Kaulig Racing had their much-anticipated announcement announcement on Thursday, but, it was not for their open Cup Series seat. Ty Dillon has long been reported as the favorite to land that ride, but he was not announced with Williams. Bob Pockrass followed up the announcement with a report that Dillon has had conversations with Kaulig, but, did not mention Dillon as a favorite in that tweet specifically. Is Dillon still the favorite?

TBD/TBA on rest of Kaulig lineup beyond Hemric-Cup & Williams-Xfinity. Ty Dillon has had talks for Cup ride. Allmendinger says he'll do whatever Kaulig wants. It seems Xfinity more likely for AJ. Being Chevy team, Kaulig likely one of Trackhouse's options for SVG's Xfinity races. https://t.co/REkcIEDNZ6

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) November 16, 2023

Ty Dillon as Kaulig Racing’s Favorite

Silly Season Rumors: Ty Dillon to Kaulig?

We’ve discussed at length why Ty Dillon could go to Kaulig Racing. Of all of the 2023 Cup Series drivers to compete in every race, Dillon is the only one without a contract with a race team for 2024 in some capacity. He was not impressive this year as he finished last out of all Cup Series drivers in the points standings.

However, if he brings funding, that makes him an attractive candidate given his Cup Series experience. On top of that, generally speaking, Ty Dillon does not wreck a lot of race cars, which is very important to teams, especially ones finding their footing in the Cup Series like Kaulig. In 2023, Dillon had six DNFs, but only three of those were because of crashes, and he has four or fewer DNFs in 4 of his 6 Cup Series seasons.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. also said on a recent episode of the Dale Jr. Download that Dillon would be going to Kaulig. Even though he is not a reporter, it is an opinion that is worth listening to given his connections in the NASCAR garage.

Did Dale Earnhardt Jr. Just Reveal Ty Dillon to Kaulig?

Have Things Changed?

Pockrass’ report does not say that things have changed definitively. However, he has mentioned Dillon as the favorite before in reports. He most recently gave Dillon as the driver who will likely take the seat on November 14th.

I know people are anxious but things remain the same as far as the unannounced charter cars … SHR 10 favorite is Noah Gragson … Kaulig 16 likely is Ty Dillon … RWR 15 is still TBD, likely multiple drivers. https://t.co/mq8yi4IhJD

— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) November 14, 2023

In the tweet sent out today, Pockrass merely said that Dillon has met with Kaulig. Now, it is entirely possible that Pockrass did not mean anything by omitting Dillon being the favorite. He did mention that Dillon has met with Kaulig, so, that keeps Dillon in the conversation at the very least.

However, Kaulig may be continuing to explore options. That is the smart thing to do as a business is to take a look at every possible option so that they know they are bringing in the right guy. There are reasons to pause about Ty Dillon.

The main reason is his performance. He was statistically the worst driver that competed in all 36 races this season. He finished last amongst those drivers in points with no points penalties, and he had the worst average finish and the worst average start amongst full-time drivers.

On top of that, Dillon has no wins with only 2 top-5s and 7 top-10s in 238 career races. He’s not proven himself to be the driver who will take an organization to new heights.

At the end of the day, time will tell whether or not Dillon ends up getting the ride. His “Favorite” status may or may not be up in the air. Will Ty Dillon be driving for Kaulig Racing in 2024?