 | |
| Born: | September 21, 1945 Winston-Salem North, Carolina |
Awards
| |
| NASCAR Sprint Cup Series statistics | |
|---|---|
| 1969-1981 (12) years | |
| Best pts finish | 5th (1975) |
| Last pts finish | 25th (1981) |
| First race | 1969 Talladega 500 |
| Last race | 1981 Winston Western 500 (November) |
| First win | none |
| Championships | none |
| Wins | none |
Richard Childress (born September 21, 1945 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina) is an American former Stock car driver and current team owner of Richard Childress Racing (RCR). As a business entrepreneur, Childress has become one of the wealthiest men in North Carolina.
Driving career
Childress started he driving career in 1969. He only competed in once race season, the 1969 Talladega 500 finishing 23rd. In 1971 he joined up under ownership of Tom Garn driving the #96 Chevy. In the 4 years he accomplished 3 top 5 finishes making the top 5 in point standing once, although never winning a race. In 1976 he started his own team Richard Childress Racing, driving the #3 Chevy. He had 3 tops 5' finishes, and finished in top ten in points standing 4 times but still remained winless. After the 1981 season Childress retired from racing, becoming a full time owner.
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, chose to retire and put Earnhardt behind the wheel of his #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 also expanded to a two-car operation in what is now known as Sprint Cup, with driver Skinner driving the #31. In the first part of the 2000s, he expanded to three cars, with the #30 car driven by Jeff Green.
Tragically, Earnhardt would be killed in the 2001 Daytona 500 on the last lap. Childress promoted Busch driver Kevin Harvick to drive the renumbered #29. Harvick would win in only his third start, at the Atlanta Motor Speedway.
With Harvick having won the Busch Series championship in 2001, RCR became the first team in NASCAR history to win all three of NASCAR's national championship series.
| Career history | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Years | Car No. | Primary Sponsor | Make | Team/Owner |
| 1969-1975 | 96 | L.C. Newman Trucking | Chevrolet | Tom Garn |
| 1976-1981 | 3 | Kansas Jack (1976-1978) | Chevrolet (1976-1980) Oldsmobile (1978-1980) |
Richard Childress Racing/himself |
| CRC Chemicals (1978-1980) | ||||
| Richard Childress Racing | Pontiac | |||
External links
|NASCARDefunctCareer=Y |GAmCareer=Y |GNECareer=Y }}