Bible verse calmed Dillon at truck race

Knowing that 20-year-old Austin Dillon pulled away on the final restart to easily win his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race on Sunday doesn't reveal the full story of how chaotic things were for him before the finish.
Dillon credits a Bible verse for calming him. Taped on his truck's dashboard was Romans 15:32, "That I may come on to you with joy by the will of God and may with you be refreshed."
Dillon seemed headed for the win when a late caution meant the race would end with a green-white-checkered. As the leader, Dillon had the choice of restarting on the high or low line. That's when things got hectic for the rising sophomore at High Point University.
"Everybody was on the radio trying to figure out that green-white-checkered; if I should choose the top or the bottom," said Dillon, grandson of car owner Richard Childress. "My grandfather wanted me to choose the top. My crew chief didn't know if the bottom was better. They were kind of arguing about it.
"I kind of had in the back of my head what I wanted to do. I just looked down at (the Bible verse) and read it and the end of it, it said you may be refreshed. I took a deep breath and chose the top, where I thought we needed to go. I told everybody it was going to be all right and we went and won. That was pretty cool."
So was the black No. 3 he drove to Victory Lane. It marked the second time this month that the No. 3, made famous by Dale Earnhardt, had won a NASCAR event. Dale Earnhardt Jr. drove a Wrangler-sponsored No. 3 car to the win in the Nationwide race at Daytona.
Dillon, who has driven a black No. 3 in other racing series, says he's not bothered by the pressure that comes with that number.
"It's so awesome to see that number running well again," he said. "When you see it on top of the board... when you leave the track that was really cool. It's a powerful number. It makes people in the stands stand up and cheer. I love driving it."
 
LOOKING AHEAD
The Cup series resumes July 25 at Indianapolis. The Camping World Truck Series and the Nationwide Series are both at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Ill., this weekend. The trucks run Friday night with the Nationwide series running Saturday night.
 
PIT STOPS
Work has begun on Daytona International Speedway, which will be repaved in time for the 2011 Daytona 500.... "Transformers 3" was filming in Chicago this past weekend, and some of the cars being used resembled those of Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Juan Pablo Montoya. The movie comes out next summer.