Dillon has six previous NASCAR Cup Series starts to his credit at Auto Club Speedway, earning back-to-back top-10 finishes each of the last two years. He is also a two-time pole award winner at the 2.0-mile track (2016 and 2019) and a former Auto Club Speedway NASCAR Xfinity Series race winner.

The racing season only takes drivers to Auto Club Speedway once a year, so being in tune with their car is key. Dillon said the team has learned a lot about its cars and hopes to take that to the race. “We’ve had thoughts throughout the process of where we felt like we needed to be with our cars. We’ve done it wrong, and we’ve gotten it close,” said Dillon. “I felt like at the end of the year, the last race of the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway was a good race for us. I hope that says something because Auto Club Speedway has the same type of asphalt as Homestead-Miami. The asphalt wears the tires a lot. They are both big, older tracks. I’m looking forward to taking something similar to what we had at Homestead-Miami Speedway to Auto Club Speedway and improving on our 10th-place finish from last year. We did sit on the pole last year, so that was nice.”