Newton, IA (May 19, 2008): Despite having only two starts, Austin Dillon has emerged as a serious contender in the NASCAR Camping World Series East. The 18-year-old driver backed up his series debut victory by winning the pole at Iowa Speedway and bringing home the #3 Garage Equipment Supply Chevrolet in seventh place.

Dillon topped the speed charts in the final practice session on Sunday posting a lap of 23.542 seconds, and beating out last years pole winning speed set by Sprint Cup driver Kevin Harvick. But the lap to count was yet to come.

Fifty-four cars were on hand to qualify for 44 positions, and all eyes were on the young ASM Motorsports rookie driver. Dillon pulled off a 23.576 lap on his second go-around, and soared to the top of the charts with a speed no one would beat.

“The first lap was a little slower than we were hoping for, but we had a good second lap that put us up front. The car has been good all weekend for practice and everything,” said Dillon. “We’re real happy with it.”

Dillon and Jeff Barkshire paced the field to green, but it was Barkshire who was able to take the lead. Dillon dropped back into the field and found his line in sixth place, where he ran for the next 40 laps.

Dillon restarted the race at lap 62 in fourth, and was on his way to the front. At lap 71, Dillon took the lead from Sprint Cup Series driver and All-Star Challenge winner Kasey Kahne. He remained there for a total of 20 laps before Steve Park claimed the top spot.

Dillon pitted with the lead lap cars during a caution at lap 95. He came in for fuel and tires and returned to the race at the tail end of the field with the rest of the group. By lap 128, Dillon had worked his way back up to 10th.

Dillon explained, “We messed up a little bit on pit strategy. We should have changed tires when everyone else did because picking them up on the next caution left us too far behind to make up the track position. We saw how this pit strategy worked out for other teams. We had a better car, but they had better track position in the end. We’ll know better next time.”

Over the remaining 50 laps, Dillon battled with drivers for the seventh to tenth position – finally taking the checkered flag and coming home in seventh.

“There were a few cars that were holding us up, but as equal as these motors are, it’s tough to pass without wrecking, and we’re not here to do that,” said Dillon. “It was a good finish for us; we had a good points day, learned a few things, and brought the car home in good shape. I know we have great cars and we’ll win some this year.”

Dillon and the Garage Equipment Supply race team will return to action at South Boston Speedway in Virginia on Saturday, May 31st for the Camping World Series East “Strutmasters.com 150”.