With Regan Smith still in North Carolina due to the impending birth of his second child, Ty Dillon will pilot the No. 7 Chevrolet for Tommy Baldwin Racing in Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 at Chicagoland Speedway (2:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the team announced Sunday morning.
Dillon has practiced all weekend in the No. 7 as Smith flew back to North Carolina to be with wife Megan.
NEWS: @tydillon will drive the No.7 @NikkoRC / @TMNTMaster Raphael Chevrolet in today’s #TMNT400. #TeamTurtle ��
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Tommy Baldwin Racing (@TBR_Racing)
September 18, 2016
Smith has made all 26 starts in the No. 7 so far this year with two top-10 finishes. Dillon has made eight starts this season in the Sprint Cup Series and served as a relief driver for Tony Stewart at Talladega in the spring.
Dillon is currently a regular in the NASCAR XFINITY Series and will participate in that series’ seven-race XFINITY Series Chase, which begins next weekend at Kentucky Speedway.
Smith has taken to Twitter the past few days to keep fans updated on his status. Here are his latest posts:
No baby yet, still a waiting game and as anybody with kids knows this process is completely unpredictable.
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Regan Smith (@ReganSmith)
September 17, 2016
And a big thanks to @tydillon for being able to step in and help out last second. I’ll keep all updated.
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Regan Smith (@ReganSmith)
September 16, 2016