By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor
As the NASCAR offseason continues to roll along, another domino in NASCAR’s silly season has fallen with the announcement from Germain Racing on Monday that Ty Dillon will replace Casey Mears behind the wheel of the No. 13 Chevrolet in 2017.
Dillon had spent the past five seasons in both the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series, as well as making select Cup Series starts over the past three years. Those five seasons included three wins in the Truck Series in 2012 and 2013, and one win in the Xfinity Series in 2014. In his 17 Cup Series starts, Dillon scored a career-best finish of sixth while driving in relief of Tony Stewart at Talladega Superspeedway in May 2016.
“I have been preparing for this next step in my career for several years. 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,” said Dillon.
Germain Racing moved up to the Cup Series in 2009 after scoring two championships in the Truck Series (2006 and 2010) and two top-10 points finishes in the Xfinity Series (2008 and 2009). The team entered into a technical alliance with Richard Childress Racing in 2014 after switching to Chevrolet. In their eight years in the Cup Series, the team employed Casey Mears, Max Papis, Dave Blaney, Todd Bodine, Landon Cassill, and Mike Skinner part-time from 2009 to 2011 and Mears as their driver on a full-time basis since 2011. In his tenure with Germain Racing, Mears scored one top-five finish and five top-10 finishes, all of which came on the restrictor plate tracks of Daytona and Talladega.
“First of all, I want to thank Casey Mears for everything he’s done for our race team over the past six years. He’s been an integral part of our growth and a great representative for GEICO and our many partners. Bringing Ty onboard is an exciting opportunity for us and we are committed to giving him all the resources he needs to reach his full potential. He’s a very talented driver and first class young man. I’m looking forward to working with him, as well as expanding our relationship with RCR,” said Bob Germain.
“Ty has done an exceptional job for us at RCR in every series he has raced in. He has won races at each level and competed for championships every year. Ty is a passionate driver and has shown that he is ready for the highest level of stock car racing. I’m proud of him and I am confident he will succeed. I have a lot of respect for Bob Germain and the organization he has built, and I know he and Ty will be successful together. I also look forward to Ty’s continued involvement in RCR’s XFINITY Series program,” said Richard Childress, Dillon’s grandfather and owner of Richard Childress Racing.
