Tag: Richard Childress Racing

RCR might takes Love to maiden Xfinity win at Talladega

Jesse Love earned his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory Saturday in a typically wild double overtime finish in the Ag-Pro 300 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway – crossing the line by a slight 0.141s ahead of Riley Herbst. It many ways, it …

Jesse Love earned his first career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory Saturday in a typically wild double overtime finish in the Ag-Pro 300 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway – crossing the line by a slight 0.141s ahead of Riley Herbst.

It many ways, it was victorious redemption for the 19-year old Californian, who earlier this season was leading the race in overtime at Atlanta only to run out of fuel before the checkered flag. Love’s win in the No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet makes him only the seventh driver to score his maiden win at the 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway.

“Just a great group of guys [on my team] and it’s been such a journey to get to this point,’’ a grinning Love said before thanking a litany of people that helped him in his young career to date.

“I had PTSD flashbacks from Atlanta,’’ Love acknowledged, adding “I love Talladega. I love the speedway and I love the fans.”

 

Love certainly earned this first win – starting on the outside of the front row next to his veteran RCR teammate Austin Hill, winning his fourth stage of the season (Stage 1) and leading 28 of the 124 laps. He ran top five for most of the afternoon and when he needed to go on that final restart, he went. Jumping to the lead at the overtime green flag and holding off the field when it mattered most.

His RCR teammate Hill, the polesitter, led a race-best 42 laps and was out front with two laps remaining in regulation when he was hit from behind by Parker Kligerman. The incident sent Hill’s car into the wall and ultimately collected nine cars, including many that had been running toward the front much of the afternoon – putting the race in overtime.

On the ensuing overtime restart, Kligerman was eliminated in a four-car crash at the front as various cars started running out of gas in the field. Love lined up on the front row for the final restart among eight drivers racing for their career first wins.

Herbst’s runner-up finish in the Stewart-Haas Racing Ford was his best showing of the year. Our Motorsports Anthony Alfredo finished third, followed by Young’s Motorsports rookie Leland Honeyman and Alpha Prime Racing’s Brennan Poole. Alfredo tied his career best mark and Honeyman had a career best finish.

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Joe Gibbs Racing’s Sheldon Creed, Alpha Prime Racing’s Caesar Bacarella, Viking Motorsports’s Matt DiBenedetto, 2023 Talladega winner, Jordan Anderson Racing’s Jeb Burton and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Cole Custer rounded out the top 10.

There were 34 lead changes among 16 drivers in a typically Talladega afternoon.

Ryan Sieg, who lost to Sam Mayer last week at Texas Motor Speedway in a photo finish – by 0.002s – won the Dash 4 Cash $100,000 bonus.

An 11-car accident on lap 65 proved critical to several race frontrunners as well as Dash 4 Cash eligible drivers.

Herbst hit Justin Allgaier’s No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevy with only two laps left in the opening stage – both vying for a top 10 and some early stage points. It eliminated Allgaier from contention. Mayer was eliminated in a later multi-car crash and that left an intriguing battle between Sieg, who had to make a green flag late race pit stop because of a flat tire and A.J. Allmendinger, whose car was damaged in a crash.

Sieg and Allmendinger lined up 19th and 20th respectively on the second overtime restart and Sieg was able to pull away, finishing 17th with Allmendinger 19th.

“This is huge for our team,’’ Sieg said. “It was a rough one. I thought I threw it away, but [we were] lucky enough to get the caution at the end and come back and beat the No. 16. So it all worked out and is pretty extraordinary for our small team.”

Not only does he win the Dash 4 Cash paycheck, but Sieg will compete against Love, Herbst and Alfredo next week at Dover, Del. for the final race of the incentive program.

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Chandler Smith, who finished 25th, still holds a 14-point lead over Custer atop the championship standings.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series moves to the one-mile Dover (Del.) Motor Speedway next week for Saturday’s BetRivers 200 (1:30 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Ryan Truex is the defending race winner.

