Austin Dillon, a struggling NASCAR driver, received bad news about his team. The NASCAR Cup Season of 2024 has been a nightmare for Dillon, who was hoping to improve his poor performance from last season. In the nine races held so far this year, Dillon has only managed to secure a single top-10 finish. Except for a 16th place in Las Vegas, all his other placements have been outside the top-20.
On Sunday, Dillon achieved his best finish of the season, coming in 7th place at the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400. The Richard Childress Racing (RCR) team was motivated by this result, as it ended a streak of ten races without a single top-10 for Dillon. However, the team’s positivity was short-lived as NASCAR suspended a member of the No. 3 Chevy car team.
NASCAR announced on Wednesday that a member of the No. 3 car’s monkey team has been indefinitely suspended for violating the sport’s substance abuse policy. This is disappointing news for the team member, who previously played football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
In addition to the No. 3 team, two members of another car team also received a two-race suspension. This occurred due to the rear tire of the 2021 Cup champion’s car coming loose after leaving the pit lane. The monkey and the rear tire changer will have to sit out the Talladega race, as well as the following cup race.
Recently, a new crew chief took over the Richard Childress No. 3 team after the previous crew chief failed to improve Dillon’s performance. The new crew chief, Alexander, expressed confidence in the team’s hard work and familiarity with Dillon, stating that they will slowly and steadily climb back to the top.
The suspension of the monkey team member may not affect Alexander’s plans, as the team member has not been participating in pit stops since Martinsville. However, this disappointing news is not what the RCR team needed during this challenging phase of their season.
