A former Texas Motor Speedway winner will have to make up ground early on Sunday afternoon. Austin Dillon will not be able to qualify after an unexpected issue.
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Dillon, who won the 2020 summer race at Texas, pulled into the garage after only completing three laps in Saturday morning's practice session. His No. 3 team immediately went to work diagnosing the issue while Fox Sports pulled the driver aside for some questions.
According to Dillon, he felt something wrong with the engine of his car. He ran wide open through Turns 3 and 4, but he did not have the power. He indicated that his team would have to change out the engine before Sunday's race (3:30 p.m. ET on FS1).
Prior to the early exit, Dillon posted a best lap of 30.520 seconds. This ranked 18th out of 19 drivers in Group 1.
Starting at the rear of the field will take the former Texas winner out of contention for stage points early. He will have to try to work his way through the field early while contending with dirty air and the "hornet's nest" of other drivers.
Another consequence of the engine issue is that he will not be able to put himself in position for a better pit stall selection. Instead, the No. 3 team will have to take what is available after the top qualifiers select their ideal stalls.
Dillon has performed consistently overall at the intermediate track in both the Gen 6 and Gen 7 eras. He has 10 top-15 finishes and one win in 21 starts at Texas Motor Speedway. His last two starts at the track have resulted in top-10 finishes.
"Texas (Motor Speedway) is a place that we've had some success at as a company," Dillon told media members on Friday afternoon. "RCR (Richard Childress Racing) has had some speed. We've been able to click off some good finishes."