RESULTS

Talladega the best chance to turn season around for Busch and RCR

Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway is a chance for many in the NASCAR Cup Series field to turn things around with one race, which is good news for defending winner Kyle Busch. Busch is expected to be a factor, as superspeedway events have …

Sunday’s GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway is a chance for many in the NASCAR Cup Series field to turn things around with one race, which is good news for defending winner Kyle Busch.

Busch is expected to be a factor, as superspeedway events have been a strength of the team. The two-time series champion had one of the best opportunities of his career to win the Daytona 500 for the first time last season before he prevailed at Talladega two months later. Busch has led laps in eight of his nine superspeedway races driving the No. 8 Chevrolet.

“It’s [an opportunity race] for everybody, right?” Busch said after qualifying fourth. “But I think it is for us as well, too, just having good stuff at these places. It seems the cars have an easier time or a better opportunity of making something [happen] on their own than where I previously was.”

Busch credited Richard Childress Racing and ECR engines for building fast race cars. That means it’s “fun” for Busch to visit the superspeedway venues of Daytona, Atlanta, and Talladega and know he’s got a shot at victory.

Sunday’s race (3 p.m. ET, Fox) will be the 31st start since Busch and his team last went to victory lane. The triumph in St. Louis in early June was the third win in his first season driving for Childress, but it’s been a battle since then. He finished 20th or worse in five of the final 10 races and finished 14th in the standings.

A quarter of the season is complete, and Busch is 16th in the standings with no stage wins and 26 stage points. He earned his third top-10 finish a week ago at Texas Motor Speedway.

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“Obviously we have not been anywhere where we need to be this year,” crew chief Randall Burnett told NASCAR.com last weekend. “We started off and had some speed the first couple of races, but it’s been a downward slide for us since then, so we’re going to keep working on it. Everybody at RCR and ECR is working really hard; we’ve got a long way to go to get to where we need to be, especially with Kyle, and to get this No. 8 car back up front.”

Busch has led 63 laps in nine races, the bulk coming in the first three races at Daytona, Atlanta and Las Vegas. In that stretch, he finished 12th, third and 26th. Then came a three-week stretch where a 22nd-place finish was Busch’s best effort. He has not led since Bristol Motor Speedway last month.

The inconsistency led Busch to describe his season a few weeks ago as “a lot of missed potential.” Although there have been times that he felt his cars have had good speed, there have been numerous things that have hindered the results.

As it stands – and there are 16 races remaining in the regular season, including Talladega — Busch is near the bubble spot on the playoff grid. He’s never missed the postseason in the elimination era.

“The points will take care of themselves if you run better and run well and can get stage points and get good finishes,” Busch said of his points position. “We obviously haven’t been doing that lately, and I presume we’re lower than we want to be, but that’s just the nature of what we got right now.”

Hill set for four Cup Series races with Childress

Austin Hill will run four NASCAR Cup Series races this season with Richard Childress Racing, beginning at Texas Motor Speedway next week. Hill’s other three races with the team will be announced later. Hill will be in a third entry for the …

Austin Hill will run four NASCAR Cup Series races this season with Richard Childress Racing, beginning at Texas Motor Speedway next week. Hill’s other three races with the team will be announced later.

Hill will be in a third entry for the organization, the No. 33 Chevrolet, with sponsorship from United Rentals. A full-time competitor for Childress in the Xfinity Series, United Rentals has long supported Hill in NASCAR.

“United Rentals has supported me throughout all of the key moments of my racing career so far, which makes their involvement in my upcoming NASCAR Cup Series starts for Richard Childress Racing that much more special,” Hill said. “I’m happy to have another opportunity to race in the Cup Series for RCR. The amount of success that we’ve been able to accomplish together in the Xfinity Series makes me excited for this slate of races.

“It’s not going to be easy competing against the best drivers on Sundays, but I’m thankful to Richard, everyone at RCR, and United Rentals for allowing this Cup Series schedule to come to life. Racing a Next Gen Chevrolet at a mile-and-a-half will be a new challenge, but one that I’m looking forward to.”

