NASCAR: Cheerios backs Ty Dillon for Daytona 500

Ty Dillon will make his Daytona 500 debut next February, driving the No. 33 Chevrolet for Circle Sport Racing.

Dillon, who competes full time in the NASCAR XFINITY (formerly Nationwide) Series for Richard Childress Racing, will carry sponsorship from Cheerios and Kroger for NASCAR's signature race. Circle Sport, owned by Joe Falk,  fields the No. 33 Chevrolet in association with RCR. General Mills, which continues its six-year partnership with RCR, also backs brother Austin Dillon's Sprint Cup entries through its cereal brands.

"The Daytona 500 is a major step in Ty's career and it's terrific to have General Mills as a big part of this monumental race," said team owner Richard Childress, Dillon's grandfather. "General Mills has such a great history in NASCAR and we are proud to feature the Cheerios colors on Ty's race car for the Daytona 500 and the millions of NASCAR fans who will be watching. We hope to bring Cheerios a victory."

Dillon, 22, ran the first two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races of his career last season in the No. 33. He registered a best finish of 25th in his Labor Day weekend debut at Atlanta for Circle Sport.

Dillon is a three-time winner in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and a one-time winner in the Nationwide Series. He finished fifth in the Nationwide standings last year with a breakthrough victory at Indianapolis in July.