Ty and Austin Dillon Launch Vlog And Podcast To Reach NASCAR Fans

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Brothers Austin and Ty Dillon are now both using technology and social media to reach their fans in a whole new way as the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series kicks off in Daytona.

Ty Dillon proudly climbed atop the stage and at Daytona 500 Media Day on Wednesday to announce to the NASCAR media that his first episode of his new vlog series, “The Ride,” had been released.

“The first episode just came out,” Ty Dillon said in his media session. “It’s been really cool. We started from the time I left my house. I left the fireplace going and the coffee pot going because I was so anxious to get here. I’ve been trying to capture as much raw moments of my life and as far as what I’m going through as a new dad and being in racing.”

The 25-year-old driver explained his reasoning behind the new series, which he hopes allows fans to see the real Ty Dillon and what all goes on in his busy life.

“It’s opening up my life to fans and allow them to see me, and if they like me or not, to interact and create a closer relationship,” Dillon said. “The videos and vlog will shift and change as people tell me what they like to see and don’t want to see. Hopefully have fun with it. What hit me as I’ve been doing it is whether this is a successful thing or not, my great, great, great, great grandkids will have YouTube – or whatever it’s called then – that will be holding these videos and see what I did. I think that’s super cool that I can open up my life and know that the future of my family can see what I’ve done, be documented on the internet.”

Ty Dillon understands that not everyone will be a fan of him, but he enjoys seeing the reaction from the NASCAR fanbase in response to his authenticity.

“It’s been awesome,” Dillon said. “Ever since Charlotte Media Day I’ve gotten a lot of responses of people being thankful that I’ve been opening up to them. I never realized how many people wanted to know us better and wanted to see more from us. People have reached out and said, ‘I’m a fan of yours now’ just because of that, and a lot of stories like that. Not really boost in numbers, which I don’t really care about on my social channels. But boost in comments and interactivity, and people excited for what I’m doing. I think that’s the coolest part. I just want to create more interaction and fun with my fanbase. And whether it’s a fanbase of 10 million one day or 100,000, it doesn’t matter as long as those people are my core people and they like me for who I am.”

Over the off-season, Ty Dillon’s brother, Austin Dillon, kicked off a new podcast, “Barn Life,” which he hosts with one of his crew members, Paul Swan.

“Paul Swan is my front tire carrier/jack man and me and him are just good buddies,” Austin Dillon said. “He actually bought my first house, which is in front of the barn where I live. He lived with me for a long time, and then I got married and had to kick him out; so he bought my house and he lives right there in front of me. And we just wanted to showcase what we do as far as having fun and what we like to talk about. It’s all about just having fun and showing the fans our side of life that’s different.”

Austin Dillon added where fans can find the new podcast and what to expect in the coming weeks.

“So, ‘Barn Life’ is the name of it,” he said. “It’s on our YouTube channel there under Austin Dillon. I’m really excited about it. I’m going to have him stay over Thursday night after the Duels and we’re going to do like a live hit on YouTube after the Duels just talking about the pit stops and probably the racing.”

Ty Dillon commented on his older brother also reaching fans with his own unique method.

“I told him I was doing it and a couple of weeks later I saw that he was doing a podcast thing,” Ty Dillon said, adding that the new class of drivers moving into the sport are willing to find different ways to share with their fans.

“That’s what’s cool about this young wave of drivers,” Ty Dillon said. “Not only are we excited about the new, young drivers, we’re excited about creating a new NASCAR through being open with our fans through podcasts of vlogs or anything in the media. I think we’re a pretty open, young group and we’re all competitive being so young. We’re competitive to be the most open with our fans, which is great for our sport.”

Photo Credit: Adam Glanzman/Getty Images