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Sports

Dillon has three-peat in mind at Kentucky

By Sports Network
Published | Updated

Sparta, KY – Austin Dillon has been looking forward to the Nationwide Series' return to Kentucky Speedway for quite some time.

Dillon will attempt to win his third straight Nationwide race at this 1.5-mile racetrack. The series competed here twice last year, with Dillon scoring the season sweep.

One year ago, Dillon put on a dominating performance at Kentucky. The Richard Childress Racing driver started on the pole and led all but eight of the 200 laps for his first career victory in the series. Dillon also started on the pole when the series competed here in September. He led 65 laps, including the final 50. His win came one day after his team owner and grandfather, Richard Childress, celebrated his 67th birthday.

"Anytime you win at a place, you love it," Dillon said. "I have other tracks I love, but that one is very close to me, because I got the two biggest wins of my career here."

Dillon and Joey Logano are the only drivers with multiple Nationwide victories at Kentucky. Logano won three in a row here from 2008-10 when he drove for Joe Gibbs Racing. He is not entered in this year's race.

Right now, Dillon is fourth in the point standings. He is 45 points behind leader Regan Smith. Dillon recently set a record in the series by winning four consecutive poles -- Charlotte, Dover, Iowa and Michigan. He started 14th and finished 10th last weekend at Road America.

Dillon has not won a race since nine months ago at Kentucky. His best finish this season is second, which came earlier this month at Iowa. Dillon led 207 of 250 laps, but Trevor Bayne passed him with 12 laps to go and went on to claim the victory.

"Everybody is working hard together, but we're just struggling to have things go our way," Dillon said. "When it turns, it's going to be bad news for the rest of the teams out there."

Smith came to Road America with a commanding 58-point lead, but after finishing 32nd there, his advantage was trimmed to 28 over Justin Allgaier, who moved up to second in points following his runner-up finish.

"It was a big hit," Smith said. "You can't deny the fact that was a huge points hit, but with that said, that's why we worked hard to have the big lead and strive to have the big lead. I would much rather be the one being chased from 28 points out in front than the one chasing from 28 points behind."

Forty-one teams are on the preliminary entry list for the Feed the Children 300.

Series: NASCAR Nationwide. Date: Friday, June 28. Race: Feed the Children 300. Site: Kentucky Speedway. Track: 1.5-mile oval. Start time: 7:30 p.m. ET. Laps: 200. Miles: 300. 2012 Winner: Austin Dillon. Television: ESPN. Radio: Performance Racing Network (PRN)/SIRIUS NASCAR Radio.