Richard Childress Racing – Page 2

Busch competing at Richmond with sprained wrist from Indy crash

Kyle Busch arrived at Richmond Raceway with a wrapped left wrist after it was sprained during the most recent NASCAR Cup Series race. “These great Next Gen race cars snap the wheel and snap your wrists,” the Richard Childress Racing driver said. …

Kyle Busch arrived at Richmond Raceway with a wrapped left wrist after it was sprained during the most recent NASCAR Cup Series race.

“These great Next Gen race cars snap the wheel and snap your wrists,” the Richard Childress Racing driver said.

Signs of healing over the two-week Olympic break — a brace giving way to a simple wrap. Kelly Crandall

On the roof camera of his No. 8 Chevrolet, Busch could be seen looking at his wrist after climbing from his car and taking his glove off following the race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (July 21). A few days later, Busch was wearing a brace in a picture posted on social media by his wife, Samantha, while on vacation during the two-week break for the Olympics.

Busch was running sixth when he bounced off Denny Hamlin and spun in Turn 3 with three laps left in regulation of the Brickyard 400. The car made a full spin before making contact (on the right side) with the outside wall.

His wrist has no broken bones, and Busch will race Sunday at Richmond. There are no plans for a backup driver and Busch is fine behind the wheel.

However, he did admit, “Without two weeks off, I would not have been able to race. I’m good.”

Dillon fastest in extended Cup Series practice at Richmond

Austin Dillon paced an extended NASCAR Cup Series practice at Richmond Raceway as teams worked through the addition of the option (soft) tire to their allotment. Dillon paced the way at 118.965mph (22.698s). Bubba Wallace was second fastest at …

Austin Dillon paced an extended NASCAR Cup Series practice at Richmond Raceway as teams worked through the addition of the option (soft) tire to their allotment.

Dillon paced the way at 118.965mph (22.698s). Bubba Wallace was second fastest at 118.859mph.

Christopher Bell was third fastest (118.760mph), Martin Truex Jr., fourth (118.707mph), Zane Smith, fifth (118.702mph), Carson Hocevar, sixth (118.530mph), Chris Buescher, seventh (118.457mph), Michael McDowell, eighth (118.229mph) and Daniel Suarez, ninth (118.203mph). Ty Gibbs completed the top 10 at 118.043mph.

The fastest lap by the drivers in the top 10 all came within their first three laps on the track.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who was 24th fastest, ran the most laps — 91.

Cup Series championship point leader Kyle Larson was just 32nd. There are 37 drivers entered in the Cook Out 400.

There were no incidents in the 45-minute session. NASCAR did not dictate when teams, who had one set of option tires for practice, had to use their sets. Cup Series teams will have two sets of option tires to use during Sunday’s race.

Ross Chastain was fastest in the best 10 consecutive lap average. Chastain paced Buescher, Suarez, Dillon, and Truex Jr.

NASCAR explains why Busch’s top-four spot was restored

NASCAR felt Kyle Busch was not involved in the first overtime incident Sunday night at Nashville Superspeedway, and that’s why he was given his top-five position back. Ross Chastain spun in Turn 1 off the bumper of Kyle Larson, which sent the …

NASCAR felt Kyle Busch was not involved in the first overtime incident Sunday night at Nashville Superspeedway, and that’s why he was given his top-five position back.

Ross Chastain spun in Turn 1 off the bumper of Kyle Larson, which sent the Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet toward the outside wall. Chastain led the outside lane on the restart, and Busch was lined up in the row behind him. As Chastain spun, Busch went high to avoid him and bounced off the wall.

Busch slowed to avoid Chastain, who continued to slide with his driver’s side door toward the field. Ty Gibbs ran into Chastain, which sent his car for another spin cycle. As the crash was unfolding, Busch stayed high near the wall.

NASCAR put the No. 8 back in fourth position for the second overtime attempt.

