Austin Dillon... The Next Big Thing?

WhiningSmoke

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This current generation of new drivers breaking into Nascar was led by Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who beat everybody else to the Cup series. He has not succeeded. Austin Dillon has been showing his talent everywhere in 2013. He proved he's not just Richard's grandson by winning at Eldora tonight.

I'm calling it now, Austin Dillon will be a Cup Champion in the next 10 years. He's easily been the most talented person of this new generation. He knows how to handle his sponsors, he knows how to drive a race car, and he has the best job security that any driver in Nascar has today. He finished 3rd in his Daytona 500 Duel this year, he has won a whopping six poles in the Nationwide series including 4 in a row, and he won the Inaugural Mudsummer Classic tonight. He's having a great year, and he'd be leading the Nationwide standings right now had it not been for some bad luck. Actually, he's made up more ground than anyone in that title hunt. He's proving he's ready for Cup.

In 2014, Richard Childress would be stupid to not move Austin into the Cup series. Austin's proven he's ready for Cup. Even in the Cup series, he's shown he belongs this year. He's run decent in the #51 car. His runs in the #33 car have been great. He ran top 5 for a while and actually held his ground at Michigan before finishing 11th. As stated earlier, he finished 3rd in his Budweiser Duel. He was running well in the Daytona 500 before he got in an accident which was not of his making. All I'm saying is, his future looks brighter than anybody else's coming into Sprint Cup. He has proven he deserves to drive the #3 car, and he'd do it's legacy well.
 
It certainly was impressive beating cup drivers like Ken Schrader and Kenny Wallace , but I don't think that gives him a leg up on the next cup championship . The Dillons did the tire test at El Dora , I believe , and that alone , should have given them an advantage over other drivers who had never seen the place . It seems every week , we are annointing another young gun to be the next 'sliced bread' . We'll see .
 
It certainly was impressive beating cup drivers like Ken Schrader and Kenny Wallace , but I don't think that gives him a leg up on the next cup championship . The Dillons did the tire test at El Dora , I believe , and that alone , should have given them an advantage over other drivers who had never seen the place . It seems every week , we are annointing another young gun to be the next 'sliced bread' . We'll see .


It's not just his win last night though. Look at what he's been doing in the Nationwide series lately. Or look at how he runs when he's in Cup. Maybe it's too soon to give him a Cup championship, but I have no doubt he'll do great when he goes full-time, and there's no question that he's ready.
 
Is this like a hobby of yours? Talking nonsense..

You seen to be fixated with the number 10 for some reason.

Ricky Stenhouse is a 2 time champion in the NW series so where are you getting the sense that he failed? This is his first year in Cup, one is not expecting him to be top tenning or winning races at this level yet.

Austin hasn't proven he's the best driver of this generation. How you came to that conclusion is beyond me.

Honestly, at this point no one knows what he will be capable of doing but to already be saying he's going to be a champion in cup is a stretch.

Kyle Larson has more potential tgan any of the Dillon brothers in my opinion.

You have to be realistic here, you cant crown Austin as the most talented driver without seeing what his counter parts have to offer and trust me Larson has tons.
 
Is this like a hobby of yours? Talking nonsense..

You seen to be fixated with the number 10 for some reason.

Ricky Stenhouse is a 2 time champion in the NW series so where are you getting the sense that he failed? This is his first year in Cup, one is not expecting him to be top tenning or winning races at this level yet.

Austin hasn't proven he's the best driver of this generation. How you came to that conclusion is beyond me.

Honestly, at this point no one knows what he will be capable of doing but to already be saying he's going to be a champion in cup is a stretch.

Kyle Larson has more potential tgan any of the Dillon brothers in my opinion.

You have to be realistic here, you cant crown Austin as the most talented driver without seeing what his counter parts have to offer and trust me Larson has tons.


Fixated with the number 10? I don't get it.

There you go, putting a spin on what I said so it could suit your argument. I said Stenhouse has not succeeded, meaning he still can. I'm not saying he's failed either, he's done a decent job and he should have a win at Kansas. I'm a huge fan of the guy, I expected more off the bat from him.

