"My 10 yard split was not bad lol": Ty Dillon shares humorous remark over running race against Olympic medalist Leo Neugebauer

Ty Dillon is a full-time race car driver in the NASCAR Cup Series, currently competing under the banner of Kaulig Racing. However, recently, he did a different kind of racing with Leo Neugebauer at Circuit of The Americas (COTA).

It all happened ahead of Sunday’s (March 2) race at the world-class street racing circuit. Neugebauer, the German record holder in decathlon and indoor heptathlon, challenged Dillon to a sprint. Needlessly to say, Dillon wasn’t going to shy away from an honest challenge.

“Don’t underestimate us race track athletes,” he told Neugebauer in a joint Instagram reel.

Dillon was off to a great start but fell out of breath. But he felt he did quite well, given that Neugebauer was an Olympic silver medalist. Sliding into the comments section, the Cup Series regular wrote,

“My 10 yard split was not bad lol😂”

(Source: Ty Dillon/Instagram)

It was indeed a fun way to kick off the weekend. The EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix was the first road course race of the year and the surrounding hype was just through the roof. Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell won the event, marking his second consecutive victory of the season.

Ty Dillon finished 28th, bagging nine playoff points on the way. As of today, he sits 24th in driver standings with 48 points to his credit. 2025 marks his return to the series following stints with teams like Petty GMS Motorsports, Germain Racing, Gaunt Brothers Racing, Joe Gibbs Racing, and Our Motorsports.

Dillon has one win in the Xfinity Series and three wins in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. The Welcome, North Carolina native is vying for his career-first triumph in the Cup Series. His next race is scheduled for Sunday, March 9, at Phoenix Raceway.

Tension sparks between Ty Dillon and Austin Cindric during NASCAR’s COTA outing

Just four laps into Sunday’s Cup Series race at COTA, Ty Dillon and Team Penske driver Austin Cindric found themselves amid a series of on-track incidents. An early confrontation sparked when Dillon slightly bumped into Cindric’s No. 2 Ford Mustang Dark Horse.

Cindric wasn’t going to let it go and retaliated by spinning Dillon. Here is a video of the incident as posted by reporter Steve Taranto on X:

As reported by The Racing Underdogs, Dillon radioed to his team:

“I'm not gonna say anything but you know what I'm thinking...that was some absolute bulls**t.”

MotorsportsWire journalist Austin Konenski reflected on the incident, referring to it as a joke. He was expecting at least an in-race penalty for Cindric’s mid-race antics. He tweeted:

“I’m not saying Austin Cindric should get suspended, but NASCAR obviously doesn’t want drivers right hooking other cars on the frontstretch. Not even an in-race penalty? That seems like a joke.”

Fans can expect NASCAR to review the encounter between Ty Dillon and Austin Cindric in the following weeks.