Austin Dillon tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday morning and will miss Sunday’s road race at Daytona due to self-quarantine.
The Richard Childress Racing driver will be replaced by Kaz Grala in the No. 3 Chevrolet. Grala, 21, will be making his Cup Series debut.
Dillon, 30, took the test after experiencing mild symptoms, the team said, adding that his wife and infant son are healthy.
He becomes the third driver to have tested positive. Jimmie Johnson and Brendan Gaughan were the others.
While Johnson missed just one race, Dillon will have to receive two negative test results at least a day apart from each other before he can return. Otherwise he’ll have to wait until 10 days after his positive test, provided he also has been naturally fever-free for at least 24 hours.
There are only four races remaining before NASCAR’s Monster Energy Cup playoffs begin, though Dillon clinched a spot by winning the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 race at Texas Motor Speedway last month.
–Field Level Media