“It’s not so much getting his spot back; his spots weren’t taken away because our rule clearly states that you must maintain a reasonable speed and reasonable speed is for what track conditions [are] at the time,” NASCAR Cup Series managing director Brad Moran told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. “We don’t want to encourage drivers to stay on the gas and just bang their way through. What he did was he avoided the incident. We deemed him not involved in that incident. He didn’t stop. If he had stopped, he probably would have ended up toward the back of the field.

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“But he was scored in the fourth-place position when that caution came out, and he didn’t get into the No. 1 [Chastain] or the No. 5 [Larson] and made very slight contact with the wall. We would deem that as not being involved in that incident, and that’s why he was able to restart where he was scored.”

Moran said the scoring loop determined the lineup when the field was frozen. Busch did not blend back into the field until after Chastain slid down the racetrack, which, at that point, was when nearly the entire field had passed him.

“It was loop No. 4, and that was the last loop the leaders were scored on,” Moran said. “Really, it comes down to, ‘Do we determine him being involved in that wreck?’ and we did not determine being him involved in the wreck. We determined he avoided being in the wreck.”

Busch’s fortune didn’t last. On the following restart, where he again lined up fourth, he was spun from behind by Chase Elliott coming to the green flag when Larson stacked up the field from the outside of the front row. Busch hit the outside wall, which ended his race.

Latest update on Richard Childress Racing’s efforts to buy a NASCAR charter

What is the latest update on Richard Childress Racing’s efforts to buy a third NASCAR charter? It appears to be trending in one direction.

[autotag]Richard Childress Racing[/autotag] has been mentioned as one NASCAR team that could acquire a charter following Stewart-Haas Racing’s announcement of shutting down after 2024. However, the organization’s performance has been below average, creating questions about its future. On Wednesday, Richard Childress Racing’s efforts to buy a charter received an update.

According to FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass, it is less likely than it was a month ago that Richard Childress Racing will acquire a charter. This comes after Gene Haas decided to keep one for Haas Factory Team, which will have one full-time entry. If Richard Childress Racing doesn’t buy one elsewhere, Austin Dillon and Kyle Busch would be in the expected lineup.

Richard Childress Racing has been struggling and must find a way to turn it around quickly. Due to these performances, it may not be logical to stretch resources and field another full-time entry in the NASCAR Cup Series. Richard Childress Racing has a long and storied history in the sport, but time is running out to fix the issues within the organization in 2024.

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Andy Petree retires from Richard Childress Racing effective immediately

Richard Childress Racing announced that Executive Vice President Andy Petree has retired, effective immediately in June 2024.

[autotag]Richard Childress Racing[/autotag] made a shocking announcement on Tuesday. [autotag]Andy Petree[/autotag], the executive vice president, has retired, effective immediately. Keith Rodden has been appointed interim competition director of Richard Childress Racing ahead of the NASCAR Cup Series weekend at Nashville Superspeedway.

Petree joined Richard Childress Racing in 1993 as a crew chief and helped guide Dale Earnhardt Sr. to his final two Cup Series championships. In 2017, Petree re-joined Richard Childress Racing as its new Vice President of Competition. Since November 2023, the 65-year-old has held the position of executive vice president at Richard Childress Racing.

This is a shocking development, as Petree won’t end until the end of the 2024 NASCAR season. Rodden will take over immediately amid a season that has featured significant struggles for the Cup Series program. Richard Childress Racing must find more pace soon as Kyle Busch sits below the playoff cut-line, and Rodden will have more responsibility in making it happen.

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‘I’m pretty excited to come over and have a go’ – Brown

Will Brown is finally getting to “have a go” at NASCAR racing this weekend at Sonoma Raceway. “It’s cool to come over here,” Brown said Friday. “Watching what SVG (Shane van Gisbergen) did last year, a lot of Aussies have paid a lot of attention to …

Will Brown is finally getting to “have a go” at NASCAR racing this weekend at Sonoma Raceway.

