NASCAR: Austin Dillon, Wife Whitney Announce Birth of Their Son Ace Hours Before Sunday's Race
When Austin Dillon heads to Homestead-Miami Speedway for the Dixie Vodka 400, he will do so while [...]
When Austin Dillon heads to Homestead-Miami Speedway for the Dixie Vodka 400, he will do so while celebrating a major change. His wife, Whitney Dillon, gave birth to their son on Sunday morning. Dillon broke the news about Ace RC Dillon with a photo on Instagram and said it was hard leaving the hospital to take part in Sunday's race.
"Wow, [Whitney] you amaze me everyday! This by far is your biggest feat yet. My love for you and [Ace] is Agape Love. Hardest thing I've ever had to do was say goodbye to go race today. Hopefully we bring back a trophy for Ace on the first day we welcomed him into this world! [baby emoji] #FamilyOf3," Dillon wrote on Instagram.
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Ace's birth comes at an opportune time for Dillon considering that he expected to leave a prior race if his wife went into labor. When he arrived at Martinsville for Wednesday's Blue Emu 500, he did so with a replacement driver on standby. AJ Allmendinger was prepared to get behind the wheel of the No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro if Dillon needed to go be with his wife.
"Loving the name Ace! It's strong, bold and unique! God Bless!" one fan commented on social media. While several others offered their congratulations and expressed their excitement for the new addition, many simply complimented the name. One even referred to Ace as "bada—."
When Dillon appeared on SEAL Team, actor AJ Buckley referred to him as "The Ace." This served as his nickname during the episode and will be the name of his son. As Dillon explained back in February, the name of Ace has a history with his family and will pay tribute to his loved ones.
"Yeah, we got a name. It's Ace RC Dillon. I'm pumped about it," Dillon said, per the NASCAR website. "'RC' obviously is for my grandfather. My logo has always been the Ace of Spades and my grandfather always said 'ace in the hole'. So, I was like this is a good time to make my kid the ace in the hole and hopefully, he's better than me."
Dillon expressed his excitement for his son's birth, and now he will go try to secure a victory in celebration. The Dixie Vodka 400 takes place at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX. Dillon will start the race in 16th.