NASCAR Driver Ty Dillon Gets 'Smoked' Like Texas BBQ In Foot Race At Circuit Of The Americas
Yesterday at 09:33 PM
By Jerry Jordan, Editor
AUSTIN, Tex. – The Lone Star State is well-known for smoked meats and BBQ, especially in the areas surrounding Circuit of the Americas (COTA) outside of Austin, but Ty Dillon got smoked in a different way when he challenged Leo Neugebauer, the world's top-ranked decathlete, to a foot race on the track’s frontstretch and up to Turn 1.
Dillon, who drives the No. 10 Sea Best Chevrolet for Kaulig Racing, told Kickin' the Tires he had walked the reconfigured COTA track twice to check out the reverse-angled Turn 6A and that he had also raced against Neugebauer.
"Yeah, I ran up the hill with Leo," Dillon said.
But rather than posturing and trash talk like some racecar drivers might do, Dillon was honest and forthcoming about the outcome of his ill-made challenge.
"He smoked me in a foot race up the hill," Dillon laughed. "I hung with him for the first couple of steps but he was in cowboy boots and a cowboy hat, so, you know, I think he was leaving a little bit in the tank.”
Still dressed in boots and wearing a cowboy hat – that he had to hold so it wouldn't fall off as he was "racing" up the hill – Neugebauer said he tried to give Dillon every advantage that he could think of.
"I'm in cowboy attire right now, got my hat on, my boots on, just looking appropriate for Texas," Neugebauer said, explaining that it didn’t work out so well for Dillon. "Yeah, he challenged me. I am always up for a good challenge. So, I didn't hold back. Well, I was held back a little bit because I am in boots. I had a deficit but I still got the W and that's all that matters."
Neugebauer, who won back-to-back collegiate championships in track and field for the University of Texas, made his Olympic debut in Paris this past year and brought home a silver medal. At COTA, he is serving as the honorary starter and will wave the green flag to send the NASCAR drivers flying up to Turn 1 – much like he did when he left Dillon gasping for air behind him.
"Exactly, I was trying to let him win but the competitive nature in me just said, 'no,'" Neugebauer said.
In his defense, Dillon conceded, "Everybody knew the end result before it happened."