“It’s cool to come over here,” Brown said Friday. “Watching what SVG (Shane van Gisbergen) did last year, a lot of Aussies have paid a lot of attention to NASCAR now and I’m pretty excited to come over and have a go. I was lucky enough to put a deal together with Richard (Childress) — we were able to have him out to Australia at the end of last year and made that connection.”

Brown is in a third Childress entry for the Cup Series race, piloting the No. 33 Chevrolet. Austin Dillon and Kyle Busch, the organization’s primary drivers, are well familiar with Brown as the three have competed together in an endurance race during the winter.

“It was cool to put a deal together last minute,” Brown said of competing in the Toyota/Save Mart 350. “Hopefully we’ll have a good weekend.”

The Toowoomba, Australia native currently leads the Supercars Championship point standings. Cup cars and Supercars are similar, but Brown will adjust to shifting with his right hand all weekend.

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He has, however, been getting as up-to-speed as possible in the simulator. It started with an hour three weeks ago when he came to the United States, where he used the sim to familiarize himself with Sonoma. This week Brown piggybacked off Dillon’s simulator time to get another hour and then took Busch’s entire scheduled session when the two-time NASCAR champion was in Indianapolis for the Goodyear tire test.

“That’s something we don’t use back at home,” Brown said. “There are no simulators. We can use a cheaper sort of one in our house, but we don’t have that sort of facility or infrastructure. It was cool to get on it. I think we had a really good simulator session…the last time on Wednesday, and I seem to know the track pretty well.”

Brown is reserving his expectations for the weekend until after getting through practice and qualifying. It doesn’t go unnoticed what van Gisbergen has done since he arrived in NASCAR, starting with a win out of the gate last year in Chicago.

“Shane…doing what he did makes it hard for the Aussies to come out now,” Brown said. “It’s like a letdown if we don’t win. I think Shane’s been running inside the top 10 for his last couple of road course runs, so that would be great if we could do that.”

Brown was third fastest in Friday’s Cup Series practice session.

Brown to become latest Supercars driver to compete in NASCAR

Will Brown, the current Supercars Championship point leader, will make his NASCAR Cup Series debut next month at Sonoma Raceway with Richard Childress Racing. Brown will drive the No. 33 MobileX Chevrolet. Sonoma, which is Sunday, June 9, is the …

“It’s just an incredible opportunity to be able to come out and race at the highest level in America,” Brown said. “I am extremely thankful to Richard Childress and everyone at Richard Childress Racing for the opportunity. I’ve been interested in NASCAR since I started racing Supercars, and even more so since the recent wave of success that some international drivers have had crossing over into the NASCAR Cup Series.

“I’ve got some great sponsors that have supported me for a long time in Australia, and I’m lucky enough that MobileX is joining us for the race, along with a long-term partner of mine, Shaw and Partners. Incredibly thankful also for Motorola and everyone else who has come on board for the race. It’s been massive to get everyone to support the program, and we wouldn’t have been able to do it without them. I’m looking forward to the race and have been working hard to prepare.”

Brown will drive a third entry for the RCR organization alongside Austin Dillon and Kyle Busch for the June 9 event. The three are familiar with each other after competing together for Childress in an endurance race at Circuit of The Americas in December.

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NASCAR’s recent wave of international drivers, particularly from Supercars, started with Shane van Gisbergen winning on the streets of Chicago last summer. Childress then fielded Brodie Kostecki at the Indianapolis road course in late 2023 and Cam Waters made his Craftsman Truck Series debut earlier this year.

Waters will also be entered at Sonoma for the Cup Series race driving for RFK Racing, while van Gisbergen is now a full-time NASCAR driver with Kaulig Racing.

Brown is a native of Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia. He sits atop the Supercars championship points with three wins through 10 races and nine podiums.

“Will Brown has had success racing in Australia and New Zealand and we’re looking forward to having him race with RCR in the No. 33 MobileX Chevrolet,” said Richard Childress. “I’ve stayed in touch with Will since he came over in December to race with us, and he has proven to be a disciplined and passionate racer. His start with RCR is a continuation of a long-standing investment that RCR has made in finding and honing talent and looking beyond U.S. motorsports.”

