Austin Dillon reflects on little league roots amid NASCAR playoff push

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Before Austin Dillon made a name for himself in NASCAR, he lived out his young baseball dreams in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

"Playing in Williamsport was a dream. At 11 – 12 years old, I couldn't care less about driving race cars. It was about going to the Little League World Series," Dillon told FOX 35 on Friday.

Dillon was part of the Southwest Forsyth County team from North Carolina that advanced to the Little League World Series in 2002.

While baseball and NASCAR are two completely different sports, Dillon says his time spent as a little leaguer set the groundwork for his current success.

"I think that commitment to being good at something at a young age really helped me when it came to racing and the effort that you have to put into being a professional athlete," Dillon said.

Dillon is still searching for a playoff spot despite winning at Richmond Raceway in early August.

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A win is typically an automatic berth to the postseason. But NASCAR penalized Dillon, dropping him from the Cup Series playoffs after his controversial finish, in which he intentionally crashed another driver for the win.

"We’ve got one more appeal left. We feel like we’ve got a good case. Right now, though, for Saturday night, I’m focused on trying to win and lock ourselves back in," Dillon said.

The green flag drops for the Coke Zero Sugar 400 on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.