Richard Childress

Richard Childress (born September 21, 1945) is an American former NASCAR driver and the current team owner of Richard Childress Racing (RCR). As a business entrepreneur, Childress became one of the wealthiest men in North Carolina. A 2003/2004 business venture was the opening of a vineyard in the Yadkin Valley AVA, an American Viticultural Area located in Lexington North Carolina.[1] Childress was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He was on the Board of Directors of the National Rifle Association.[2] His grandsons Austin Dillon and Ty Dillon are NASCAR competitors.

Richard Childress
Childress in 2010
Born (1945-09-21) September 21, 1945
Winston-Salem, North Carolina, U.S.
Achievements1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994 Winston Cup Series Champion car owner
2001, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2013 Busch Series Champion car owner
1995, 2011 Camping World Truck Series Champion truck owner
2011 ARCA Racing Series Champion car owner
AwardsNASCAR Hall of Fame Inductee (2017)
NASCAR Cup Series career
285 races run over 12 years
Best finish5th (1975)
First race1969 Talladega 500 (Talladega)
Last race1981 Winston Western 500 (Riverside)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 76 0
NASCAR Grand National East Series career
17 races run over 2 years
Best finish9th (1972)
First race1972 Hickory 276 (Hickory)
Last race1973 Buddy Shuman 100 (Hickory)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 3 0
Statistics current as of October 30, 2013.

Driving career

Childress' career in NASCAR's top levels started auspiciously when a drivers' strike at Talladega Superspeedway left NASCAR President William France Sr. looking for replacement drivers. Childress started his first race as a replacement. By 1971, Childress began racing on the top level as an independent driver, using the number 96. He changed to number 3 in 1976 as a tribute to Junior Johnson's past as a driver. Although he never won as a driver, he nonetheless proved to be capable and consistent behind the wheel registering six top-5 finishes, seventy-six top-10 finishes, and five Top 10 point finishes, with a career-best ranking of fifth in 1975. He did, however, win the unofficial invitational Metrolina 200 in 1974.[3]

Ownership of Richard Childress Racing
Main article: Richard Childress Racing
Childress working the pits in 1986

He retired from driving in 1981 after Rod Osterlund sold his NASCAR team to J.D. Stacy, and Osterlund's driver, Dale Earnhardt, did not want to drive for Stacy. Childress, with recommendations from R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, chose to retire and put Earnhardt behind the wheel of his No. 3 car, complete with Wrangler Jeans sponsorship. That first alliance lasted for the season. Ricky Rudd was hired in 1982 and drove for two years, giving Childress his first career victory in June 1983 at Riverside. Earnhardt returned for the 1984 season, and together with Childress formed one of the most potent combinations in NASCAR history. They won championships in 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, and 1994. In the mid-1990s, Childress began expanding his racing empire, fielding entries in the Busch Series and Craftsman Truck Series. The team won the 1995 Craftsman Truck Series championship with driver Mike Skinner in the series' first season. He expanded to a two-car operation in the NASCAR Cup Series, with driver Skinner driving the No. 31. In the first part of the 2000s, he expanded to three cars, with the No. 30 car driven by Jeff Green.

Earnhardt was killed on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. Childress promoted Busch driver Kevin Harvick to drive the renumbered No. 29. Harvick would win in only his third start, at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. With Harvick having won the Busch Series championship in 2001 and 2006, RCR became the first team in NASCAR history to win all three of NASCAR's national championship series. RCR also won the Busch Grand National Series Owner’s Championships in 2003 with Kevin Harvick and Johnny Sauter and in 2007 with Scott Wimmer and Jeff Burton. RCR won the 2011 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and the 2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series Championship, both with Childress' grandson Austin Dillon driving the No. 3.

Childress' full-time drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series are:

Childress' part-time drivers in the Xfinity Series is:

  • Kaz Grala, Anthony Alfredo, Myatt Snider(R), Earl Bamber No. 21

Personal life
A section of Interstate 85 between exit 96 and exit 102 has been declared the Richard Childress Freeway.

Richard Childress currently resides in one of the largest mansions in northwestern Davidson County, North Carolina. The Richard Childress Racing Museum is located in nearby Welcome, along with numerous racing maintenance shops. The Childress Vineyards winery is located a few miles south of the museum in Lexington at the US 52/US 64 interchange. Childress remains active in his current county of residence, attending fundraisers and supporting local candidates for office. He also owns a home in the famous Spruce Creek Fly In, Port Orange, Florida which he purchased from his friend, Mark Martin.

