NASCAR drivers often have their families at the race track, and sometimes, they let their kids climb in the car and check out what their parent is about to drive at 200 miles an hour.
Well, Austin Dillon briefly let his son Ace, who’s about 15 months old, get behind the wheel of the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet before Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400, the regular-season finale. It was an adorable moment as Ace explored what’s what in the driver’s seat.
But then disaster struck: Ace lost his pacifier.
As the 1-year-old baby was squirming around inside the car, his pacifier fell out of his mouth. And like with regular passenger cars, when you lose something around the seat, it can be impossible to find, and it took three people to locate the pacifier.
First, Dillon climbed halfway in the car and looked for it. No success. Then a couple crew members looked around, and eventually, they found it under the seat.
'@AustinDillon3's son Ace hopped in the car, and dropped his binky!
Check out how the @RCRRacing crew got to work to find it! #CokeZeroSugar400 #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/6FdJdgfSGu
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) August 29, 2021
While Ace was surely happy to have his trusty pacifier back, Dillon likely was too. As the NBC Sports broadcast noted, that thing could have easily ended up under a pedal, and that truly could have been a disaster for the driver, who was racing for a playoff spot.