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Hill has made six starts in the Cup Series since 2022, most of them with Childress affiliate team Beard Motorsports. However, his debut was in the No. 33 for Childress at Michigan International Speedway in August 2022. A 14th-place finish at Daytona in the summer race last year is Hill’s best effort in the series.

“We’re proud to represent a great brand like United Rentals and to be a part of their efforts to help Austin achieve success at the next level,” said Torrey Galida, president of RCR. “United Rentals is a longtime supporter of our sport, and they have done a superb job of using their relationship with Austin to achieve their business goals from an on-site activation and hosting standpoint.”

Busch still searching for his old Bristol feel with Next Gen car

It doesn’t come as a surprise to see Kyle Busch has one victory in his last four starts at Bristol Motor Speedway. However, what is a surprise is that his spring 2022 victory was not on the surface Busch often made a habit of dominating on …

It doesn’t come as a surprise to see Kyle Busch has one victory in his last four starts at Bristol Motor Speedway. However, what is a surprise is that his spring 2022 victory was not on the surface Busch often made a habit of dominating on throughout the years.

“The car really changes a lot … for me,” Busch said Next Gen. “We won here with this car on the dirt surface, but I would say that since we’ve been bringing the new Next Gen car to the concrete surface, I have not found my way with it yet.”

Next Gen, NASCAR’s seventh-generation race car, debuted in 2022. Busch won the spring race at Bristol that season; however that was the second edition of the dirt race. In the fall 2022 race on concrete, he finished 34th.

“I definitely had a way with understanding this place and having a sense of setup, and how to drive it and whatnot with the old stuff, but not with the new stuff,” Busch said. “We’ll see what happens here this weekend with our No. 8 FICO Chevrolet. [I’m] looking forward to the truck race — it’s been a long time since I’ve been in a truck here. I think the last time was ‘17 when I won. So certainly would be nice to come out here and go back to victory lane with one of those.”

Busch’s last win on concrete at Bristol came in the spring of 2019. Of his eight concrete wins, five have been in the spring race.

The numbers for Busch at Bristol have always been impressive, even outside of the Cup Series. He has victories in all three national series at the track and was the first driver to sweep all three races in the same weekend in 2010 (a feat he repeated in 2017).

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He’s led nearly 2,600 laps at Bristol in the Cup Series and has an average finish of 13.9 in 34 concrete starts, with a best finish on concrete in the Next Gen of 20th.

“Bristol is a lot of rhythm, but it takes a feel of what you’re looking for here…,” Busch said of what’s been so different. “This car just drives a lot different, and it drives a lot different because of the limitations in which it’s built. It just has a different way of you needing to go about it. I’ve learned some of that, but I guess I’m not the best at figuring out how to be better than some of the other drivers. Or maybe their cars are better than my car, I don’t know. It’s not like we can swap seats.”

The plan of attack at Bristol has also changed for Busch in the last two years.

“I’d always run this place more round,” he said. “I’d always try to make it as much of a circle as I possibly could, and now you kind of run this place in a diamond. You go up to the wall, you try to come off the wall, you go up to the wall in the corner, you come up the wall [on the straight]. You know what I mean?

“It’s more diamond-shaped, so it’s definitely a different way of running it. That seems to be a little bit more of the faster way this day and age. It’s a different technique to get used to, but that’s not to say that I can’t do it. It’s just a matter of [not outracing] your own equipment, and you’ve got to go and get what you can get out of it, but nothing more.”

Busch was second fastest in Saturday’s practice session at Bristol. He qualified 14th, which is his best start in the Next Gen car on the Bristol concrete.

Sunday’s Food City 500 (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX) is the first spring race on the concrete at Bristol since 2020.

Busch to get three new RCR crew members again at Phoenix

Kyle Busch will have three new pit crew members going over the wall to serve his Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet beginning Sunday at Phoenix Raceway. Shiloh Windsor is the new front tire changer with Michael Johnson the new rear tire changer. …

Kyle Busch will have three new pit crew members going over the wall to serve his Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet beginning Sunday at Phoenix Raceway.