In 2008, Richard and his wife Judy established The Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma[4] with the mission to lead national efforts to reduce death and disability following injury to children less than 18 years old.[5] The Childress Institute is focused on funding research and medical education throughout the U.S. to improve treatment, as well as raising public awareness.[5]

Childress has a number of racers in his family. His son-in-law is RCR general manager Mike Dillon, long-time Nationwide Series driver who made one Sprint Cup start (1998 California 500) in an RCR car. Austin and Ty Dillon (sons of Mike, grandchildren of Richard) are NASCAR drivers.

In 2017 he was elevated from Second Vice President[6] to First Vice President[7] of the National Rifle Association, which in accordance with NRA tradition would mean he could expected to serve as the organization's president from 2019 to 2021. However, in 2018 Oliver North was designated to take over as president. In August 2019, amidst controversies surrounding NRA financial spending habits, Richard Childress stepped down from his board member position.[8]

Controversies

Alleged favoritism towards teams

During the 2003 Pontiac Excitement 400, there was a feud between RCR drivers Kevin Harvick and Jeff Green. In 2001, Green helped RCR start what eventually became the No. 27 Chevrolet team in the Cup series. Back then, the No. 27 was No. 30 and it was sponsored by AOL, with Green as the driver. Harvick and Green had a Busch Series rivalry, but rejected notions that they couldn't get along. During the race, Harvick wrecked Green with 128 laps to go, taking Green out of the race. An upset Green replied by confronting Harvick's crew chief Todd Berrier in the No. 29 pit stall, forcing Richard Childress to restrain him. Green later said to the media that, "It's tough to be teammates when it seems like there is only one car at RCR." Green was fired the next day by Childress, who said that change was needed after the relationship had gone awry.[9]

Kyle Busch

Childress was involved in a physical altercation with fellow Camping World Truck Series owner and current driver Kyle Busch following the Truck race on June 4, 2011. Joey Coulter, driver of Childress's No. 22 Chevrolet Silverado, battled tightly for position with the No. 18 Toyota Tundra of Busch. Coulter would eventually hold off Busch, taking the fifth place in the O'Reilly Auto Parts 250. Once the race had concluded, Busch purposely bumped into Coulter's truck on the cool-down lap.[10] Childress reportedly approached Busch in the garage area, took off his jewelry and proceeded to punch Busch in the face. The fight was broken up and insults were exchanged before Childress put Busch in a headlock and hit him again.[11]

Two days later, NASCAR fined Childress $150,000 and placed him on probation through the end of the year.[12] Busch was not fined or disciplined. NASCAR President Mike Helton stated that "[Busch] did nothing that would have warranted the actions of Richard Childress."[13]

2010 New Hampshire controversy

In 2010 at the Sylvania 300, Clint Bowyer won the race in Childress' No. 33 Cheerio's car. However his car failed inspection twice. The car didn't meet specifications. Two days later NASCAR penalized Bowyer's team with a 6-week crew chief suspension, a 150-point deduction and a $150,000 fine for crew chief Shane Wilson. NASCAR executive Robin Pemberton said Childress' team didn't lose the win only because Mike Helton considered the team punished enough.

Childress filed an appeal. The penalty dropped Bowyer back to 12th in points, 185 points behind then championship leader Denny Hamlin. Childress appealed the decision, which reduced the suspension to four races and $100,000, but the 150-point deduction was upheld. The penalty eliminated any shot Bowyer had at the Cup series championship that year. Despite the penalties, Childress was pleased with the outcome of the penalties being reduced, claiming that chief appellate officer John Middlebrook was fair in the appeal.

Childress maintained during the appeals and to this day that the car failed inspection because it had been damaged by a pushing truck that pushed the car into victory lane when it ran out of gas.

Tire deflations

Following the 2015 Auto Club 400, NASCAR officials received rumors that teams in NASCAR were purposely deflating their tires. Deflation of the tires provides more control and grip on the track. Officials confiscated the tires of several teams including the No. 31 Richard Childress Racing car driven by Ryan Newman. Two weeks later, NASCAR penalized Childress's team with a $125,000 fine and a six-race suspension for No. 31 crew chief Luke Lambert, and other key players. Also Newman was stripped of 75 driver and owner points. The penalty dropped him from eight in the standings to 26th.

Childress and Newman appealed the penalties. They filed an appeal to the National Motorsports Appeal Panel. A hearing was scheduled for April 16. The penalties were slightly reduced. The $125,000 fine for Lambert was reduced to $75,000, the point deductions were reduced to 50 but the suspensions were upheld. Childress filed an appeal to the Final Appeals Board. There, the appeals board upheld the penalties, leaving Lambert and key players suspended. Newman dropped from eight to 18th in the standings as a result.

