2020 vision: Germain Racing, GEICO announce extension

Germain Racing and longtime primary sponsor GEICO announced on Friday a sponsorship extension through at least the 2020 season. It extends a relationship that has spanned more than a decade, with Ty Dillon the latest beneficiary of GEICO's support in the No. 13 Chevrolet. "We have been honored to represent GEICO for the last decade," Germain Racing team owner Bob Germain Jr. said in a team release. "That is, in and of itself, a huge accomplishment and we appreciate their belief in our organization. We are excited to continue improving our team’s performance, and GEICO's loyalty and support are the keys to any success we achieve. Carrying the GEICO name and the Gecko on the hood of our race car and on the chest of our uniforms is a source of pride and we are committed to representing them well." Dillon enters his second full-time season with Germain Racing, an organization that appeared to have new life breathed into it last year with the arrival of the confident 25-year-old. RELATED: Germain Racing 2018 preview With the rookie Dillon at the helm, the No. 13 team logged eight top-15 finishes last year. The highlight came at Dover in the spring, when the team was aggressive late in the race and stayed out following a caution on Lap 332 (of a scheduled 400). Dillon restarted first, then actually pulled away from the field a bit despite being on older tires. He led for 27 laps, positioning himself for a big at a victory before ultimately finishing 14th after an end-of-race wreck. Dillon was calm and confident earlier this year during the preseason media tour, too, eloquently discussing the NASCAR landscape and his place in it. Among the highlights: • "I want to race for Germain Racing and GEICO my whole career and win races and championships and build my own brand like Kobe Bryant and the (Los Angeles) Lakers." • "I think it's a great opportunity. I know what I have to offer." • "You look at Furniture Row and that’s the gold standard right now for teams like ours. We’ve got to do it in our own way and use our resources the right way, but I think that’s kind of the approach that we’re taking. The opportunity is there."