A renewed, refocused Ty Dillon readies for Cup racing in 2022. (Photo: Stephen Conley | The Podium Finish)
While GMS Racing announced in June that they would go Cup racing in 2022, more details would be announced later.
That time arrived at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday morning. It was announced that Ty Dillon would join GMS Racing in the No. 94 Chevrolet for next season. GMS Racing president Mike Beam said it was an easy decision to have Dillon in the car. “I’ve known Ty for a long time, and after going part-time this year, I know he’s hungry and wants to get in the car.”
For Dillon, he’s had a hard time being part-time.
“I’ve had to really stay focused and not let failure weigh on my mind,” Dillon reflected. “I’ve been focused on getting back and knew I’d get there. Mentally, I won’t sit here and say it was easy. My wife gets a lot of the credit for helping me stay focused and staying mentally prepared.”
GMS is putting a driver in the car that has a lot of experiences through the years. “Whether it was Chevy or Toyota, all the teams, no matter if they had it all together or not so much, I owe a lot to all of them,” Dillon shared. “It’s really going to be a matter of me plugging in with the team quick and getting the new car ready to go as quickly as we can. We have a great team and I’m looking forward to getting in and working with Mike and all the guys.”
Mike Beam said the new car did have an impact on the decision and it should be an equalizer going forward.
As for sponsorship, details will be announced in the future. However, Beam said it’s actually been a little easier working on sponsorship for the Cup program than it was for their Truck program.
It’s the return of Mike Beam and Ty Dillon in the Cup Series. (Photo: Stephen Conley | The Podium Finish)
Dillon will run the No. 94, but that deal has more to do with Mike Beam as he said, “I talked to Bill (Elliott) a bit about this and everything Bill did for my career.”
In fact, according to Beam, “We could run enough throwback schemes at Darlington to run through the end of Ty’s career.”
As for Dillon’s car number, he said, “Bill has so much of a legacy, and now with Chase, plus everything it has to do with Mike, I’m proud to run this number. I’ve run a lot of numbers over my career, but any number looks good with success. Plus for Mike and GMS, part of that facility is on the property of Bill’s old shop, so there is a lot of significance for all of us at GMS according to Gibbs.”
There is a charter in place for 2022 to run the full season, but according to Beam, “I understand and I get it, but I don’t get it. This has been the hardest thing that I’ve ever had to negotiate in my entire career.”
The entire team is ready to go, and the excitement for Dillon to go full-time racing has him ready to go to Daytona today.
