59-year-old Mike Dillon is one of the longest-serving employees at Richard Childress Racing currently. He began his association with the team as the young boyfriend of Richard Childress’s daughter, Tina, and now plays the role of executive vice president decades later. But did he race cars in the intervening period? Dillon was an active driver in NASCAR before an injury sidelined him permanently in 2001.
He started three races in the Craftsman Truck Series, 154 races in the Xfinity Series, and one race in the Cup Series. In the premier tier, he started the No. 31 Chevrolet as a substitute for Mike Skinner in a 1998 race at Fontana.
He failed to impress, crossing the checkered flag 11 laps down. Another one of his Cup Series appearances came in 1997 when he had to finish the Southern 500 in place of Dale Earnhardt. The Intimidator had experienced dizziness mid-race and Dillon had to take the seat of the No.
3 car as a relief driver. It is rather a full-circle moment that his son, Austin, drives the same infamous car full-time today. More success came old Dillon’s way in the Xfinity Series.
He secured 15 top-10s driving for Parker Racing, ST Motorsports, and Richard Childress Racing in a career that spanned seven years. The injury at Bristol in 2001 pushed him to take on management roles. When Richard Childress fixed Mike Dillon his first car The benefactor of the racing organization is all praise for his son-in-law’s character.
He said in an employee spotlight video that.