Shiloh Windsor is the new front tire changer with Michael Johnson the new rear tire changer. Doug Warrick is the new jackman.

The NASCAR Cup Series season is three races old, but it’s not the first change Childress has made for Busch’s No. 8 team. It’s been a struggle on pit road between execution from the race team and Busch having issues in his stall or speeding.

“You have to keep getting the best guys that you can get in there and change positions as you need to change them,” Busch said. “Honestly, when you get down to the nitty-gritty, you’re going to run out of players, you know what I mean? The depth chart is not very deep for guys on pit road that are the ‘excel’ group. I feel like there’s an ‘A’ group of people, there’s a ‘B’ group and there’s a ‘C’ group, just like drivers.

“It’s hard to get any of those available guys from that ‘A’ group to come over to you because they’re under contract. You’re basically playing, what is it in football, the practice squad? You’re pulling guys off the practice squad to see what you can find, and hopefully you hit one.”

Busch finished 26th last weekend in Las Vegas and had multiple 17s pit stops, including one in the final 100 laps that took him out of the top 10. He also slid over the front line of his pit stall and was called for a pitting-outside-the-box penalty on lap 210.

“Typically, in years past at JGR, we’d always have a system of ‘it’s the changer’s responsibility’ or a guy behind the wall,” Busch said of that particular issue. “Like, one of the pit crew support guys behind the wall just needs to start jumping up and down and waving like pushing back, pushing back. That’s what I did. When I’d stop, I came to a stop, and I’m like, ‘Man, I feel a little long, but I don’t know.’

“So I looked at the behind-the-wall guys and the behind-the-wall guys were like moving the hose and ready to catch a tire. That wasn’t even something that they were supposed to do, so we’ve talked about some of those things to put more responsibility on more players so we cannot have the penalty exist.”

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Busch is a student of the sport and arms himself with all available information and statistics, including for pit road. There are five or six sections where a driver worries about being the best compared to the competition, such as getting onto pit road, rolling speed, getting in and out of the pit stall, and then blending back onto the track after exiting.

On the two pit stops before Busch slid through his stall, he felt he had been too light and was giving up time. But the penalty stop occurred because he came in too hot and locked up the rear tires.

“All-in-all, just a frustrating day to have the disaster that we did on pit road of just being really slow,” Busch said. “And then for me to slide through to kind of add insult to injury on my behalf, we otherwise would have been a top-10 finisher. That was the day we needed and we certainly lost a lot of points.”

In the Daytona 500, Busch had a left front wheel loose while running inside the top five. He was able to creep around the racetrack and keep the wheel from coming off and the crew being issued a penalty.

Busch has also been called for speeding this year. He was penalized at Atlanta Motor Speedway under green flag conditions on lap 134, costing himself a chance for stage points.

“When I feel like I’m in a downward position, where I’m behind, and I’m going to try and get extra or more, that’s led to my speeding penalties,” Busch said. “That’s led to my sliding through the box because I know I have to makeup time on pit road myself to kind of compensate for what we’re losing when we’re stopped in the box.

“I know everyone at RCR is busting their tails and working hard. I know that Ray [Wright] and everybody in the pit crew department is…we just have what we have. We’ve got to work through it, and if that’s changing players around, then we have to change players around. We’ve got to find something that’s going to strengthen our front line, our defense, whatever it is or whatever you want to call those guys. …We’ve got to find the players that are going to make it roll.”

Xfinity superspeedway king Hill aces major fuel gamble at Atlanta

Sunoco rookie Jesse Love led almost all the laps, but in the end, it was his Richard Childress Racing teammate, Austin Hill, who had Saturday’s RAPTOR King of Tough 250 fall into his lap. For Hill, who won last week’s NASCAR Xfinity Series …

Sunoco rookie Jesse Love led almost all the laps, but in the end, it was his Richard Childress Racing teammate, Austin Hill, who had Saturday’s RAPTOR King of Tough 250 fall into his lap.

