Austin Dillon 2017 Season Recap

Austin Dillon, driver of the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, finished 11th in the 2017 Monster Energy Series standings. Here are highlights from his fourth full-time season in the Monster Energy NASACAR Cup Series,

Following the season-opening Daytona 500, Dillon ran a tripleheader at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The Richard Childress Racing driver climbed in the No. 99 Chevrolet for the Camping World Truck Series race, his only Truck start of the season, in which he finished seventh. He also ran the XFINITY Series' event, finishing eighth.

Richard Childress Racing shook up its crew chief lineup ahead of May's Coca-Cola 600, replacing No. 3 crew chief Richard 'Slugger' Labbe with Justin Alexander, who had been Dillon's crew chief on his part-time XFINITY slate in the team's No. 2 entry.

Justin Alexander's first race as Dillon's Monster Energy Series crew chief resulted in success. With instructions to save fuel, Dillon passed Jimmie Johnson with two laps remaining in the Coca-Cola 600 as the seven-time champion ran out of gas. He held on to earn his first career win in the Monster Energy Series, marking the first time the No. 3 Chevrolet has been to Victory Lane since Dale Earnhardt's last win at Talladega in 2000.

In addition to his tripleheader at Atlanta, Dillon also ran 16 other Xfinity Series races in the No. 2 Chevrolet. While he didn't win, he did finish 76.5 percent of his slate in the top 10 and led 141 laps.

For the second straight season, Dillon advanced to the Monster Energy Series Playoffs, his win at Charlotte qualifying him for the postseason run. The 27-year-old driver was eliminated after the first round following 16th, 19th and 16th-place results in the opening three races.

Away from the race track, Dillon tied the knot during the offseason with girlfriend Whitney Ward, a former NFL cheerleader and Monster Girl. The two wed on Dec. 9 at Richard Childress' Childress Vineyards in Lexington, North Carolina.