"It was never really pushed on us from my grandfather": Ty Dillon spills the beans on almost choosing NFL over NASCAR

NASCAR Cup Series driver Ty Dillon recently opened up on his family deciding to not put pressure on him and his brother, Austin Dillon, in terms of pushing them towards the world of racing. Dillon, appearing on a podcast, spoke about how the brothers were always around racing growing up but did dabble in multiple sports. The driver also spoke about his ambitions in regards to joining the NFL but abandoned those goals after realizing he was not the right height for the game.

Ty Dillon appeared on the podcast BIGPLAY Cleveland Show where he was asked if always knew he was going to be a NASCAR driver growing up, to which the driver responded:

“No, I wanted to play football. I grew up around racing, I grew up in the race shops, my brother & I played hide-and-go-seek at four, five years old inside of Dale Earnhardt's race cars & didn't know anything different. But it was never really pushed on us from my grandfather, my dad, or my mom. They wanted us to experience anything else.” [0:13 onwards]

The Kaulig Racing driver spoke about how the two brothers were involved in other sports. Austin played Little League Baseball, while he was more interested in football.

“I thought I was going to be a linebacker or a fullback in the NFL, that was my goal at probably 12-13 to 15-16 [years-of-age]. Turns out everybody outgrew me and I needed to get into something where size didn’t really matter too much. ” [0:50 onwards]

Over his time racing in the three national series, Ty Dillon has scored a total of three wins, all coming from his time driving under the Richard Childress Racing banner.

Ty Dillon describes his experience driving for Kaulig Racing

Cole Custer (#41) and Ty Dillon (#10) side-by-side during the NASCAR Cup Series Pennzoil 400 on March 16, 2025 - Source: Getty

During his recent podcast appearance, Ty Dillon was also asked about what it has been like driving for Kaulig Racing this year compared to other teams he's driven for. Dillon joined Kaulig Racing for the 2025 season on a full-time basis, making this year his first full-time season in the Cup Series since 2023.

The #10 driver opened up about what kind of effect the team has had on him. He discussed how the car he's been driving has been more impressive than any other he's driven at this level, while also mentioning how the team owner's behavior affects Dillon's belief in himself and the team morale.

“This one has had the most positive impact on me outside the car and inside the car. First of all, the speed has been really good. The best speed of any race cars I’ve ever driven in my career in the Cup Series. But the support from Matt [Kaulig] himself, the drive to win, and just the way he treats his people is second to none and that makes a difference. It builds this off-season momentum and confidence. When you have somebody that believes in you and wants the best for you - that makes a difference,” he said.

Ty Dillon's highest finish this season has come at the Daytona 500, when the 33-year-old driver completed 'The Great American Race' in 14th place. At last week's Homestead-Miami Speedway race, Dillon finished 27th.

The next race in the Cup Series calendar is the Cook Out 400, which will take place at the Martinsville Speedway on Sunday, March 30th, at 3:00 PM E.T.