Awards

He was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2016.[14]

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Grand National Series
NASCAR Grand National Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 NGNC Pts Ref
1969 Richard Childress Racing 13 Chevy MGR MGY RSD DAY DAY DAY CAR AUG BRI ATL CLB HCY GPS RCH NWS MAR AWS DAR BLV LGY CLT MGR SMR MCH KPT GPS NCF DAY DOV TPN TRN BLV BRI NSV SMR ATL MCH SBO BGS AWS DAR HCY RCH TAL
23		 CLB MAR NWS CLT SVH AUG CAR JFC MGR TWS NA 0 [15]
1971 Garn Racing 96 Chevy RSD DAY DAY DAY ONT RCH CAR HCY BRI ATL CLB GPS SMR NWS MAR DAR SBO
21		 TAL ASH KPT
22		 CLT DOV
18		 MCH RSD HOU GPS
23		 DAY BRI
DNQ		 AST
28		 ISP
31		 TRN
36		 NSV
21		 ATL BGS
21		 ONA MCH TAL CLB
27		 HCY DAR MAR
DNQ		 CLT RCH
20		 NWS TWS 46th 601 [16]
Faustina Racing 5 Plymouth DOV
30		 CAR MGR

Winston Cup Series
NASCAR Winston Cup Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 NWCC Pts Ref
1972 Richard Childress Racing 96 Chevy RSD DAY RCH
29		 ONT
DNQ		 CAR
37		 ATL BRI
18		 DAR NWS
27		 MAR
29		 TAL
DNQ		 CLT DOV
37		 TWS
31		 DAY BRI
26		 TRN
18		 ATL TAL MCH NSV
16		 DAR RCH
25		 DOV
33		 MAR
33		 NWS
25		 CLT CAR TWS 37th 1521.25 [17]
Warren Racing Plymouth MCH
19		 RSD
1973 Garn Racing Chevy RSD DAY
DNQ		 RCH CAR
9		 BRI
20		 ATL
13		 NWS
16		 DAR
4		 MAR
24		 TAL
22		 NSV
23		 CLT
11		 DOV
18		 TWS
35		 MCH
14		 DAY
27		 BRI
25		 ATL
23		 TAL
31		 NSV
20		 DAR
40		 RCH
12		 DOV
16		 NWS
17		 MAR
25		 CLT
18		 CAR
14		 15th 5169.5 [18]
98 RSD
17
1974 96 RSD DAY
40		 RCH
16		 CAR
36		 BRI
20		 ATL
27		 DAR
39		 NWS
22		 MAR
10		 TAL
11		 NSV
26		 DOV
21		 CLT
34		 RSD
15		 MCH
6		 DAY
23		 BRI
24		 NSV
23		 ATL
11		 POC
12		 TAL
13		 MCH
27		 DAR
18		 RCH
24		 DOV
18		 NWS
7		 MAR
24		 CLT
41		 CAR
24		 ONT
12		 16th 735.44 [19]
1975 88 RSD
11		 5th 3818 [20]
96 DAY
18		 RCH
9		 CAR
6		 BRI
9		 ATL
15		 NWS
17		 DAR
22		 MAR
9		 TAL
10		 NSV
16		 DOV
16		 CLT
23		 RSD
9		 MCH
10		 DAY
13		 NSV
6		 POC
5		 TAL
13		 MCH
31		 DAR
7		 DOV
6		 NWS
8		 MAR
4		 CLT
8		 RCH
21		 CAR
21		 BRI
13		 ATL
12		 ONT
10
1976 Richard Childress Racing 3 Chevy RSD
7		 DAY
9		 CAR
23		 RCH
6		 BRI
20		 ATL
11		 NWS
9		 DAR
9		 MAR
8		 TAL
24		 NSV
17		 DOV
10		 CLT
17		 RSD
11		 MCH
18		 DAY
12		 NSV
28		 POC
9		 TAL
8		 MCH
13		 BRI
10		 DAR
36		 RCH
25		 DOV
20		 MAR
10		 NWS
23		 CLT
15		 CAR
27		 ATL
25		 ONT
36		 11th 3428 [21]
1977 RSD
6		 DAY
23		 RCH
10		 CAR
17		 ATL
19		 NWS
8		 DAR
17		 BRI
8		 MAR
10		 TAL
21		 NSV
26		 DOV
21		 CLT
14		 RSD
8		 MCH
34		 DAY
19		 NSV
27		 POC
17		 TAL
20		 MCH
33		 BRI
8		 DAR
8		 RCH
26		 DOV
7		 MAR
15		 NWS
6		 CLT
16		 CAR
18		 ATL
21		 ONT
10		 9th 3463 [22]
1978 RSD
20		 RCH
8		 CAR
8		 DAR
27		 10th 3566 [23]
Olds DAY
13		 ATL
15		 BRI
6		 DAR
28		 NWS
10		 MAR
8		 TAL
9		 DOV
33		 CLT
20		 NSV
8		 RSD
15		 MCH
10		 DAY
24		 NSV
3		 POC
24		 TAL
25		 MCH
31		 BRI
7		 RCH
11		 DOV
12		 MAR
12		 NWS
14		 CLT
9		 CAR
10		 ATL
30		 ONT
11
1979 RSD
15		 DAY
17		 ATL
20		 TAL
24		 CLT
10		 TWS
7		 RSD
6		 MCH
23		 DAY
37		 TAL
10		 MCH
10		 8th 3735 [24]
Chevy CAR
5		 RCH
26		 NWS
7		 BRI
11		 DAR
16		 MAR
14		 NSV
6		 DOV
29		 NSV
7		 POC
12		 BRI
11		 DAR
29		 RCH
15		 DOV
13		 MAR
13		 CLT
14		 NWS
10		 CAR
7		 ATL
15		 ONT
16
1980 RSD
6		 CAR
14		 NWS
11		 MAR
11		 NSV
29		 DOV
8		 TWS
6		 RSD
18		 MCH
14		 NSV
9		 POC
9		 MCH
27		 BRI
9		 DAR
12		 RCH
11		 DOV
37		 NWS
19		 MAR
25		 CLT
11		 CAR
7		 ATL
9		 ONT
21		 10th 3742 [25]
Olds DAY
13		 RCH
22		 ATL
13		 BRI
29		 DAR
21		 TAL
12		 CLT
11		 DAY
8		 TAL
6
1981 Chevy RSD
4		 25th 2144 [26]
Pontiac DAY
38		 RCH
13		 CAR
22		 ATL
17		 BRI
16		 NWS
17		 DAR
31		 MAR
22		 TAL
13		 NSV
13		 DOV
17		 CLT
19		 TWS
14		 RSD
18		 MCH
19		 DAY
21		 NSV
17		 POC
23		 TAL
26		 MCH BRI DAR RCH DOV MAR NWS CLT CAR ATL
Junior Johnson & Associates 41 Buick RSD
39
Daytona 500
Year Team Manufacturer Start Finish
1973 Garn Racing Chevy DNQ
1974 36 40
1975 36 18
1976 Richard Childress Racing Chevy 36 9
1977 32 23
1978 Olds 19 13
1979 31 17
1980 22 13
1981 Pontiac 18 38

