Ty Dillon is having quite a season. The Kaulig Racing driver entered the In-Season Challenge as the 32nd seed, a clear underdog, but managed to knock out Denny Hamlin, as well as other heavyweights like Brad Keselowski, Alex Bowman, and John Hunter Nemechek to reach the finals. And now, the No. 10 Chevy racer will be competing against Ty Gibbs for a staggering $1 million at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Talk about a payday, right?

But Dillon’s NASCAR career hasn’t always been as promising. The North Carolina-native was forced to leave his grandfather, Richard Childress’ team after failing to make a mark, only to claw his way back into NASCAR’s highest level on merit. That’s some real grit and determination to prove the naysayers wrong.

Ty Dillon shares eye-opening revelation about Richard Childress Racing

Eyebrows were raised when Ty Dillon secured a seat at Richard Childress Racing. As expected, many fans were quick to use words like ‘nepotism’ to describe the racer, who represented RCR in the Truck, Xfinity, and even the Cup Series. But despite the critics trying to weigh him down, the racer surpassed expectations in NASCAR’s lower tiers, winning at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the Xfinity Series in 2014. However, Dillon never managed to get a stable full-time Cup Series ride.

Opening up about his time at Richard Childress Racing, Ty Dillon said on the Door Bumper Clear podcast, “I think a lot of people think that I chose to go my own way, but honestly, there just wasn’t a door there open. I think they had (Ryan) Newman at the time. I think Caterpillar wasn’t interested in having me as their driver, and having two brothers at RCR just wasn’t something that they wanted. I don’t know all the politics behind it, but the door wasn’t there.”

Ty Dillon would have liked nothing more than to race for his grandfather at NASCAR’s highest level, even admitting, “That was my dream as a kid.” But things don’t always work out as planned. A lesson the racer was forced to learn the hard way. After a few odd appearances behind the wheel of a No. 33 Chevy, Dillon tried to salvage his career with brief stints at Circle Sport Leavine Family Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing, and Tommy Baldwin Racing. However, his real break came in 2017 when another Cup team came knocking.

Opening up about getting his breakthrough, Ty Dillon said, “I wanted to continue my career and Germain Racing gave me an opportunity with a four-year contract at that point.” Four full seasons with the No. 13 Chevy gave the racer some valuable experience in the Cup Series, which played a contributing factor in his eventual moves to Petty GMS Motorsports and Spire Motorsports. And now, he’s at Kaulig Racing battling it out with 23XI Racing’s Ty Gibbs for $1 million.

The journey has been pretty topsy-turvy, and one can’t help but sense a bit of regret from Dillon that he couldn’t break into his grandfather’s team. But at 33, there is plenty of time to make a comeback. Richard Childress was heard saying on the team radio at Dover Motor Speedway, “Gotta get some race cars. We are in trouble. Period.” With Kyle Busch struggling in the No. 8 Chevy and his contract expiring at the end of the year, could the Dillon brothers reunite in 2026? Time will tell.

Dillon opens up about his fairytale run

What a ride it has been. Out of the 32 racers competing in NASCAR’s Bracket Challenge, only two are remaining ahead of the race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. And Ty Dillon has had nothing short of a Cinderella story. Against all the odds, he has eliminated some of the biggest names in the Cup Series and despite finishing 20th at Dover, he has made it to the final round of the In-Season Challenge. Dillon has everything to fight for at ‘The Brickyard’ next weekend.

After the race in Dover, Dillon was heard saying on the team radio, “We don’t quit, boys! We don’t quit! Man, God is good all the time! That is cool! That worked out just right! Man, that’s cool.” Reflecting on his performances so far, the racer went on to say, “It feels good. I’ve been an underdog for a long time now. It’s hard to say we’ve lucked into it. All we can do is put pressure on them and execute at the right time.”

It won’t just be the battle of the Ty’s at Indianapolis, but two racers who have a point to prove to their grandfathers. Joe Gibbs and Richard Childress are two of the biggest names in the sport, and have been criticized by the stock car racing community for giving Gibbs and Dillon underserved opportunities at the highest level. But with $1 million on the line, one of them can shut down that narrative once and for all. Ty Dillon’s career at RCR may not have gone as planned, but this is a story that can end with the perfect finish. Who do you think will take the $1 million? Let us know in the comments!