Ty Dillon announced on social media Friday afternoon that he and Petty GMS Motorsports have mutually agreed to part ways after the end of the current NASCAR season.
Dillon, 30, is in the middle of what’s now his only season with the first year NASCAR Cup Series team. Through 19 races in the No. 42 Chevrolet, the grandson of Richard Childress has only one top-10 finish, a 10th on Bristol Dirt.
Outside that race, he has nine finishes inside the top 20. Going into Sunday’s race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Dillon is 27th in the point standings.
In its own statement, Petty GMS said “We are appreciative of what Ty has done this year to help grow Petty GMS.”
Fox Sports’ Bob Pockrass spoke with Dillon in the New Hampshire Motor Speedway garage shortly after the announcement.
“(Team owner) Maury (Gallagher) informed me and talked to me this week and we just kind of had a mutual agreement that it’s best to go our separate ways,” Dillon said. “At the beginning of the relationship, we were hoping for a long term relationship and hopefully build something out over the long term and it just didn’t work out that way. So I know both sides are probably disappointed that it didn’t. And I’m excited to give everything I have to Petty GMS for the rest of this year.”
— Ty Dillon (@tydillon) July 15, 2022
Dillon has 185 career Cup starts, the majority of those coming with the now defunct Germain Racing from 2017-2020.
The announcement results in the latest open seat for the 2023 NASCAR Cup season.
The No. 42 car now joins Stewart-Haas Racing’s No. 10 Ford as a major available ride with Aric Almirola retiring after this season.
— Petty GMS (@PettyGMS) July 15, 2022