For Hill, who won last week’s NASCAR Xfinity Series season-opener at Daytona International Speedway, it was the continuation of a serendipitous start to 2024. Hill is the first driver since Tony Stewart in 2008 to win the first two events of an Xfinity season.

The victory was Hill’s third in the last four races at Atlanta Motor Speedway and the eighth of his career.

But victory for the driver of the No. 21 Chevrolet came at the expense of Love, who started from the pole, swept the first two stages and led 157 of 169 laps. Love ran out of fuel at the start of a two-lap overtime, as Hill grabbed the lead for the first time and held off eventual runner-up Chandler Smith by 0.106s.

 

The bottom line? Running behind the leaders in a single-file line, Hill was able to save more fuel than his teammate at the front of the pack. Hill had enough in his tank to stave off Smith who had pitted for fuel under caution on lap 164.

“I was really thinking we were down and out,” Hill said. “I was thinking the No. 2 (Love) was going to go get ‘em, and hey, if I can’t win, let my teammate win. We were riding there in fourth or fifth—whatever it was—I was saving fuel…”

On the overtime restart on lap 168, Hill’s car stumbled when he shifted from third to fourth gear.

“The No. 81 (Smith) hit me really hard, and that woke it back up, and I had enough fuel to complete the lap. But I’ve got to take this moment to congratulate, Jesse Love, my teammate. He ran an awesome race. To be a rookie and to lead that many laps, he should be sitting in Victory Lane right now.”

The coup de grace for Love came when the Ford of Ryan Sieg ran out of fuel on lap 161 of a scheduled 163 and stopped on the track in Turn 4. The caution extended the race by six laps and allowed a dozen cars to pit before the overtime restart.

Among those who took advantage of the fuel stop was New Zealander Shane van Gisbergen, who finished third in his second Xfinity Series start.

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“It’s almost comical,” Love said. “Man, I’m just so…proud of everybody on this Whelen car. It just wasn’t meant to be. Obviously, as a Christian, I’m not going to allow myself to question why we were under caution so long or what happened.

“I always try to take responsibility for everything, so I as a driver I should have saved more fuel. Man, I just didn’t want anybody to catch me off-guard. I thought I saved a ton. Man, that overtime or that caution just lasted forever.

“No matter what, I’m really proud of our guys. We had a great showing. Led a lot of laps man. It just wasn’t in store for us today.”

Van Gisbergen was delighted to be on the other side of the fuel equation.

“Pretty awesome,” he said. “Great job by (crew chief) Bruce (Schlicker) on the box there to pit us. I had so much fun. Just learning about it and running in the pack. Yeah, to be P3 in the second race in the WeatherTech Chevy is pretty awesome. I’m stoked.

“It’s just good to get a result and have a clean car, especially after last week (at Daytona) when I got involved in so much stuff. So, to have a clean race, not make too many mistakes, and complete every lap, we learned a lot. It was awesome.”

Riley Herbst, Love’s foremost challenger over the closing laps was among the first to run out of fuel—from the second position on lap 160. Cole Custer hit empty almost simultaneously, then Sieg, causing the fateful caution.

The gas shortage throughout the field scrambled the finishing order, leaving Sheldon Creed fourth and Parker Retzlaff fifth. Jeremy Clements, Anthony Alfredo, Jeffrey Earnhardt, Ryan Truex and Sammy Smith completed the top 10.

Note: Love is the first driver since Christopher Bell in 2017 to lead more than 100 laps in his first two Xfinity Series starts combined. Bell led 152 of 250 laps in his second start at Iowa. Love led 34 laps in his series debut last Monday at Daytona, giving him a total of 191 for the two races.

RESULTS

Richard Childress Racing to run third Cup Series car in at least seven races in 2024

Richard Childress Racing will run a third NASCAR Cup Series car in at least seven races for 2024. Which drivers make sense for the entry?

