Latest news with #RichardChildress
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Fans Blast Richard Childress as Austin Dillon Pulls Back the Curtain on RCR Tensions
Austin Dillon's win in the Cook Out 400 should have been a celebration. The 35-year-old driver rolled to his first win of the 2025 season in the #3 Chevrolet and locked in his playoff But rather than only focusing on enjoying the win, Dillon used his post-race press conference to share the family issues with his grandfather, Richard Childress, that still haunt RCR. He said: 'Well, I mean, we have knockdown dragouts between the two of us. We get into arguments to the point of frustration. And it's very hard when he's your grandfather to have an argument with him because you don't want to argue about it. But, there's certain directions we've got to go and move this boat forward, right? And uh I'm constantly pushing him.' That resonated a lot with fans. For some, it confirmed what they've long suspected. That Richard Childress is at the roadblock, keeping it from adapting to NASCAR's modern world. 'Stuck in the Past': NASCAR Fans Clash Over RCR's Direction On social media, the reaction to Austin Dillon's revelations was immediate and harsh. Many fans insist RCR has not really changed since Dale Earnhardt's era and his passing in 2001. One fan said: 'When them 2 take over the team and turn it into a winning team again we'll all realize RC refused to innovate after Dale died.' This view suggests Childress leaned too heavily on Earnhardt. Other teams were already embracing data and innovation in the 2000s, but critics say RCR was stuck in the past, leaving the Dillons to deal with modernization decades later. Some fans take it further, saying RCR's reputation has always been overinflated. To them, the success of the organization was due to the drivers like Earnhardt and Kevin Harvick, and not the team itself. So, they suggest the team's struggles aren't new. They just look different and more apparent now that there are no superstars to overcompensate. Others see Austin Dillon himself as the solution: 'It's time for Austin to get out of the car and into the offices at RCR. Let him make the changes needed,' one fan said. Dillon's Richmond win proved he can still get it done on the track, but a growing number of fans believe his bigger impact will come from the front office . To RCR's credit though there are efforts for progress. They've hired technical leadership, locked down strong sponsorship and are doing great it in the Xfinity Series. But in the Cup Series, good results have been harder to come by. Dillon's win is a bright spot but Kyle Busch is winless in 2025 and has been for over 70 races now since February 2023. But Austin Dillon did offer some hope: 'You tell him one thing and he's going to be upset about it. And then two weeks later, he's like, 'Hey, what about this?' and you're like, 'That's a great idea!'' Related Headlines Tyson Bagent locks up Bears backup quarterback job with impressive outing vs. Bills Bears' Caleb Williams looked like a franchise quarterback vs. Bills UFC Pound for Pound Rankings: Does Khamzat Get into the Top 10 After UFC 319 Title Win?
New York Times
3 days ago
- Automotive
- New York Times
NASCAR Richmond takeaways: Austin Dillon's surprise, playoff picture and more
On a blistering hot day at Indianapolis Colts training camp last month, Austin Dillon sought one of the few available slivers of shade as he watched players go through their practice routine. Encountering shade is something Dillon is plenty familiar with — he's gotten it from NASCAR fans during his entire racing career, labeled as the undeserving 'silver spoon' driver who only keeps his job because his grandfather, Richard Childress, owns the race team. Advertisement But for a guy who has heard it all, he's remarkably unfazed by the criticism. Frankly, it's because he doesn't agree with it; in his heart, Dillon knows he would step out of the seat if it was the best thing for Richard Childress Racing. Dillon has a scout's mindset for athletes. He demonstrated that by pointing out various players on the Colts' field and breaking down their attributes (Dillon would be a formidable opponent in your fantasy football league) and discussing his roster choices for the Carolina Cowboys (a Professional Bull Riders team for which he is the general manager). And genuinely, Dillon is clear-eyed about his own abilities as well. At age 35, Dillon knows he is not Denny Hamlin or Joey Logano, which is why last year he cried during the appeals process for his infamous Richmond victory — emotional that until a late caution, he was going to beat the two future Hall of Famers straight up. Earlier this year, Dillon told The Athletic he would transition to a full-time management role 'when I have exhausted all efforts and the success hasn't come with it and the right person is there to pick up the weight and I can successfully help the company in a better way at RCR.' 