Let's see..... how did I come to that conclusion..... maybe because he's outperformed everybody on his level? He had a Nationwide rookie season like no other, he won the Truck championship in only his second season, he looks well on the way to winning the Nationwide championship if you've paid attention to the last few races...

A stretch? Look at his numbers and tell me that those don't look like a future champion. Plus, all the other stuff I mentioned about sponsors and job security and stuff. You know, if you read my post.

Larson has a lot of potential. I see him being Austin Dillon's rival throughout their cup careers. Tonight was a taste of that. And don't get me wrong, I don't think it's the Dillon BROTHERS. Ty has shown no brilliance. I simply believe Austin Dillon is the class of this generation.

Without seeing what his counterparts have to offer? I haven't missed a Nationwide race in over a year. I watch the Truck series as often as possible. Hell, I watch the regional series when they air on tv. ARCA included. I've seen what every single one of his counterparts are capable of. Austin Dillon has shown me the most.

As for this being a hobby of mine, I don't think you can call it talking nonsense. If I have an opinion on something, I'm going to post it on here to discuss with people. Hence the point of joining the forum.
 
Im not a big Dillon fan. He is very talented and who knows what he will bring to Cup. Cup is an entirely different animal. Stenhouse did great in NW and has been having a an average rookie year. But then there was Jimmie Johnson who didnt show a whole lot of promise in the lower division and then exploded when he hit Cup.
 
Yeah fixated, as an obssesed.

Not to long ago you were saying how MWR was going to be the most powerful team in Nascar and now you're divining Austin will be a champion in 10 years time. That is fixating.

I'm not putting a spin on anything. Just replying honestly and realistically.

Stenhouse has already exceeded. He has two championships under his belt and is currently running decent in cup, given that this is his first full season and with outdated equipment. I'd say he's putting a valiant effort into his first rookie year in cup racing.

And let's face it, Truck championships are nothing to write home about. So you beat 50 year olds and washed up drivers. Yeah that's
Real something.

And he has no numbers that you can go summize championships out of. How many races has he run in cup? 5? 7? 10? How can you say he's a future champ from such small sample size? It doesn't make sense to, you cant.
 
I still count Brad K as a young gun, and still NASCAR's "next big thing". He's only 29 with 1 championship already under his belt.
 
I thought Joey Logano was supposed to be the next big thing. ;) :p
 
Is this like a hobby of yours? Talking nonsense..

You seen to be fixated with the number 10 for some reason.

Ricky Stenhouse is a 2 time champion in the NW series so where are you getting the sense that he failed? This is his first year in Cup, one is not expecting him to be top tenning or winning races at this level yet.

Austin hasn't proven he's the best driver of this generation. How you came to that conclusion is beyond me.

Honestly, at this point no one knows what he will be capable of doing but to already be saying he's going to be a champion in cup is a stretch.

Kyle Larson has more potential tgan any of the Dillon brothers in my opinion.

You have to be realistic here, you cant crown Austin as the most talented driver without seeing what his counter parts have to offer and trust me Larson has tons.

One never knows what will happen once a driver gets to the Cup level, but at this point I'd have to say Larson impresses me way more than the Dillon boys....and by a long shot!
 
One never knows what will happen once a driver gets to the Cup level, but at this point I'd have to say Larson impresses me way more than the Dillon boys....and by a long shot!

I'd have to agree with Mopard, Larson drove the Hel out of that truck last night and didn't give up till the final lap!
 
I think someone has dirt in their eyes. Austin is very good, but he hasn't proven he's the best of this generation. Buescher and Stenhouse have accomplished as much or more (who was James driving for when he won the CW championship?).

There is a TON of new talent coming up, and it's damn exciting to thing the old guard 'gentleman racers' are on their way out. I've watched too many 'I'm not giving you anything' drivers like Kyle and Brad get ground down by Tony's 'we'll teach him to do it our way' pack mentality.

And Austin clearly out drove Larson last night. He started further back, passed more cars, set up the pass on Larson for the lead, and didn't blow a single restart.
 
I think someone has dirt in their eyes. Austin is very good, but he hasn't proven he's the best of this generation. Buescher and Stenhouse have accomplished as much or more (who was James driving for when he won the CW championship?).

