The No. 02 Our Motorsports Chevrolet will feature a new driver during the trip to Darlington Raceway. The team will turn to NASCAR veteran Ty Dillon for the Xfinity Series race on September 3 (3 p.m. ET, USA Network).
NASCAR provided the revelation with the release of the entry list for the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200. The sheet had Dillon as the driver of the No. 02 Chevrolet Camaro. He will work with crew chief Kris Bowen during the first race of his double-duty weekend.
The trip to The Lady in Black will mark the fourth time in 2022 that Dillon has suited up for an Xfinity Series race. He joined JD Motorsports for road course races at Road America and Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Dillon also suited up for Big Machine Racing at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and turned in a sixth-place finish.
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Dillon Takes Over for Another Replacement Driver
GettyTy Dillon has multiple starts at Darlington Raceway.
The No. 02 Chevrolet has featured multiple drivers during the 2022 Xfinity Series season. For example, Brett Moffitt started out as the full-time wheelman while continuing a tenure with Our Motorsports that began in 2020.
Moffitt’s time with the organization came to a surprising end after the first 20 races of the 2022 season. Catchfence reported after the trip to Indianapolis Motor Speedway that Our Motorsports was parting ways with the former Truck Series champion. The team then provided confirmation with a brief press release on August 1.
With Moffitt out of the No. 02, another driver stepped in. Blaine Perkins took over the entry at Michigan International Speedway before also making starts at Watkins Glen International and Daytona International Speedway. He posted a season-best finish of 17th during the wreck-filled superspeedway race on August 26.
Dillon will now be the third driver to control the No. 02, and he will make another start at Darlington Raceway. He has suited up for seven previous Xfinity Series races at the South Carolina track, and he has secured three top-10 finishes. This includes a career-best of seventh in 2017.
This trip to Darlington Raceway is a reunion between Dillon and Our Motorsports. He made six starts for the team in 2021. Four were in the No. 23 and then two were in the No. 02 as he served as an illness replacement for Moffitt.
Questions Remain About Dillon’s Future
GettyTy Dillon has some opportunities ahead of him at Darlington Raceway.
The double-duty weekend will provide Dillon with multiple opportunities. First, he will get some crucial laps at a very difficult track before climbing into his Cup Series car for the night race. He was strong during his first trip to Darlington, which resulted in a 12th-place finish.
The other opportunity will be to gain some attention from teams in need of a driver for the 2023 season. Dillon will not return to the No. 42 Chevrolet of Petty GMS Motorsports, but he has plans to run full-time in one of the national series.
Turning in a strong performance at one of the sport’s most difficult tracks could help Dillon potentially generate some interest in his abilities. There are some teams that will need to find new drivers, such as JR Motorsports, and Dillon could put his name into this conversation.
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Our Motorsports Turns to Cup Series Veteran at Darlington