DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Ty Dillon climbed from the No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet on Thursday night and took several minutes to look at his car. The expression on his face revealed the mixed emotions.
He didn't win the opening Duel at Daytona, but he made a serious statement by delivering a podium finish.
"We battled hard. We went to the back, got back to the front, had an opportunity. That's all you can ask for," Dillon told AltDriver on pit road.
On paper, this third-place finish was just a solid night at Daytona International Speedway for Dillon and crew chief Andrew Dickeson. In reality, it meant so much more.
Dillon kicked off Speedweeks by telling media members that Kaulig Racing gave him his best opportunity in the NASCAR Cup Series. A strong statement from the driver who spent multiple seasons with Germain Racing before joining Petty GMS Motorsports and Spire Motorsports for one season each.
Kaulig Racing is still relatively new in the Cup Series, so why did the Richard Childress Racing-affiliated team provide the best opportunity? As Dillon explained, this was the first team he joined that wasn't actively rebuilding or rebranding.
Kaulig Racing had won races at NASCAR's top level. The team just sought consistency as it approached its fourth full-time season.
Kaulig Racing has attempted to address this need by bringing in Dickeson, a former Richard Childress Racing engineer, to reunite with Dillon. The team added former Stewart-Haas Racing engineer Mike Cook as technical director.
These moves were significant according to Dillon and teammate AJ Allmendinger.
"You can just see the energy in the shop and the way things are focused," Dillon said during Daytona 500 Media Day. "We're focused on making our race cars fast. And that is the first priority."
The speed was evident Thursday night during the opening Duel race. Dillon was able to work through the field and take the lead late. He battled eventual winner Bubba Wallace for several laps as the end of the race approached.
This isn't to say that Dillon had an uneventful night. The final lap of the race had a near-disastrous moment. He went to move in front of Allmendinger on the final lap to make a late charge for the win. However, he lost control of the No. 10 and slammed into the outside wall.
This contact with the wall could have resulted in a multi-car pileup and hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage for multiple teams. This did not happen. Dillon saved the No. 10 and maintained his spot inside the top three all the way to the start-finish line.
"You just grip it and rip it," a chuckling Dillon said about his late save. "I grew up dirt racing, and sometimes your natural instincts just take over and you just got to drive through it.
"It was my first time being in that situation around here, and it was nice to see that we can come through with a decent finish."
The Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium was a warmup for Dillon and Kaulig Racing. The Duel race was the first big test for the veteran driver and the young team.
Dillon didn't win, but he showed that he could run well in the No. 10 Chevrolet. Now, he just has to put in some more work behind the scenes as he prepares for the true start of the regular season on Sunday.
This is work he is prepared to do so he can capitalize on this opportunity at Kaulig Racing.
"We're gonna get better," Dillon said. "I think we knocked the rust off a little bit."