There is a TON of new talent coming up, and it's damn exciting to thing the old guard 'gentleman racers' are on their way out. I've watched too many 'I'm not giving you anything' drivers like Kyle and Brad get ground down by Tony's 'we'll teach him to do it our way' pack mentality.

And Austin clearly out drove Larson last night. He started further back, passed more cars, set up the pass on Larson for the lead, and didn't blow a single restart.


Buescher was driving for Turner. I'd put their truck program right at or better than RCR. I also think Turner's NNS program on par with RCR 's. That being said I feel like the Dillion boys have fallen off a bit. I expected Austin to have been lighting up NNS these past two years much like he did in trucks. Also I don't know what happened to Tye. Maybe he was over hyped, but coming out of arca he was supposed to be the next best thing since joey logano.
 
And Austin clearly out drove Larson last night. He started further back, passed more cars, set up the pass on Larson for the lead, and didn't blow a single restart.


I chalk that up to experience over talent. Larson drove his ass off, but Austin drove cleaner and made less mistakes. The only reason Austin got by kyle was because kyle messed up and hit a truck. After that the one grove racing and veteran presence of Newman kept Larson at bay.
 
Agreed with others saying Kyle Larson is the "next big thing", that kid can wheel a race car that's for sure. Every time I see him, I come away impressed and at such a young age too.

Austin, I would say is on par or a notch below Stenhouse jr IMO. When you say he hasn't succeeded, it's implying that he has failed up to this point which isin't entirely fair. Whether or not you meant that, its just what it sounds like. Ricky has won more races, more championships up to this point. I think once Austin gets to Cup he'll be in the same boat as Ricky, looking for top 20's, top 15's and try to get some solid consistency. I highly doubt he'll be competing for wins with the big boys anytime soon. Besides that, RCR has a ways to go before they get their Cup program to championship calibre, I'm not saying it can't happen but I'm very skeptical it will and even more skeptical that Austin will be the driver to lead that organization back to the promise land.
 
I chalk that up to experience over talent. Larson drove his ass off, but Austin drove cleaner and made less mistakes. The only reason Austin got by kyle was because kyle messed up and hit a truck. After that the one grove racing and veteran presence of Newman kept Larson at bay.

Who knows? Larson clearly drives a style that often leaves him open to a good counter move. Will he adjust his style quickly, or take his time adjusting like that other Phenom with no cup championship, Kyle Busch.
 
IMO, Ricky is an all out and very fast driver who needs extra time to learn to keep the car under him. Austin is more a thinker and should have more early success than Stenhouse.
 
How many times have we heard a driver being called the next big thing, the next Gordon. Dillon and Larson look like they will be worthy of making good Cup drivers. But I don't want to speculate about their success. Too often drivers come up a year or two before they are ready and fail.
 
Yeah fixated, as an obssesed.

Not to long ago you were saying how MWR was going to be the most powerful team in Nascar and now you're divining Austin will be a champion in 10 years time. That is fixating.

I'm not putting a spin on anything. Just replying honestly and realistically.

Stenhouse has already exceeded. He has two championships under his belt and is currently running decent in cup, given that this is his first full season and with outdated equipment. I'd say he's putting a valiant effort into his first rookie year in cup racing.

And let's face it, Truck championships are nothing to write home about. So you beat 50 year olds and washed up drivers. Yeah that's
Real something.

And he has no numbers that you can go summize championships out of. How many races has he run in cup? 5? 7? 10? How can you say he's a future champ from such small sample size? It doesn't make sense to, you cant.


Obsessed? Don't see it, just making a prediction based on what I see.

I still believe that MWR is going to be the most powerful team in Nascar in 10 years. I also believe Dillon will win a Cup championship in that time.

I never said Stenhouse failed, you did. I put he hasn't succeeded, as in yet.

I understand he's in outdated equipment, I'm the one who brought that point up. Whether or not that's the case, he still needs more than that to succeed. His equipment being a year and a half old isn't helping his numbers.

He beat guys like Buescher. That's all I have to say.

How about his Nationwide stats from 2012? How about his performance in that series this year? In his Cup starts, he's exceeded the performances of Stenhouse in HIS first Cup starts. I'm not saying you're an idiot for disagreeing with me, I'm just stating what I believe is going to happen.
 
