Ty Dillon 2026 Season Report Card: A Top-3 Passer, Still a D
Welcome to the Happy Hour Racing 2026 Season Report Cards, where every full-time Cup Series driver gets a grade computed from every race they ran, not opinion. Next up: the number 10 of Kaulig Racing.
The Short Version
Ty Dillon's 2026 season in the No. 10 Chevrolet was his second straight with Kaulig Racing. He ranked 3rd of 35 full-time drivers in positions gained, picking up 4.4 spots a race. The trouble was where he started: 30.5 on average. He never cracked the top 10, his best finish was 12th at Nashville, and Kaulig changed his crew chief with two races left. He finished 34th in points. The full year grades out to a D, 31st of 35 full-time drivers.
Why the Ty Dillon 2026 Grade Is a D
Every HHR report card grade comes from the same math. After every race, each driver gets a score out of 100 based on where they finished in the field, how many spots they gained or lost from the start, how many laps they led, and a penalty for not finishing. The season grade is the average of all 36 race scores, curved against the 35 drivers who ran the full year.
Dillon's season score ranked 31st of 35, which lands at D. Positions gained helped him. So did only two DNFs, 3rd best in the field. But finishing position carries the most weight, and his 26.1 average finish ranked 33rd. Seventeen of his 36 finishes were 30th or worse.
Ty Dillon by the Numbers
Here is where Dillon ranked among the 35 full-time drivers in 14 stats. The bar and the circle show his rank (1 is best). The number on the right is the actual stat.
This is a split card. The bottom three rows are elite: 3rd in positions gained (+4.4), 3rd in DNFs (2) and 2nd in finish spread, which means his results were among the most predictable in the field. Dillon brought the car home and passed people doing it.
The top of the card is the opposite. He ranked 34th in top 10s (zero), 34th in lead lap finishes (8), 34th in average driver rating (43.6) and 34th in average running position (27.4). He spent 7 percent of his laps inside the top 15. Starting 30th and gaining four spots still finishes you 26th.
Where He Was Good: The Draft
Dillon's best races came at Daytona, Talladega and Atlanta, where the pack evens out the cars. He averaged a 16.5 finish at those six races and a 28.0 everywhere else.
- Daytona 500, Feb. 15: started 34th, led 3 laps, finished 14th.
- Talladega, April 26: started 35th, finished 13th.
- Talladega, Oct. 25: started 30th, finished 15th.
- Atlanta, Feb. 22: started 17th, finished 16th.
His one non-drafting standout was Nashville on May 31, 30th to 12th, his best finish of the year. The 3 laps he led in the Daytona 500 were his only laps out front all season.
A Late-Season Crew Chief Change
The year got worse in the Chase. Dillon averaged a 25.1 finish over the first 26 races and a 28.5 over the last 10, with a crash at World Wide Technology Raceway and a 36th at Bristol. The fall Talladega 15th was his only finish inside the top 20 in that stretch.
On Oct. 28, Kaulig named technical director Mike Cook interim crew chief for the final two races, replacing Andrew Dickeson, who had led the No. 10 since the start of 2025. Jayski reported the move without a stated reason, and we will not guess at one. With Cook on the box, Dillon finished 22nd at Martinsville and 31st at Homestead.
What 2027 Looks Like
Dillon stays in the No. 10, but the car changes brands. NASCAR.com reported on Nov. 2 that Dodge is returning to the Cup Series in 2027 with Kaulig Racing, and Kaulig has named Dillon and AJ Allmendinger as its drivers. A 2027 crew chief has not been announced. Every move is on our 2027 silly season tracker.
Dodge's return starts at the Clash at Daytona on Feb. 13, then the Daytona 500 on Feb. 21 at 2:30 PM ET on FOX. Start times and channels for every race are on our race TV guide.
Dillon has already shown he can pass. A new manufacturer program that gets him starting in the low 20s could turn those gained spots into top 15s. Every other driver's grade is on the 2026 report cards page.
The Bottom Line
Ty Dillon did the small things right in 2026: he finished races and moved forward in them. The D says he started too far back for that to matter. The Dodge era is a fresh look at whether the car or the qualifying was the problem.
Gear Up for Daytona
Dillon led laps in the Daytona 500 and ran 14th. We do not have Dillon gear in stock right now, but the Daytona 500 gear is here, and the newest arrivals land every week.
- 2026 Daytona 500 Vintage Blue Hat
- 2026 Daytona 500 Patriotic Event Hat
- 2026 Daytona 500 Trophy Logo T-Shirt
- Winner's Circle Shirt Subscription
Sources: NASCAR official race results and loop data for all 36 2026 points races; crew chief change via Jayski; Dodge return and 2027 lineup via NASCAR.com and Speedway Digest.
