By Bill Sullivan, GGRT Media Relations
Ty Dillon returns to the Golden Gate Racing Team #31 in Phoenix next week – Photo by Pat Brandon
AVONDALE, AZ (2-17-11) – The San Francisco based Golden Gate Racing Team is proud to announce the return of North Carolina's Ty Dillon to its competitive team for the opening of the 2011 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West season next week. Dillon will strap into the seat of GGRT-RCR #31 Chevrolet at the Phoenix International Raceway on February 24th for the 3 Amigos Organic Blanco 100
"We are really excited to have Ty Dillon back with our team for the opening race in Phoenix," said Patricia Offenbach, owner of the #31 that will carry the lead sponsorship of Bay Bio Diesel and the Golden Gate Meat Company in conjunction with Richard Childress Racing and the Hill Meat Company completing the package. "In the last race of the season Ty drove us to a great second place finish and we are looking for another strong finish. We've known Ty since he was born so it is truly an honor to have him in one of our cars again."
A resident of Lewisville, North Carolina, 19-year-old Dillon is far from a newbie when it comes to success in NASCAR racing. Next week he will join Michael Self, primary driver for the Golden Gate Racing Team that will pilot the Richard Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma #21 car as the Golden Gate Racing Team has collaborated with Richard Childress to field two competitive cars on the one mile Phoenix International Raceway.
"I'm really getting excited about coming back to Phoenix," said Dillon, who was featured on NASCAR's Hub Wednesday night on Speed TV. "My last race there was my first time on the track so I'll come back with more experience and get to work with everyone on this team again. We've had a good start to 2011 so far, we picked up where we left off last year. Hopefully we can carry that out west and have good run with the Golden Gate Racing Team."
As Dillon steps back into the stable of the Golden Gate Racing Team, he will look continue a streak of great success that he has had already in 2010 and early in 2011. Last season, Dillon started in eight events in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East. He ranked 13th in the overall standings with two top five finishes and four top tens, including his first career win.
Most recently, Dillon has made the headlines in the ARCA Racing Series where he claimed the pole position at Daytona International Speedway in the nationally televised season opening Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200. He also claimed the Gator Championship for DIRTcar UMP Modifeds in the 40th DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park in Florida last week.
With such success so early in his career, Dillon is well on his way to continuing the winning ways that have been a Childress family tradition for decades. Ty Dillon is the grandson of Richard Childress and the son of Mike Dillon, a former GGRT driver who is now the Director of Competition at Richard Childress Racing in Welcome, North Carolina. Ty's brother, Austin, is a also a former GGRT driver and now a popular top driver in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and also shares time in the NASCAR regional divisions, late models and the DIRTcar series.
"I would like to thank Patti Offenbach and everyone at Golden Gate for running my grandson at Phoenix as Michael Self's teammate," said Childress. "There is a lot of talent in the K&N Pro Series West and I will be watching Michael and Ty gain experience on the one mile tri oval. Look for both of the GGRT/RCR cars to be running strong up front in this race."
About the 2011 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West…..
Thursday's event is the first of 14 races in the 2011 NASCAR K&N Pro Series West season. The Golden Gate Racing Team will return to the Arizona track on November 12 when the 2011 season championship campaign comes to a conclusion.
The schedule features a return to several tracks. Included is a race on June 11 at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motors Speedway where the series raced in 2001, 2002 and 2003; a race on July 10 at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Wash. and a race on Sept. 3 at Spokane (Wash.) County Raceway.
A key event on the schedule is the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East-West combination race at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa on May 21. The fifth edition of the East-West challenge will be the same weekend with a NASCAR Nationwide Series race at the track 30 miles east of Des Moines.
Again in 2011, the schedule includes three road course events – Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah on April 30; Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., on June 25; and Portland (Ore.) International Raceway on July 24.
For the fourth straight year, the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West will make two visits to All American Speedway in Roseville, Calif. The historic fairgrounds track will host the series on April 16 and again on Oct. 15.
The series will visit Toyota Speedway at Irwindale (Calif.) on July 2, participating in the track’s big Fourth of July holiday celebration event for a fifth consecutive year.
Two other popular short-track events on the 2011 schedule for the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West include a visit to Colorado National Speedway in Dacono, Colo., on Aug. 6 and a trip to Montana Raceway Park in Kalispell, Mont., on Aug. 13.
The Golden Gate Racing Team carries the support of Bay Bio Diesel, the Golden Gate Meat Company and Richard Childress Racing Development. Additional team support includes Hill Meat Company, The Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma, Superior Lamb Company, Harraka Racing Equipment Sales, Foodcomm International, Signco and Praxair.
For an in-depth look at the Golden Gate Racing Team and additional news, visit their website at www.goldengateracingteam.com. To learn more about the Richard Childress Racing Driver Development program visit www.rcrracing.com. More information about Ty Dillon can be found on his personal website at www.teamdillonracing.com. The Golden Gate Racing Team can also be found on Facebook along with Richard Childress Racing, Michael Self and Ty Dillon.
