Folks, the 2025 season is proving to be more unexpected than we had previously thought. Eight races into the season, we haven’t seen a single Team Penske car win a race. This is surprising after they have been unbeatable in the next-gen era, winning all three championships. Rather, Joe Gibbs Racing has bagged 5 out of these eight races. Christopher Bell won three consecutively, and now Denny Hamlin‘s on a streak after winning two back-to-back. All this after folks thought that Hamlin’s days were over. And the list of unexpected things is long. Like how Kaulig Racing’s cars are having good runs! Especially the veteran making a comeback in the Cup Series!
And if we continue dwelling on the unexpectedness of 2025, we cannot omit Josh Berry winning in Las Vegas, his first Cup win and that too in the #21 car of Wood Brothers Racing. And folks, this was no fluke victory. Berry had a good run and then took the checkered flag. But coming back to Kaulig. Both of their drivers this season are returning Cup veterans. AJ Allmendinger in the #16 ran a Xfinity Series season last year. And Ty Dillon in the #10 was demoted to the Truck Series after his disappointing runs in the Cup. But in 2025, he’s probably having his best season despite having hiccups along the way.
Ty Dillon is having the comeback he wanted!
Dillon’s last Cup Series season was 2023, and he only managed to get two top 15s, ending the season in P32. And then his 2024 Truck Series season wasn’t great either; he finished it cup less in the 22nd position. And when Kaulig announced him in the #10 car for the 2025 Cup season, it shook many. But so far, things have worked out great for him. Kaulig’s gamble seems to be paying off. He’s got a P9 at BGS, followed by a P14 at the Daytona 500. Then in Atlanta, he was running well, in the top 25, before getting spun out on his own. Then, he also had some trouble at COTA when Austin Cindric deliberately spun him out.
Still, in the last five races, Dillon has managed to get 3 top-16 finishes. Which is commendable. And Dillon is satisfied how his season’s been so far. In a Frontstretch interview, he said, “Yeah, certainly. Keeping our car up front during the races, the activity is good. The results haven’t been perfect. You know, Daytona and Phoenix were decent results, but feel like at Phoenix probably should have had more, which is always a good thing when you’re disappointed with a 16th-place finish because you had more opportunity there.”
And Ty Dillon is currently having his best season. Eight races in, he’s already got 4 top 20s. And if you compare it to his last Cup season in 2023, he just had 5 top 20s in all 36 races. And Dillon is currently also P25 in the points table, despite having troubles in the races. “And you know, you look back at Atlanta and COTA, and those were two situations that were kind of taken out of our hands early…So we’re happy with the way we’re performing, but there’s so much room to get better on myself and everything, just kind of cleaning up the edges. The goal is to keep keeping ourselves up front and our year will progress in the way we wanted to,” Dillon added.
Even in Phoenix, he finished 16th despite having a bad pit stop and a late speeding penalty. And overall pit stops have been an issue for the #10 team. If they improve on that, it can significantly change things for them. As they clearly have the speed to run top 15, maybe even top 10. “So, you know, we definitely probably cost ourselves a good six spots by me speeding and just making a mistake there. And those are things that you’re going to have to learn. I got to learn, as far as running up front at the end of those races in those high-pressure situations. You know, I think in my mind, you feel like you’ve got to push to the fullest limit when you’re running up front.”
And folks, not just on the track, Ty Dillon is aiming to make the whole year a positive by indulging in off-track activities. He recently visited the Hurricane Helene survivors.
Ty Dillon is heading motivated to Bristol
Folks, NASCAR is headed next to the Bristol Motor Speedway. But before heading to the track, Dillon visited the Appalachian Highlands Region. There he paid a visit to a children’s hospital and also toured the area, visiting the homes the local authorities are constructing for the survivors. If you recall, the Hurricane Helene had caused havoc last fall with loss of life and property. Around 230 people were reported to be killed.
And according to Dillon, it gives him great pleasure to be around these kids. Their spirit is exceptional.“It’s always an honor for me to be able to give my time in that way and just also have fun with the local families. I really enjoy getting to spend the moments that I get with these kids as a parent. You want to do everything you can to help make these days a little bit easier for these folks.”
Also, after spending time with the kids, Dillon leaves rejuvenated. “I just love seeing the smiles on these kids’ faces when we get to have a little bit of fun or joke around or maybe bring them gifts because, you know, they’re going through a time in their life that is stressful and making a deep impact. And you’re hoping that you can bring just a lot of joy, and usually you leave being uplifted by these kids because they’re so strong and doing amazing things, fighting for what they’re going through,” Dillon added.
Dillon and his family frequented the roads that led up to Bristol from his hometown. So it was shocking for him to have all those beautiful mountains wiped out. That’s when he decided to spend time with the survivors every time he was in Bristol.
Folks, what do you think of Ty Dillon and his season? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
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