DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA - AUGUST 31: Ty Dillon, driver of the #13 GEICO Chevrolet, stands on the grid during qualifying for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Bojangles' Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway on August 31, 2019 in Darlington, South Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images

2020 season preview: Germain Racing

NASCAR.com January 24, 2020 at 9:54 AM

Editor’s note: Today’s Germain Racing preview continues NASCAR.com’s countdown of team previews for the NASCAR Cup Series season, ranked in order of best finish in last year’s owner standings.

MORE: Changes to know for the 2020 season

GERMAIN RACING
Manufacturer: Chevrolet
Engine: ECR
Driver: Ty Dillon
Crew Chief: Matt Borland

What’s new: It appears to be more of the same for Germain Racing and driver Dillon for the 2020 season. Crew chief Matt Borland will be back at the helm for the No. 13 crew, signing a multi-year deal back in 2018. Dillon and GEICO also signed a multi-year contract back in 2017, set to be featured as the primary sponsor for 32 races this year.

Team strength: Superspeedway racing is Germain Racing’s strong suit. Dillon and team are tied with Hendrick Motorsports for the longest active streak of races at Daytona with at least one top-10 finish (three straight races). Dillon earned three top-10 finishes in 2019, coming at both Daytona races and Talladega in the fall.

The Action Network Best Bet: Ty Dillon was sneaky good at the superspeedways in 2019, finishing sixth, 17th, fourth and 10th. In fact, both of those top-six runs came at Daytona, making him a nice target for both driver matchups and top-10 props at the Daytona 500. – PJ Walsh

TY DILLON: NO. 13 CHEVROLET

2019 Stats: One top five, three top 10s; 20.6 average finish with 99.2 percent of laps completed
2020 Championship Odds: 5000-1
Racing Insights Number to Know: Five. Their five best finishes came at Daytona, including a fourth-place finish in July and a sixth there in February.
Fantasy Live Picks: Talladega, Daytona, Phoenix
Outlook: Heading into his fourth full-time NASCAR Cup Series season with Germain Racing, Dillon doesn’t have the stellar finishes, but he does know how to take care of equipment. The 27-year-old driver completed the 2019 season with a goose egg in the DNF column, which is a huge accomplishment for a smaller, one-car team in the field. If Dillon can keep that going, plus get a few more stage wins like he did in Stage 1 at Bristol last spring by edging out Clint Bowyer, the upward trend has all the potential to continue going into 2020.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

NASCAR.com 2020 team previews schedule

Jan. 20: Teams outside the top 30
Jan. 21: Go Fas Racing
Jan. 22: Front Row Motorsports
Jan. 23: Richard Petty Motorsports
Jan. 24: Germain Racing
Jan. 27: Leavine Family Racing
Jan. 28: Richard Childress Racing
Jan. 29: JTG Daugherty Racing
Jan. 30: Wood Brothers Racing
Jan. 31: Roush Fenway Racing
Feb. 3: Hendrick Motorsports
Feb. 4: Chip Ganassi Racing
Feb. 5: Team Penske
Feb. 6: Stewart-Haas Racing
Feb. 7: Joe Gibbs Racing