Some people have to have someone to follow..here comes the next messiah..here he comes..on and on. I enjoyed a close race last night. I don't think too many want daddy's little spoiled rich kid or a celebrity
to win the race. I had a wrong opinion of the Dillon boys, born with a silver spoon etc. They might have been given a better opportunity to drive a race car, but Austin went out and lined up his own sponsorship to run the Finch car in cup, then he did it again, so slowly I began to take him serious. both of them aren't laying down, their racing hard and winning races and as far as I am concerned they are part of the future of Nascar. I could care less if they win a championship as long as they are trying to win, the wins will come, they both have the talent to race in Nascar IMO. It was Austin's turn to put on a show last night along with Larson and Newman and that they did.
 
There are some funny posts in this thread. Austin Dillon is probably my least favorite driver but even I can admit he'll be one of the top five drivers in this sport down the road. He's got talent and he's guaranteed a quality ride. Even Kyle Larson, who is the most talented up-and-comer of the bunch, isn't guaranteed a top-tier Cup ride.

I don't like Austin Dillon at all - never have and never will... but if you think money earned that win last night and not talent, you're a damn fool.
 
Buescher was driving for Turner. I'd put their truck program right at or better than RCR. I also think Turner's NNS program on par with RCR 's. That being said I feel like the Dillion boys have fallen off a bit. I expected Austin to have been lighting up NNS these past two years much like he did in trucks. Also I don't know what happened to Tye. Maybe he was over hyped, but coming out of arca he was supposed to be the next best thing since joey logano.


Pretty hard to stand out in Nationwide and win a ton of races when you're racing against Kyle Busch. Once everyone admits that everyone in Nationwide is there as a supporting act in the Kyle Busch Show, we can start realizing that finishing second in Nationwide is an accomplishment and recognizing that talent.
 
Pretty hard to stand out in Nationwide and win a ton of races when you're racing against Kyle Busch. Once everyone admits that everyone in Nationwide is there as a supporting act in the Kyle Busch Show, we can start realizing that finishing second in Nationwide is an accomplishment and recognizing that talent.
All you have to do is look at the Nationwide point standings; there are no cup drivers listed ;)
 
Casey Atwood was 19 and didn't have the support and knowledge that growing up with a racing grandpa will give you. While I think Larson will have more success, I don't see how the Dillon boys won't be cup mainstays.
 
Pretty hard to stand out in Nationwide and win a ton of races when you're racing against Kyle Busch. Once everyone admits that everyone in Nationwide is there as a supporting act in the Kyle Busch Show, we can start realizing that finishing second in Nationwide is an accomplishment and recognizing that talent.



That would be fine if Dillion was consistantly running second to Kyle Busch. Guys like Smith and Hornish are having no trouble making a name for themselves in NNS, but what do I know Dillion has won the past two dash for cash.
 
Casey Atwood was 19 and didn't have the support and knowledge that growing up with a racing grandpa will give you. While I think Larson will have more success, I don't see how the Dillon boys won't be cup mainstays.
I didn't say they won't be mainstays, I said they weren't ready for full-time Cup in 2014.
 
There are some funny posts in this thread. Austin Dillon is probably my least favorite driver but even I can admit he'll be one of the top five drivers in this sport down the road. He's got talent and he's guaranteed a quality ride. Even Kyle Larson, who is the most talented up-and-comer of the bunch, isn't guaranteed a top-tier Cup ride.

I don't like Austin Dillon at all - never have and never will... but if you think money earned that win last night and not talent, you're a damn fool.

Down the road like what? 15 years from now?

Top 5 is still a stretch.

There are still young drivers that will reign in Nascar in 10 years time.

Kyle Busch, Kahne, Hamlin, Keselowski, Stenhouse and so on.

You say top 5 like nothing. How many more successful drivers right now are struggling to even be top 15 let alone top 5? Just think about that for a sec.

You're operating under the assumption that all current cup regulars will be gone by then which might not be the case as there are still a plethora of young guns in in cup at the moment and way down the road.

Austin has got talent, no doubt but will he be an all star, multiple championships with 50+ wins in cup? Hard sell.
 
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