Dye would come back in the 2021 season, this time with a scheduled full-time ride with Ben Kennedy Racing.[2] However, Dye would only compete for four of the scheduled eight races before eventually switching teams. For the last four races of the season, Dye would race the No. 21 for GMS Racing.[3] Dye, combined with his results from Ben Kennedy Racing and GMS Racing, would finish second in the final standings, only being beaten by Sammy Smith.
ARCA Menards Series West
2021–2022
Dye would first race in the ARCA Menards Series West as a one-off race at Phoenix Raceway, driving the No. 22 for GMS Racing in 2021, he would finish 12th. In 2022, he ran at Phoenix again in a companion event with the ARCA Menards Series, finishing second.
In 2022, he planned to run a full-time schedule for GMS Racing in the No. 43. Dye was instead charged with felonybattery[5] after striking a fellow student in the scrotum[6] in what witnesses described as a "game".[7] Dye was indefinitely suspended from ARCA competition after three races.[8] Prior to the race at the Kansas Speedway, Dye was reinstated by ARCA after his charges were dropped from felony to misdemeanor and went on to compete in the event, finishing 3rd.[9][10] Despite not winning a race, he nearly won the Championship until a mechanical issue relegated him to an 18th-place finish at the season finale in Toledo, which resulted in a runner-up to Nick Sanchez by 14 points in the final standings. Despite this, he won Rookie of the Year honors ahead of Sanchez's teammate Rajah Caruth.
On August 23, 2024, Kaulig Racing announced that Dye will pilot the No. 10 full-time in 2025.[14]
Personal life
Mug shot of Daniel Dye
Dye is a second-generation driver, the son of Stacy Rumbaugh and Randy Dye, a businessman in Daytona Beach, Florida who owns two auto dealerships: Daytona Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram and Maserati Alfa Romeo of Daytona.[15] Randy Dye was a former Pro Late Model driver who since July 2017 has served on the board of directors for The NASCAR Foundation. He is a cousin of MLB player for the Kansas City Royals, Josh Dye.
Dye attended Father Lopez Catholic High School.[16] While a student at Father Lopez, Dye was arrested on April 26, 2022 and booked in Volusia County Branch Jail on charges of felony battery, later reduced to misdemeanor battery. According to a police report, Dye "began dancing and grinding with his groin and pelvic area near his classmate's face" and then "came up from behind the boy and punched him in the groin", with the victim suffering "a possible ruptured testicle."[17][18] Dye was granted a deferred prosecution agreement and ordered to complete an eight-hour anger management course, 25 hours of community service, and compensate the victim an undisclosed amount.[19]