'When that time comes, I'll be ready for it, and I'll try and make us as competitive as I can, always,' he added. But for now, Dillon believes he's still good enough to get it done, to be an asset to RCR while in the driver's seat of the No. 3 car. Nights like Saturday seem to back that up. Back at Richmond one year later, he led more than 100 laps in the most complete race of his career and earned a win that vaulted him into the playoffs. Burned it down and left no doubt.@austindillon3 takes @RCRracing back to Victory Lane. — NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 17, 2025 He has back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in his career, and during a time in which RCR has struggled. If you want a measurement of how the team is doing overall, just look at Dillon's teammate, the great Kyle Busch — who has not won at all in the last two and a half seasons. And Dillon is doing all of this with more responsibilities than a typical driver, because he's involved with RCR management decisions. Advertisement 'If the outside people knew how much he did on top of this — he'll be at the shop on Monday at a meeting with Richard, talking about the health of the company,' crew chief Richard Boswell said. 'He's got a lot on his plate, which makes it harder for him to work at this level as a Cup driver as well. But he stays at it all week long.' On that steamy day at Colts training camp, Dillon and Busch hung around until practice was over to meet cornerback Kenny Moore II. Moore, who described himself as a big race fan, was enthusiastic about meeting both drivers — and not just Busch, the future Hall of Famer. 'I've been seeing y'all names for a long time now,' Moore told them. Indeed, Dillon has quietly put together a 12-year Cup Series career in which he has six Cup wins — including two crown jewels — and two lower-series championships. But for anyone tired of seeing his name, there's bad news: You're going to be hearing about Dillon for a long time to come, because he's being groomed to take the reins of RCR when Childress, now 79, eventually steps away. Dillon said the two men already have 'knock-down, drag-out' fights about the direction of the company at times because Childress is 'loyal to a fault' with personnel whereas Dillon sees the need for change. But Dillon feels he's making an impact, even if it's not immediate. 'He usually has a way about it where you tell him one thing and he's going to get upset about it,' Dillon said. 'Then two weeks later (he) turns around (and says), 'What do you think about this?' 'That's a great idea, man. I love that.'' Dillon was 28th in the point standings prior to Saturday night, so his playoff berth was certainly unexpected with two races remaining. And combined with a bad night for Tyler Reddick — after Reddick was spun in a chain-reaction incident triggered by Daniel Suárez — there's suddenly a dramatic shift in the potential playoff field. Advertisement That's because Reddick, who is currently seventh in the standings and has shown plenty of speed at times this season despite not winning, is now in jeopardy of missing the cut. That's shocking, considering the more likely scenario heading into Richmond was Reddick would clinch a berth if there was no new winner. But now Reddick is only 29 points ahead of Alex Bowman, who currently has the final position on points, and if there is another new winner at Daytona to take a guaranteed berth, just one driver will make the field based on points. Should Reddick crash at Daytona (entirely possible given the frequency of the Big One) and Bowman end up with a good night, Reddick could be out. Did anyone see this coming? Surely not as recently as last week, when Reddick left Watkins Glen with a 117-point lead over the cutoff spot. Even if there were two new winners, he was still 57 points — almost an entire race — ahead of Bowman. But Dillon's win, along with the ill-fated Suárez wreck and Bowman's excellent Richmond race (a second-place finish) suddenly combined to bring doubt into play. Now, a driver who made a Championship 4 appearance last year and is ahead of eight of this season's playoff drivers in the point standings, has to sweat it out for one more race. If you were Reddick's team, what strategy would you use at Daytona? You would have to assume there will be a new winner in your scenario-planning, so that leaves a points race with Bowman. One idea would be to hang