Austin Dillon is no stranger to living in the fast lane. The adage takes on a new meaning for the driver of the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, however, as Dillon will add “reality TV star” to his resume.
Premiering Thursday at 9:30 p.m. ET on USA Network, “Austin Dillon’s Life in the Fast Lane,” will follow the 2018 Daytona 500 champion, alongside his wife, Whitney, and their two-year-old son, Ace.
“You should expect a lot of laughs,” Whitney said. “We are a really funny crew.”
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This isn’t the first trek for Whitney on reality TV as she starred on CMT’s “Racing Wives.”
However, this is Austin’s debut, and while the 32-year-old is excited for the show to air, he said nerves will play a role.
“I’m definitely nervous,” Austin said. “I don’t like watching myself do anything. I barely re-watch my races. But I think it’ll be good. Everyone else will be pumped.”
Co-starring with the Dillons will be their best friends, Paul and Mariel Swan.
Paul serves as a tire carrier for the No. 3 team and was a former middle linebacker at Bowling Green University. Before joining RCR, Dillon said Paul knew nothing about NASCAR prior to them meeting.
“He came to a combine and worked his way up to being on the No. 3 team,” Austin said. “It all worked out and now we’re married with kids.”
Whitney and Mariel were both cheerleaders in Tennessee and became best friends from there. Both Whitney and Austin agreed that the way they all came to know each other, even though they were from different places, was special.
The biggest point of contention between the Dillons was about who the star of the show will be.
For Whitney, she said the answer was simple.
“Ace is going to be the star,” Whitney said. “He’s just so cute and this little thing running around. He just makes people smile. It’s what our world needs.”
Austin said he’s deferring the star power over to his counterparts but gave the nod to Paul.
“It’s going to be between Paul, Mariel and Whitney,” Austin said. “Ace will be the cuddliest for sure. But Paul will be fighting for that title because he’s going to give you the most laughs and energy.”
Regardless of how the show plays out, Austin said he understands the reach the show could have and hopes to grow the sport through this venture.
“There’s a lot of people that don’t know about NASCAR and what we go through just getting to the track,” Austin said. “I just hope we bring new eyeballs to our sport.”