Before becoming one of the most renowned team owners in NASCAR, Richard Childress was seen on weekends at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, selling peanuts and popcorn. He used the earnings to support his family and to meet his favorite drivers. Little did the world know that he would eventually establish RCR, a team that has won titles across NASCAR’s national series.
Richard Childress went from selling snacks at Bowman Gray Stadium to founding Richard Childress Racing. After a modest driving career, he built a championship-winning team whose drivers captured six Cup Series titles and championships across NASCAR’s national series. (Wikimedia Commons)
According to the RCR biography, Childress’ story began from a spectator to a competitor. Born in 1945 in Winston-Salem, Childress bought a second-hand Plymouth taxi for $20 when he was 18 and, with a friend’s help, turned it into a race car. In 1969, at age 24, he was able to make his debut at a NASCAR-sanctioned race at Talladega Superspeedway because of a drivers’ boycott that made room for him to participate. Childress finished the race in 23rd position. That race marked the beginning of RCR as a racing team.
From driver to team owner
For many years, Childress raced, served as a mechanic, and built engines, earning money by doing other jobs and paying for racing. According to RCR, Childress worked 18 to 20 hours a day and often slept in his truck after races. He made 285 starts over 12 years in NASCAR’s premier series without significant results. In 1981, he decided to stop racing and become an employer.
After Childress stepped away from driving, Ricky Rudd took over the No. 3 car for the 1983 season. On June 5, Rudd secured RCR its first NASCAR victory at Riverside International Speedway, 14 years after Childress had started the team. Rudd added two more wins and four pole awards that season, giving the operation a stronger footing.
Childress’s partnership with Dale Earnhardt became central to RCR’s early growth. Earnhardt had driven for the team in selected races in 1981, then returned for a full-time seat in 1984. Their first victory together came at Talladega on July 29 that year. Earnhardt went on to win 67 races for RCR, according to the team’s history.
RCR won six Cup Series championships in total. They were won in 1986 and 1987; later, in 1990, 1991, 1993, and 1994. For its first 25 years, the team fielded only one car before expanding. In 1995, when NASCAR established its Truck Series, Childress put up Mike Skinner in a Chevrolet Silverado, and he won eight races and the first-ever driver championship in the Truck Series.
Expanding the racing company
RCR continued to grow after Earnhardt’s death. The team says it was the first owner-operated organization to win championships in all three NASCAR touring series. Kevin Harvick won the Busch Series championship in 2001 and 2006, and Clint Bowyer added his title in 2008. Richard Childress’s grandson, Austin Dillon, won the Xfinity Series championship in 2013, and Tyler Reddick became champion in 2019.
Childress entered the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2017. The Horatio Alger Association named Childress a 2026 Horatio Alger Award recipient. Its profile also recounts the financial difficulties he faced growing up and the work he took on to support his family. His father passed away when he was five, and he quit school at 16 to take care of his family. Before becoming a full-time racer, he worked on tobacco farms and in gas stations.
Childress remains involved in the everyday operations of RCR and oversees the team during the racing season. According to his Horatio Alger profile, his business interests consist of vineyards. Manufacturing, real estate, and hospitality. He and his wife, Judy, started the Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma in 2008. The profile also credits him with 17 championships as a car owner and more than 200 victories across NASCAR’s top three national series.
