NASCAR stalwart Richard Childress has openly discussed the testing challenges his racing team has faced this year. Joining Kevin Harvick on his popular podcast, Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour, Childress opened up about the uphill battle his team, Richard Childress Racing (RCR), experienced.
The team, home to accomplished drivers Kyle Busch and Austin Dillon, saw neither qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Despite competing in 30 races, Busch has yet to register a win this season.
A key factor in these setbacks, as Childress elaborated, has been repeated crashes and mishaps that derailed potential success. Childress specifically pointed to Austin Dillon’s early crashes and Busch’s frequent involvement in incidents, including a notable spin-out while in the lead position during the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.
Discussing his post-race conversation with Busch, Childress explained:
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“Yeah, well, it’s been one of those years.
“You know, crashes, we’ve been involved in so many crashes. I think Austin was involved in [one] in the first six races this year, so that put him so far behind. Kyle, he’s been involved in several crashes.
“I talked to him this morning, and he said maybe I should have been a little more patient.
“But you know, when you’ve got somebody breathing down your back, you’re leading the race with 20-25 [laps] to go, you just make the move you think is right. And I told him, I said, ‘Man, don’t worry, we’re going to win some races.'”
Childress went on to discuss the upcoming changes to the team which they’re are “excited about,” commenting:
“It’s been a tough year, but everybody has fought hard. We see that we’ve got to make some changes and we got more changes coming [that] you’re going to be hearing about in the next month probably. And we’re excited about next year.
“You know, you can’t dwell on the past, you have to learn from the past. You know, history teaches you. And that’s what we’ve got to learn from is what happened this year and take it into next year with a positive attitude that we’re not going to do it.”
Despite his advancing age of 79, Childress remains an instrumental figure at RCR, albeit less involved in day-to-day operations.
NASCAR Cup Series: Current Playoff Standings
- William Byron – +34
- Ryan Blaney – +28
- Christopher Bell – +28
- Kyle Larson – +18
- Denny Hamlin – +11
- Alex Bowman – +8
- Chase Elliott – +4
- Joey Logano – +4
On the bubble: - Tyler Reddick – -4
- Daniel Suárez – -14
- Chase Briscoe – -25
- Austin Cindric – -29
