRI
37

| style="background:#EFCFFF;"| TEX
38

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| NSV
37

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| TAL
34

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| CAL
28

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| RCH
19

| style="background:#EFCFFF;"| NHA
36

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| CLT
18

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| DOV
32

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| SBO
20

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| MYB
37

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| GLN
19

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| MLW
25

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| NZH
37

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| PPR
20

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| GTY
32

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| IRP
12

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| MCH
22

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| BRI
32

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| DAR
21

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| RCH
17

| style="background:#FFDF9F;"| DOV
8

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| CLT
20

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| CAR
36

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| MEM
27

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| PHO
31

| style="background:#FFCFCF;"| HOM
DNQ

| colspan=1|

! 23rd

! 2743

! {{cite web|url=https://www.racing-reference.info/drivdet/dillomi01/2000/B|title=Mike Dillon – 2000 NASCAR Busch Series Results|work=Racing-Reference|publisher=NASCAR Digital Media, LLC|access-date=April 15, 2023}}

2001

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| DAY
29

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| CAR
19

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| LVS
18

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| ATL
20

| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| DAR
28

| style="background:#EFCFFF;"| BRI
37

| TEX

| NSH

| TAL

| CAL

| RCH

| NHA

| NZH

| CLT

| DOV

| KEN

| MLW

| GLN

| CHI

| GTY

| PPR

| IRP

| MCH

| BRI

| DAR

| RCH

| DOV

| KAN

| CLT

| MEM

| PHO

| CAR

| HOM

! 56th

! 525

! {{cite web|url=https://www.racing-reference.info/drivdet/dillomi01/2001/B|title=Mike Dillon – 2001 NASCAR Busch Series Results|work=Racing-Reference|publisher=NASCAR Digital Media, LLC|access-date=April 15, 2023}}

==Craftsman Truck Series==

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:75%"
colspan=45| NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series results
Year

! Team

! No.

! Make

! 1

! 2

! 3

! 4

! 5

! 6

! 7

! 8

! 9

! 10

! 11

! 12

! 13

! 14

! 15

! 16

! 17

! 18

! 19

! 20

! 21

! 22

! 23

! 24

! 25

! 26

! {{Tooltip|NCWTC|NASCAR Camping World Truck classification}}

! Pts

! Ref

1997

! rowspan=2| Richard Childress Racing

! 33

! rowspan=2| Chevy

| WDW

| TUS

| HOM

| PHO

| POR

| EVG

| I70

| NHA

| TEX

| BRI

| NZH

| MLW

| LVL

| CNS

| HPT

| IRP

| FLM

| NSV

| GLN

| RCH

| MAR

| SON

| MMR

| CAL

| style="background:#DFFFDF;"| PHO
16

| LVS

! 114th

! 85

! {{cite web|url=https://www.racing-reference.info/drivdet/dillomi01/1997/C|title=Mike Dillon – 1997 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Results|work=Racing-Reference|publisher=NASCAR Digital Media, LLC|access-date=April 15, 2023}}

1999

! 8

| HOM

| PHO

| EVG

| MMR

| MAR

| MEM

| PPR

| I70

| BRI

| TEX

| PIR

| style="background:#EFCFFF;"| GLN
30

| style="background:#EFCFFF;"| MLW
32

| NSV

| NZH

| MCH

| NHA

| IRP

| GTY

| HPT

| RCH

| LVS

| LVL

| TEX

| CAL

|

! 79th

! 140

! {{cite web|url=https://www.racing-reference.info/drivdet/dillomi01/1999/C|title=Mike Dillon – 1999 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Results|work=Racing-Reference|publisher=NASCAR Digital Media, LLC|access-date=April 15, 2023}}

References

{{reflist}}