back and try to force Bowman into running hard; after all, Bowman would have to be on offense for stage points and his overall result. While that could appear conservative, it also provides some level of protection from the Big One and letting others take themselves out (thus filling the bottom of the running order with DNFs and gambling Bowman cannot gain 30 points that way). While it's unfortunate tire supplier Goodyear has been given the onus of fixing what ails NASCAR's Next Gen car on short tracks, the company certainly provided more than just a glimmer of hope on Saturday night. The race was entertaining and interesting almost entirely because of the tire wear. The various strategies allowed for a wide discrepancy in speed, which created passing opportunities — which is what many have been pleading for, particularly on short tracks. Advertisement Does it mean Goodyear can replicate this everywhere by bringing a soft tire? No, not necessarily. Multi-groove Richmond, last repaved in 2004, is one of NASCAR's oldest surfaces and naturally wears tires. Some of the newer repaves would require Goodyear to go even softer with its tire compounds, which is a stretch given the company's current tools. So while Richmond showed what is possible with the car, it also should be enjoyed on its own merits instead of viewed as the new standard going forward for other short tracks. At this time, that doesn't seem realistic. William Byron won his first regular-season championship on Saturday night after a 12th-place finish — combined with Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott's first DNF of the year — was enough to clinch the prize of 15 bonus points with one race remaining before the playoffs begin. Even though Byron hit a slump with a stretch of poor results this summer (he finished outside the top 15 in six of eight races before winning earlier this month at Iowa Speedway), he believed his No. 24 team showed enough speed all along. That helped alleviate some of the typical concerns that have come when the team gets off to a hot start and then slips in the midseason stretch. 'We're in rhythm, in sync,' he said. 'The years we've been on the other side, it's a lot of questions, a lot of doubt that things are going to work out. 'Now we've been kind of through the wringer of a lot of different things this year. Every race has kind of been different in terms of what we fight. … It feels nice to go into the playoffs hitting on all cylinders, just operating well. I don't feel like we've ever really slowed down.' What's particularly notable about Saturday night's achievement is Byron had coughed up a triple-digit lead in the standings when Elliott roared back to take the top spot by 16 points at Dover (less than a month ago). Then, in just four races, Byron reclaimed the lead and did enough to wrap up the title before even taking the green flag for the regular-season finale. (Photo of Austin Dillon celebrating Saturday's win: Samuel Corum / Getty Images) Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
Yahoo
10-08-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Austin Hill Responds To 'Error' That Has Fans Angry At Him
Austin Hill Responds To 'Error' That Has Fans Angry At Him originally appeared on The Spun. That's one way to put it. Things got a little crazy at this year's Xfinity Series race at Watkins Glen thanks to a lengthy red flag courtesy of driver Austin Hill. In his first race back from a one-week suspension for reckless driving, the Richard Childress wheelman seemingly doubled-down on his actions by setting off a massive pileup after getting into the back of Michael McDowell and sending him into the guardrail. Hill ended up taking ownership of the fault in the aftermath. But it still didn't sit well with fans or some of his other fellow drivers. "Mainly, I would get to people's right sides, and that time, I ended up getting to his left side," Hill explained from his car mid-race. "I thought that it could work. We obviously don't have a ton of spotters around here. I don't know if he has a spotter off of that carousel corner. He might not. But as soon as I saw he was staying tight to the grass, I probably should have lifted." "That was definitely just on me. Just driver error," he admitted. "I'm going for it here. The No. 88 is driving away from us and I felt like I needed to make a move as fast as possible on the No. 11. Destroyed a lot of race cars, so it's just really unfortunate." Users had very little sympathy on X. "Not sure how that's an error," a fan tagged Hill. "This isn't blue collar racing ... it's desperation with a side of stupidity." "he'll say this then send Connor into the fan zone on this next restart," another