See also

References
  1. "Childress Vineyards". Childress Vineyards. Retrieved 2013-10-02.
  2. "Board Spotlight: Richard Childress | NRA Publications and Magazines". Nrapublications.org. Archived from the original on 2013-10-04. Retrieved 2013-10-02.
  3. "Historical Motorsports Stories: Dale Earnhardt's "First" Cup Race and the Fall of Metrolina - Racing-Reference.info". www.racing-reference.info. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
  4. "NASCAR Foundation". Archived from the original on 2013-10-05.
  5. "Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma mission".
  6. Richard Childress named NRA Second Vice-President
  8. https://wgno.com/news/nascar-team-owner-richard-childress-resigns-from-nra-board-in-latest-leadership-departure/
  9. Rodman, Dave (2003). Green out at RCR, no replacement named. NASCAR.com. Retrieved October 19, 2006.
  10. "NASCAR owner Richard Childress reportedly fights Kyle Busch - latimes.com". Latimesblogs.latimes.com. 2011-06-05. Retrieved 2013-10-02.
  11. "Kyle Busch, Richard Childress have an altercation after Trucks race". baltimoresun.com. 2011-06-05. Retrieved 2013-10-02.
  12. "Richard Childress fined $150K for altercation with Kyle Busch - ESPN". Sports.espn.go.com. 2011-06-07. Retrieved 2013-10-02.
  13. "NASCAR clears Kyle Busch in incident". Msn.foxsports.com. 2011-06-06. Retrieved 2013-10-02.
  14. Richard Childress at the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
  15. "Richard Childress – 1969 NASCAR Grand National Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  16. "Richard Childress – 1971 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  17. "Richard Childress – 1972 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  18. "Richard Childress – 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  19. "Richard Childress – 1974 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  20. "Richard Childress – 1975 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  21. "Richard Childress – 1976 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  22. "Richard Childress – 1977 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  23. "Richard Childress – 1978 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  24. "Richard Childress – 1979 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  25. "Richard Childress – 1980 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  26. "Richard Childress – 1981 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. Retrieved May 12, 2016.

Further reading
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