MADISON, Ill. – Twelve years ago to the day Richard Childress and Kyle Busch clashed in a parking lot at the Kansas Speedway, the two were celebrating a NASCAR Cup Series win at a track just off Interstate 70 near St. Louis.
It was proof of a lot: that a team that once dominated NASCAR’s top series with Dale Earnhardt at the wheel of the famous number 3 could still fight for championships, that Busch could be just as successful after moving from powerhouse Joe Gibbs Racing and perhaps most importantly allowing a few lads to grow up.
“Yes, I mean, people change,” Busch said afterwards held Denny Hamlin back on Sunday night to win at the World Wide Technology Raceway.
“The relationship I have now and the effort that went into winning me over and getting me to go to RCR – the discussions and conversations that took place there – just prove them right, don’t they?”
That certainly seems to be the case.
It’s not like Busch magically turned the No. 8 team inside out in his first season; Tyler Reddick drove the car to three wins a year ago. But with his green-and-white checkered win just outside of St. Louis, the two-time Cup Series winner equals the standings and is now halfway to Childress’ audacious goal of six wins this season.
“It was fun having this group around,” Busch said also won at Talladega And Auto Club Speedway in California. “You know when we go to places where we fight, we all want to get better, right? Most of the time I could do a better job. (Crew Chief) Randall Burnett and the boys can do a better job too. We all just keep striving, working hard and cultivating each other to achieve the best possible result every time we go to the track.”
Hard to believe there is such a synergy between Busch and Richard Childress Racing considering where they once were.
The infamous fight between Childress and Busch occurred after a 2011 Truck Series race in Kansas. Busch had been driving hard with Joey Coulter driving for RCR and Childress didn’t like that. He went to confront Busch, and after taking off his watch and giving it to his grandson, Austin Dillon, began putting him in a headlock and starting punching.
Childress, then a sprightly 65, had to be pulled off by Busch, who went down defensively to dodge more punches. He was later fined $150,000 by NASCAR and placed on probation for the remainder of the season.
“Yeah, we’ve put that completely behind us,” said Childress, now 77 but just as eager to win races. “We talked about it. That was one of the first things we talked about. That’s history. We’ve both grown a lot. I know I’ve grown up. I’ve gotten older, but I’ve also grown up. It There’s an old song out there: ‘I’m still growing up, but I’m getting older.’”
His team is getting better too.
After winning four times with Kevin Harvick in the 2013 season, Richard Childress Racing went 0-0 up in the Cup Series for the next three years. At the low point of the 2016 season, the team managed just six top-10 finishes from 108 starts, and the trio of Dillon, Paul Menard and Ryan Newman did little to inspire confidence in the program’s direction.
Even after Newman ended his insane 112-race win streak at Phoenix 2017, wins were hard to come by. The team won again that season, and in the following four seasons only achieved the winning streak twice overall.
But last year was a breakthrough in a way: Reddick won four times and finished in the top three ten more times, along with Dillon. Speed was clearly back in the RCR cars and with Reddick soon to be leaving for 23XI Racing it was just a matter of finding a driver who was able to capitalize on that speed in the #8 car.
Busch has proven to be the improbably perfect solution.
“You know, we’ve won a lot with Harvick, a lot with Earnhardt. “Our plan is to win a lot with Kyle,” Childress said, “and not just be a contender for that championship. If we make it in the last four then we definitely have a chance to win it.”
Not only this year, but also in the years to come.
“It has really been a great pleasure working with Kyle,” said Childress. “Everybody’s like, ‘Man, how are you doing?’ The same questions they asked me: “You and Dale aren’t going to last half a year.” We lasted 20 years. I want to keep Kyle here and hopefully we can finish his career when he’s ready.”
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