predicted. "After he [spent] the first portion deflecting he finally said it, tell the whole story," a viewer pointed out. "He can also tell Jamie McMurray what flight he will be taking on his vacation next week," another person quipped. "He says that all the time. And never learns his lesson." "This is just sad that this is the state of stock car racing now..." another fan commented. "Austin Hill should be permanently banned from NASCAR! He has once again proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that he just doesn't possess the mental capacity or maturity to race at this level!" another user exclaimed. "Park him one lap for each car he tore up," another racing supporter called for. Thankfully everyone involved was OK and didn't suffer any major injuries from the scary sequence of events. Prior to today's Mission 200, Hill said he had no regrets about the Aric Almirola incident in Indy: "I'll probably get backlash for it, but absolutely not. I'm gonna still race the that I always do. I'm a hard-nosed racer," Hill shared. Austin Hill Responds To 'Error' That Has Fans Angry At Him first appeared on The Spun on Aug 10, 2025 This story was originally reported by The Spun on Aug 10, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
06-08-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
NASCAR says Austin Hill can still race for Xfinity Series title despite suspension for crashing Aric Almirola
Austin Hill will still be able to race for the NASCAR Xfinity Series title. NASCAR announced Tuesday night that Hill had received a waiver to make the playoffs following his one-race suspension for crashing Aric Almirola at Indianapolis. Hill hooked Almirola's car head-first into the wall after contact from Almirola made Hill's car loose entering Turn 3. Hill was penalized five laps for the crash and a suspension was all but inevitable after the race despite protestations from both him and team owner Richard Childress. Thanks to a rule NASCAR implemented before the 2025 season, Hill lost all of his playoff points because of the suspension. He was set to start the postseason with 21 points or more above the 2,000-point baseline thanks to his three wins and multiple stage wins during the regular season. But since he was suspended, Hill lost those 21 points and any other points he could accrue before the postseason began. Like his suspension, Hill's waiver from NASCAR was inevitable. And the waiver is another sign that NASCAR needs to simplify its playoff process. A driver who is suspended by NASCAR for disciplinary reasons should not simultaneously get forgiveness from NASCAR to keep a playoff spot. NASCAR could solve the waiver issue in multiple ways. It could remove a rule saying that a driver must attempt every race to get into the playoffs. With a win-and-in postseason format, NASCAR could simply quantify a minimum position in the points standings for playoff eligibility no matter how many starts a driver has. Hill could have also simply been penalized his playoff points. Making him sit out last weekend's race at Iowa Speedway isn't much of a factor. Had NASCAR revoked his playoff points, he'd still be in the same place in the points standings. Hill was fifth after Indianapolis and remained fifth and 28 points ahead of Carson Kvapil after he was suspended for the Iowa race. The playoff points were a far bigger part of the punishment than the suspension for Iowa. Simplifying the punishment process for 2026 and beyond to remove the need for a waiver in a situation like this would be a smart move for NASCAR.
USA Today
27-07-2025
- Climate
- USA Today
NASCAR at high risk of postponing the 2025 Brickyard 400 to Monday
NASCAR is at a very high risk of postponing the 2025 Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway to Monday. According to the weather forecast for Indianapolis, Indiana, calls for a 100% chance of rain on Sunday. The green flag is scheduled for 2:20 p.m. ET on TNT, but the thunderstorms are supposed to start at 2:00 pm. ET. description for today's forecast in Indianapolis says, "Mostly cloudy early, followed by heavy thunderstorms this afternoon. High 86F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall may reach one inch. Locally heavy rainfall possible." The thunderstorms are expected to continue until at least 5:00 p.m. ET, which would force NASCAR to postpone the 2025 Brickyard 400 to Monday. NASCAR likely needs some luck to run the Cup Series race at Indianapolis on Sunday afternoon if the forecast doesn't change. Hopefully, the sport can find a way to run all 160 laps on Sunday, but the rain needs to stay away. More: Richard Childress believes NASCAR should not suspend Austin Hill in 2025
