Getty Ty Dillon will join GMS Racing for the 2022 Cup Series season.
GMS Racing has revealed the identity of the team’s Cup Series driver. Ty Dillon will be man behind the wheel for the 2022 season. He will drive the No. 94 Chevrolet Camaro while pursuing playoff points.
GMS Racing made the announcement during a press conference on Sunday, October 10. The organization used the opportunity to confirm the rumors that Dillon would join on a full-time basis. The team also revealed that the No. 94 Chevrolet will use engines from ECR, a research and development company at the Richard Childress Racing facility.
It’s Go Tyme.
Please welcome our new full-time driver of the No. 94 Chevrolet in the NASCAR Cup Series, @tydillon!
“It’s such an honor to be able to drive for GMS Racing as they take the step into the NASCAR Cup Series for the first time, and that they have chosen me as their driver for the future,” Dillon said in a press release. “It’s been a challenging year off from racing full-time but I’m so excited to return. I don’t think that there is going to be another driver that is more hungry than I am next year to get back out there and prove what I am capable of in the Cup Series. I am excited for our future and am ready to get to work.”
While GMS had some fun on social media and teased the return of No. 26, the team ultimately went with a number with historical significance to team president Mike Beam. Back in 1995, Beam partnered with NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott to run Bill Elliott Racing. The organization used No. 94 in the late 1990s.
GMS Racing Remained Focused Only on Dillon
When the championship-winning Truck Series team announced its intention to move to the Cup Series with a June 17 press release, there were immediate questions about which driver would join them for the journey. There were several pending free agents at the time, but Beam did not look at other options.
The GMS executive explained during a press conference at Charlotte Motor Speedway that he did not talk to anyone other than Dillon during the team-building process. Beam said that GMS believes Dillon is “hungry” after a 2021 season in which he only made four Cup Series starts with Gaunt Brothers Racing and 11 Xfinity Series races with Joe Gibbs Racing, Our Motorsports, and Jordan Anderson Racing.
“GMS is always looking forward and I believe this is the next step for the team in that process,” added team owner Maury Gallagher in the press release. “We have the goal to be a championship caliber team in any series in which we compete, and I am excited to watch the team grow in the coming years.”
GMS Racing Still Has Work To Complete Before 2022
One of the biggest questions prior to the Dillon announcement on October 10 was “does GMS Racing have a charter?” The team provided this answer during the press conference, revealing that there is still work to do.
According to media member Lee Spencer, Beam called the pursuit of a charter “an ongoing soap opera.” He added that the team will run open if they have to, meaning that Dillon would have to qualify for every race on the schedule instead of having guaranteed entry.
While there is still work remaining before Dillon makes his official Cup Series debut, the team will have the opportunity to get the No. 94 on the track. The team will take part in the upcoming two-day Next Gen test at the Charlotte Roval on October 11-12.
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