# Richard Childress

Richard Reed Childress (born September 21, 1945) is an American former race car driver in NASCAR. Childress is the owner of Richard Childress Racing (RCR). In 2004, he opened a vineyard in the Yadkin Valley AVA near Lexington. Childress sat on the board of directors at the National Rifle Association of America until 2019. Childress has been a co-owner of the Carolina Cowboys professional bull-riding team since 2022.

## Driving career

Childress's career in NASCAR started in 1969 when a drivers' strike at Talladega Superspeedway left NASCAR president William France Sr. looking for replacement drivers. By 1971, Childress was racing as an independent driver, using the number 96. He changed to number 3 in 1976 as a tribute to Junior Johnson. 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.

## Ownership of Richard Childress Racing

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 with Earnhardt lasted for a single season. Ricky Rudd was hired in 1982 and drove for two years, giving the Childress team its 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. Earnhardt won championships in 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, and 1994. In the mid-1990s, Childress began expanding his racing team, fielding entries in the Busch Series and Craftsman Truck Series. They won the 1995 Craftsman Truck Series championship with driver Mike Skinner in the series's first season. Childress expanded to a two-car operation in the NASCAR Cup Series, with Skinner driving the No. 31. In the early 2000s he added a third car, No. 30, 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's grandson Austin Dillon driving the No. 3.
Childress's current full-time drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series are:
* Austin Dillon No. 3
* Kyle Busch No. 8
His drivers in the Xfinity Series are:
* Jesse Love No. 2
* Austin Hill No. 21

## Personal life

In 2008, Richard and his wife Judy established The Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma with the mission to lead national efforts to reduce death and disability following injury to children less than 18 years old. The Childress Institute is focused on funding research and medical education throughout the U.S. to improve treatment, as well as raising public awareness.
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 to First Vice President of the National Rifle Association, which in accordance with NRA tradition would mean he could have 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 controversy surrounding payments being made by the NRA to a law firm, Childress stepped down from the board.
Childress is also a member of the board of directors for Ammo Inc., which contributed 1 million rounds of ammunition to the Armed Forces of Ukraine during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

## Controversies
### Alleged favoritism towards Earnhardt and Harvick

In the 1980s, RCR fielded only one car - the #3 of Dale Earnhardt, who won 6 of his 7 championships with the team. During the late 1980s and mid 1990s, RCR fielded a part-time #31 for research-and-development purposes. By the mid-1990s, the #31 became a full-time car with Mike Skinner driving. Although the team was fully sponsored by Lowe's, there were claims that RCR weren't putting as many resources into the #31 as they were into the #3, giving Earnhardt an insurmountable competition advantage over his teammate. On a number of occasions, Skinner came close to winning races in the Cup Series in the #31, but lost each time - a couple of times to his teammate. Skinner ultimately never won a Cup race.
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, leading Richard Childress to restrain him. Green later said to the media, "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.

### 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 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. 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.
Two days later, NASCAR fined Childress $150,000 and placed him on probation through the end of the year. Busch was not fined or disciplined. NASCAR President Mike Helton stated that..."[Busch] did nothing that would have warranted the actions of Richard Childress."
On September 13, 2022, a press conference was held to announce that Kyle Busch had entered into an agreement with Richard Childress Racing to drive the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for the 2023 season. In reference to the infamous confrontation, Childress presented Busch with a Rolex watch as a signing bonus, telling him "hold my watch" in reference to the words he told his grandson Austin Dillon before the incident.

### 2010 New Hampshire controversy

In 2010 at the Sylvania 300, Clint Bowyer won the race in Childress's No. 33 Cheerios car. However, his car failed inspection twice for not meeting 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 the only reason the win wasn't also taken away from Childress's team was that Mike Helton considered the team punished enough.
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. Childress was pleased that the penalties had been reduced, claiming that chief appellate officer John Middlebrook was fair in the appeal.
Childress maintains 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 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. Newman was also stripped of 75 driver and owner points, which would have dropped him from eighth in the standings to 26th.
Childress and Newman appealed to the National Motorsports Appeal Panel, with their hearing scheduled for April 16. The panel slightly reduced the penalties: the $125,000 fine for Lambert was reduced to $75,000, and the point deduction was reduced to 50, but the suspensions were upheld. Childress then went to the Final Appeals Board, which upheld the revised penalties, leaving Lambert and key players suspended. Newman dropped from eighth to 18th in the standings as a result.

## Awards

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

## 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 1971 | Faustina Racing | 5 | Plymouth | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | DOV 30 | CAR | MGR | | | | | | | | | | | | 46th | 601 |

#### 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 |
| 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 |
| 1972 | Warren Racing | 96 | Plymouth | | | | | | | | | | | | | | MCH 19 | RSD | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 37th | 1521.25 |
| 1973 | Garn Racing | 96 | 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 |
| 1973 | Garn Racing | 98 | Chevy | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | RSD 17 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 15th | 5169.5 |
| 1974 | Garn Racing | 96 | Chevy | 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 |
| 1975 | Garn Racing | 88 | Chevy | RSD 11 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 5th | 3818 |
| 1975 | Garn Racing | 96 | Chevy | | 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 | | 5th | 3818 |
| 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 |
| 1977 | Richard Childress Racing | 3 | Chevy | 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 |
| 1978 | Richard Childress Racing | 3 | Chevy | RSD 20 | | RCH 8 | CAR 8 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | DAR 27 | | | | | | | | | | 10th | 3566 |
| 1978 | Richard Childress Racing | 3 | 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 | | 10th | 3566 |
| 1979 | Richard Childress Racing | 3 | Olds | RSD 15 | DAY 17 | | | ATL 20 | | | | | TAL 24 | | | CLT 10 | TWS 7 | RSD 6 | MCH 23 | DAY 37 | | | TAL 10 | MCH 10 | | | | | | | | | | | 8th | 3735 |
| 1979 | Richard Childress Racing | 3 | 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 | 8th | 3735 |
| 1980 | Richard Childress Racing | 3 | Chevy | 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 |
| 1980 | Richard Childress Racing | 3 | Olds | | DAY 13 | RCH 22 | | ATL 13 | BRI 29 | DAR 21 | | | TAL 12 | | | CLT 11 | | | | DAY 8 | | | TAL 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 10th | 3742 |
| 1981 | Richard Childress Racing | 3 | Chevy | RSD 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 25th | 2144 |
| 1981 | Richard Childress Racing | 3 | 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 | | 25th | 2144 |
| 1981 | Junior Johnson & Associates | 41 | Buick | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | RSD 39 | 25th | 2144 |

##### Daytona 500

| Year | Team | Manufacturer | Start | Finish |
| 1973 | Garn Racing | Chevy | DNQ | DNQ |
| 1974 | Garn Racing | Chevy | 36 | 40 |
| 1975 | Garn Racing | Chevy | 36 | 18 |
| 1976 | Richard Childress Racing | Chevy | 36 | 9 |
| 1977 | Richard Childress Racing | Chevy | 32 | 23 |
| 1978 | Richard Childress Racing | Olds | 19 | 13 |
| 1979 | Richard Childress Racing | Olds | 31 | 17 |
| 1980 | Richard Childress Racing | Olds | 22 | 13 |
| 1981 | Richard Childress Racing | Pontiac | 18 | 38 |