TY dillon to drive no13 full time in 2017

MOORESVILLE, N.C. -- Beginning in 2017, Ty Dillon will take over full-time driving duties of the No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet SS in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for Germain Racing. Dillon follows Casey Mears, a seasoned veteran who, over the last six years, has helped build Germain Racing's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series program into a viable organization that has garnered the respect and attention of NASCAR's elite.

The 24-year-old Dillon has made 17 starts in the Sprint Cup Series for several different teams, including Circle Sport/Leavine Family Racing and Stewart-Haas Racing. He scored a career-best sixth-place finish at Talladega Superspeedway in May 2016 while serving as a relief driver for Tony Stewart.

"I have been preparing for this next step in my career for several years," Dillon said. "With my experience in the Camping World Truck Series and XFINITY Series, I am ready to drive full-time in the Sprint Cup Series. I want to thank Bob Germain and the entire Germain Racing organization for giving me this opportunity. It will be an honor to represent a brand and sponsor like GEICO which has played such a significant role in the sport for so many years."



http://www.nascar.com/en_us/news-me...rmain-racing-no-13-replacing-casey-mears.html
 
Welp, so much for the Geico Rep having that special bond with Mears to keep Casey and Geico together. I reckon the bottom line trumps personal relationship :idunno: Unless Geico is staying with Casey in some other fashion.
 
Been a while since we complained about hats around here so here's a refresher.....

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R Clarence said:
Mears or Dillon/Childress?
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Mears may have originally gotten a ride with the name but he lost that ride and has been with 33 making it on his own IMO. He took that car to places it never had been, like to the front. I do not see Dillon doing anything much. Again, JMO.
 
I like it although I'd rather see him at RCR right away. Hope Mears can find a good ride, maybe the 44 or 16 if its still around in 2017.
 
Give Mears credit though, he may have not been the best driver, but considering they (Germain) changed manufacturers three times in a six year span and Germain was not even qualifying for races at one point until Casey got there. He had some good runs and has helped the team out a lot and now with Germain being a midfield team, they see Ty as that next step up. Also, Ty probably brings in some solid sponsorship to help out, so this could be a pretty good upgrade for the 13 team.

Casey will still be around, someone will sign him.
 
wolfcub said:
Mears may have originally gotten a ride with the name but he lost that ride and has been with 33 making it on his own IMO. He took that car to places it never had been, like to the front. I do not see Dillon doing anything much. Again, JMO.
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One top ten in the past two seasons. Deteriorating performance year over year. Mears helped solidify the team, yes, but I'm not sure how much eternal loyalty that's supposed to buy in this environment under those conditions. I would guess that Ty Dillon's performance will be somewhat better if measured by actual numbers. Yet he'll probably have additional support.
 
gnomesayin said:
One top ten in the past two seasons. Deteriorating performance year over year. Mears helped solidify the team, yes, but I'm not sure how much eternal loyalty that's supposed to buy in this environment under those conditions. I would guess that Ty Dillon's performance will be somewhat better if measured by actual numbers. Yet he'll probably have additional support.
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I can tell you he was a solid fantasy pick on plate tracks, regardless of the league format.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
I can tell you he was a solid fantasy pick on plate tracks, regardless of the league format.
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That can tend to escape me since I avoid those races as much as I can. I did know that he and that team were better there than elsewhere. However, measurable quality results haven't occurred. If he were Michael Waltrip level good on plate tracks and subpar everywhere else, he would bring value because he'd always be a threat to win big events and sneak into the Chase. But he's not.
 
Bob Pockgrass said GEICO will continue to sponsor Mears in some Xfinity races.

That maybe a good direction for Mears IMHO.

Also, remember Daniel Hemric will be with RCR next year in Xfinity. I guess he is the replacement driver and will take over the 2 instead of the 3... At least that's my guess.
 
Mears is probably the unannounced Xfinity Penske #12 driver unless its a completely out of left field ride. Penske has the Rick Mears connection and doubt Mears would settle for a part-time RCR xfinity ride this early in the offseason.
 
Peanut butter and jelly go together like racing and nepotism. You could probably take the cars out of auto racing more easily than the nepotism.
 
The teams Johnson 'n Dillon drove for the junior sedan series were absolutely equal in equipment 'n personnel too.
 
Charlie Spencer said:
Who was the last Xfinity champ (or even top 5) to go on to an notable career? Junior?
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Harvick, Truex, Bowyer, and likely soon Chase Elliott and perhaps Ty's brother.

Charlie Spencer said:
I suspect the same could be said for most forms of employment.
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True. People take care of their own, that's human nature. It's particularly true in racing because of the resources and connections required. It's very difficult for a kid to just decide to pick up racing cars without serious help and investment.
 
gnomesayin said:
Harvick, Truex, Bowyer, and likely soon Chase Elliott and perhaps Ty's brother.
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I don't think Truex and Bowyer's careers have been that notable though.

Chase Elliott will have a Hall of Fame career. Austin Dillon, I think, has underachieved so far even by the low standards that were set for him.
 
AndyMarquisLive said:
I don't think Truex and Bowyer's careers have been that notable though.

Chase Elliott will have a Hall of Fame career. Austin Dillon, I think, has underachieved so far even by the low standards that were set for him.
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'Notable' is obviously an indefinite term. I'm choosing to believe the intent of the question is who won the championship in.the lower series and went on to success or real contention in the Cup series. Bowyer had some strong seasons in which he was a consistent Chase presence or contender. We'll see where his career goes from here with SHR. Truex has been up and down and is currently on the upswing.

I also forgot Greg Biffle, who had a notable Cup career in my book as well.
 
I wondered on here a while ago how Mears kept his job, performing pretty poorly year after year. Probably time for a change, but I'm not sure Ty was the right choice to improve performance.
 
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