For Ty Dillon, stability has always been a moving target. Despite finally finding a steady home at Kaulig Racing in 2024 and extending his deal through 2026, a new challenge may already be forming. As the younger grandson of Richard Childress, Dillon’s career has been defined by constant movement, unlike Austin Dillon’s long-standing place at RCR. And now, comments from Dale Earnhardt Jr. about Kaulig Racing’s future ventures suggest that even this latest stretch of security could face pressure sooner than expected.

Richard Childress’s grandson is in for a bumpy ride

“Man, is it going to be a frustrating year? I would predict that next year for him will be one of his toughest personally, physically, mentally,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently said on the Dale Jr Download podcast. “He’s racing for Kaulig, and they’ve got little to no support in terms of engineering and resources…Chevrolet is not going to be helping them. They’re not driving Dodges in Cup.” Dale Jr. added, “It’ll be a hot mess.”

Kaulig Racing is gearing up for a drastically different season in 2026. The team paused its Xfinity program for good, focusing instead on the newfound partnership with Ram in the Craftsman Truck Series. It will field the new OEM’s five rides, and this may be seen as a sign of Dodge’s long-term plans to move to the Cup Series. That is why Kaulig CEO Chris Rice recently confessed to stepping out of the protective umbrella of Chevrolet and Richard Childress.

“Ty Dillon is returning to Kaulig. I’m surprised by that because I thought when Kaulig got shut out of the Chevrolet deal, ’cause I thought,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said, “Ty Dillon was at Kaulig because of RCR and that connection.” He continued, “All right, so RCR is now going to be working with Rick Ware. So, Kaulig is shoved off the Chevrolet ship.”

The impact of the broken Chevrolet bond may affect Ty Dillon the most. Nevertheless, Richard Childress’s grandson may survive the ordeal – as he displayed remarkable finesse in 2025. Dillon was in the spotlight for the In-Season Tournament, dominating the Bracket Challenge until the last round. He beat veterans like Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, and others, until his namesake, Ty Gibbs, beat him for the final $1 million payout.

“He’s bullheaded. He is. When he’s out on the racetrack, he’s bullheaded. He knows when to fight for positions. He doesn’t lay over often,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said.

As the veteran thinks about NASCAR’s future events, he recently reminisced about a past event.

Denying the sport of ‘any’ credit

The NASCAR lawsuit trial settled earlier this week. 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports agreed to NASCAR’s terms, which included returning their charters and also instituting a permanent charter system. But what led to this agreement was more significant: a pile of evidence denouncing the sport’s executives had become public. And Dale Earnhardt Jr. added his own bit – that NASCAR did not help him revive North Wilkesboro Speedway. The veteran took the help of Speedway Motorsports Inc. owner Marcus Smith while restoring the short track.

“There is a lot of stuff about NASCAR in all of this that I don’t know. I don’t know everything about how they run things, and I certainly didn’t know how they felt about some things, and how these text messages have unveiled some things. But I’ll tell you what I do know, is that North Wilkesboro came back because of Marcus Smith,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said. “NASCAR, you know, they didn’t play any role.”

Evidently, 2026 will be much-awaited for a variety of reasons. Let’s wait and see what unfolds for Ty Dillon and his colleagues in a revamped sport.