[autotag]Richard Childress Racing[/autotag] has two full-time cars in the NASCAR Cup Series; however, it has run a third car on rare occasions. The operation with a third car hasn’t been massive over the last few seasons, but enough to suggest that more races are on the way. In fact, Richard Childress Racing appears to be on the verge of bringing a third car to more races in 2024.

According to Brett Griffin on the Door, Bumper, Clear podcast, he will be the spotter for the third Richard Childress Racing car in the Cup Series during the 2024 season. The entry, likely the No. 33 car, is expected to run at least seven races. Griffin name-dropped one of those tracks with the Chicago Street Course, as it will be the second running of the event.

There are two drivers that make sense for the NASCAR team’s third entry. Austin Hill and Brodie Kostecki have made starts in the No. 33 car over the last two years. Kostecki would be a good selection for road courses, while Hill can be run at the oval tracks. They are the most realistic drivers for the task, and it’s good to see more entries from Richard Childress Racing.

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3CHI returns to Kyle Busch, Richard Childress Racing for 2024 NASCAR season

Richard Childress Racing announced on Tuesday morning that 3CHI will return to Kyle Busch and the No. 8 team during the 2024 NASCAR season.

[autotag]Richard Childress Racing[/autotag] has decked out [autotag]Kyle Busch[/autotag]’s No. 8 car with sponsorships throughout the offseason and added another before the 2024 Daytona 500. On Tuesday morning, Richard Childress Racing announced that 3CHI will return to Busch and the No. 8 team. 3CHI will be a primary sponsor for Busch’s second year with the NASCAR team.

The company’s partnership with Richard Childress Racing will include a robust marketing activation, strategic content, and communication plan. Last season, 3CHI was on Busch’s entry when he won the NASCAR Cup Series race at World Wide Technology Raceway last June. It’s unknown how many events the company will sponsor Busch in 2024.

The two-time Cup Series champion won three races in 2023, but he hopes the new campaign brings more success. Busch’s playoffs were not good last year. He needs to make some momentum to carry through the 2024 NASCAR season. If so, 3CHI could make its return to victory lane with Busch sometime in 2024.

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Richard Childress Racing’s 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season preview

Richard Childress Racing enters the 2024 season looking to break through for a title. Here, you can check out RCR’s 2024 season preview!

[autotag]Richard Childress Racing[/autotag] was one of the teams to watch during the 2023 NASCAR season after signing Kyle Busch to the No. 8 car. It was a great first year for Busch, who won three races, but he didn’t make it out of the Round of 12. As for Austin Dillon, it was downright dreadful and now provides questions of whether he will stick around in the No. 3 car.

The 2024 NASCAR season should be a good one for Richard Childress Racing as Busch has continuity with the No. 8 team. Meanwhile, Dillon looks to bounceback after a tough season. Could this be the year that Richard Childress Racing returns to the Championship 4? It likely falls on Busch’s shoulders.

Richard Childress Racing’s 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series season in review

Richard Childress Racing had a good year in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Here, you can check out the NASCAR team’s 2023 season in review!

[autotag]Richard Childress Racing[/autotag] wanted to take the next step to the Championship 4 in the NASCAR Xfinity Series; however, it wasn’t in the cards for Austin Hill and Sheldon Creed. Despite winning four races, Hill missed a chance to fight for the title after a scuffle with Creed in the Round of 8 finale at Martinsville Speedway. Both drivers were unable to win after contact.

Hill led the team with four victories, while Creed failed to win an Xfinity Series race for the second straight year. Richard Childress, owner of Richard Childress Racing, had very strong words directed toward Creed following Martinsville due to the incident. Now, Hill will be joined by a new teammate after Creed left for Joe Gibbs Racing.

Jesse Love, the 2023 ARCA Menards Series champion, will surprisingly jump to the Xfinity Series to drive the No. 2 car full-time. It will be good for Love to have Hill’s presence as he can help mentor him in 2024. With the drama behind them, Richard Childress Racing wants to focus forward and finally secure another berth in the Championship 4.

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