NASCAR driver Austin Dillon said that his role as GM of the PBR Team Series Carolina Cowboys “definitely” could be a trial run before potentially controlling Richard Childress Racing in the future, according to Chris Vinel of the Daytona Beach NEWS-JOURNAL. Richard Childress Racing owner Richard Childress, who also is Dillon’s grandfather, said, “I’m not going to be here forever, and I want him to understand how it is to deal with riders, the sanctioning body, the whole deal. He’s really adapted to it well.” Vinel wrote Dillon and Childress “view many of the managerial skills as transferable between the sports.”

When Childress decided to buy the Cowboys at the launch of the PBR Team Series in 2022, he agreed to do so “only if” Dillon “agreed to work in it.” Dillon “dove in right away” and “dedicated himself to hours of film and research.” The “first contracts Dillon negotiated were some of the first agreements in league history,” while “most of Dillon’s job centers around the roster.” Cowboys coach Jerome Davis said, “I enjoy working with Austin just because he has a passion for our sport.” Vinel noted Dillon still “remains fully committed to racing.” He “holds Cowboys GM meetings on Wednesdays” and “usually has free time in the evenings to call Davis and review the latest happenings,” while the “rest of the week belongs to his NASCAR career.” Dillon “attends only a couple of Cowboys events per year.” Last year, Carolina finished as league runner-up