Austin Dillon signed long-term extension with Richard Childress Racing in 2024

Austin Dillon recently signed a long-term extension to stay in the No. 3 car for Richard Childress Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series.

[autotag]Austin Dillon[/autotag]’s future with [autotag]Richard Childress Racing[/autotag] has been a significant topic of conversation lately. Dillon has struggled in the No. 3 car, as he sits 31st in the point standings, only above Justin Haley, Harrison Burton, and Zane Smith. Despite those struggles, Dillon’s future in the NASCAR Cup Series appears to be secured beyond 2024.

According to The Athletic’s Jordan Bianchi, Dillon recently signed a multi-year contract extension to continue driving the No. 3 car for Richard Childress Racing. The 34-year-old driver’s performances have been baffling. Dillon only has two top-20 finishes in 14 races, with a best finish of eighth place at Texas Motor Speedway.

Dillon has really struggled after the 2022 NASCAR season, with only one top-5 finish and eight top-10 finishes in the last 50 races. Yet, Dillon’s seat is safe for the foreseeable future. Richard Childress Racing must find a way to unlock the potential of the No. 3 team because Dillon hasn’t been competitive since his win at Daytona International Speedway in August 2022.

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Richard Childress Racing signs new driver for NASCAR Cup Series race at Sonoma

Richard Childress Racing has signed a new driver for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Sonoma Raceway. Who will drive the team’s third entry?

[autotag]Richard Childress Racing[/autotag] has utilized its third NASCAR Cup Series car more often since the start of the 2023 NASCAR season and it continued at Texas Motor Speedway. Austin Hill drove the No. 33 Cup car before going to the garage for steering issues. Now, Richard Childress Racing has picked up a new driver for the No. 33 car in 2024.

According to V8 Sleuth’s Stefan Bartholomaeus, Supercars Championship driver Will Brown is scheduled to drive the No. 33 car in the Cup Series race at Sonoma Raceway. Brown currently leads the Supercars Championship point standings with a 71-point cushion and has three wins. The 25-year-old driver replaced Shane van Gisbergen at Red Bull.

Brodie Kostecki is another Supercars Championship driver who drove for Richard Childres Racing in 2023, competing at the Indianapolis Road Course. However, it appears that Kostecki won’t be behind the wheel of a car in NASCAR this season. Brown now has a major opportunity in good equipment at Sonoma in June.

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Busch grateful to have a ‘normal day’ at Dover

Kyle Busch picked up his second top-10 finish in three weeks at Dover Motor Speedway in a day his Richard Childress Racing team needed. “A good day for the No. 8 car, a good solid points day, I guess,” Busch said after finishing in fourth place. …

Kyle Busch picked up his second top-10 finish in three weeks at Dover Motor Speedway in a day his Richard Childress Racing team needed.

“A good day for the No. 8 car, a good solid points day, I guess,” Busch said after finishing in fourth place. “That’s a normal day. I’d love to have a lot more normal days; we just can’t seem to get any.”

Busch started from the pole and led the first 34 laps, but he never controlled the race again after losing the top spot to Ryan Blaney, who drove around him under green.

The No. 8 Camaro was a contender in the Wurth 400 and had an average running position of fifth place. The two-time series champion finished seventh in the first stage and sixth in the second stage.

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“[I’m] proud of everybody on this FICO Chevrolet,” Busch said. “The car was pretty decent. I felt like if we came off of pit road there at the end with the clean racetrack the way that it was, and being able to just charge forward [to] try to catch these leaders, that was probably going to be our best bet to try to run them down and race with them. But definitely had a third-place car today.

“Having to come from eighth to fourth on that final run right there was really, really tough, but that’s all we had.”

Sunday was Busch’s best finish on a non-superspeedway. A third-place result at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the second race of the season, is his best effort of the season. The 34 laps he led at Dover are the most he’s led in a race this season.