Richard Childress Racing’s Ty Dillon was officially named the 2012 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year on Friday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The 20-year-old grandson of Richard Childress claimed the Sunoco rookie honors with his 25-place finish at the Homestead, Fla., facility following a season-long battle with two other drivers. Dillon entered the season finale race at Homestead with a 74-point lead in the rookie standings over Cale Gale and Ross Chastain. The Sunoco Rookie of the Year award is calculated using a driver’s 14-best finishes and a vote by a Camping World Truck Series rookie of the year panel that considers a driver’s competitive abilities and interaction with other drivers and the media. It is the third consecutive year that RCR has earned the year-end rookie award. Joey Coulter earned the 2011 Rookie of the Year award for RCR, and Ty’s older brother, Austin Dillon, claimed the honors in 2010 prior to winning the championship last year. RCR is the only team to win three consecutive Rookie of the Year awards in the Camping World Truck Series. Driving the #3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet for his first full season of competition in a NASCAR series, Dillon finished fourth in the championship point standings on the strength of one victory, three pole awards, seven top-five and 17 top-10 finishes. The Welcome, N.C., native also added the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards championship to his resume last season.(Richard Childress Racing PR)(11-17-2012)
