Richard Childress Racing isn’t the giant it once used to be in NASCAR. 1994 was the last year when they won the championship with Dale Earnhardt. This was his seventh championship, drawing him level with Richard Petty and etching his name in the history books forever. Meanwhile, RCR’s tally rose to six titles, and 1994 was their peak, and they have been chasing to match this achievement ever since.
The team brought in talented drivers like Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer, and Jeff Burton. But, with the changing guard and the rise of Hendrick Motorsports, Team Penske and Joe Gibbs Racing, they took a back seat. The closest they came to winning the Bill France Trophy was in 2014, with Ryan Newman; interestingly, he didn’t even win a single race that year. And the irony is that Harvick, who spent more than a decade at RCR, would lift the title with Stewart-Haas Racing that same year.
Throughout the ups and downs of the organization, one man who has been a constant is Dale Earnhardt’s partner and friend, Richard Childress. He had every right to call it quits, hand over the reins of his team to a corporate partner and enjoy retirement. Yet, at 79, he is still going strong, and his ambition remains the same as he had in 1994. The veteran team owner was asked about the same while announcing Kyle Busch’s contract extension, and his response was pure gold.
Richard Childress told Dustin Long, “Good question, I think the thing that drives me the hardest is wanting to win that next championship. Wanting to win races and that’s what I’ve always done. I love the race fans, I love what we do, I even love the media, believe it or not. It’s just me, I would not know what to do. You can hunt only so much, fish so much, so I enjoy this. I enjoy every bit of it.”
The bottom line is that the team owner is still going strong. As such, he sees no reason why he should retire from the NASCAR. After all, Richard Childress still has the hunger to win races and he appreciates the fans. He also confessed that retirement would not really suit him because he really cannot stay idle for so long.
With that being said, is RCR under pressure to deliver the goods? Especially considering that a sport of NASCAR’s caliber has to see teams hit the ground running, very quickly. As such, is there more internal pressure on the organization to buckle up? While the team has seen drivers like Tyler Reddick and Austin Dillon show flashes of brilliance, if there is one driver that can take RCR back to its former glory, it is Kyle Busch.
However, when the team announced that Rowdy had signed an extension until 2026, it raised a few eyebrows. Why didn’t they offer a multi-year deal, and are they looking at the possibility of parting ways with the 2-time champion after 2026? Here’s what Richard Childress had to say about the situation.
Why did RCR offer a short-term contract for Kyle Busch?
“I think Mike and he talked about it. You know, we always wait till you start the following year and or maybe later this year, we’ll be discussing the future, and there’s a big future there for Kyle.” Childress explained. Nothing definitive, but there seems to be a plan in place. Well, even if RCR is willing to sign Rowdy on a long-term deal, he has to feel the same. Who knows, the #11 seat at JGR might open up after 2026.
Switching over the Trackhouse Racing might be a good option, but their reliance on ECR engines and technical partnership with RCR is somewhat sketchy. So, a move away from Chevy would make sense for Busch. And as far as his retirement goes, he is sticking to his original plan, waiting for his son, Brexton, to grow up and compete with him in the Truck Series.
“There kind of a vision on being able to race in some truck races with Brexton, alongside him. So that’s six years from now before he can make that start. That would be a sort of an idea I would look at stepping aside from Cup Series racing. But that’s a long ways out.” Busch added.
Right now, it seems both RCR and Kyle Busch feel that they have the best possible means and resources to reach their objectives and targets. Now, a championship win would be a stretch, but if RCR and Rowdy start building a platform, who knows the younger generation or a new star would be able to complete that job?
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