Richard Childress

Infobox NASCAR driver
Name = Richard Childress


Birthdate = birth date and age|1945|9|21
Birthplace = flagicon|USA Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Best_Cup_Pos = 5th- 1975 (Winston Cup)
Cup_Top_Tens = 76
First_Cup_Race = 1969 Talladega 500 (Talladega)
Last_Cup_Race = 1981 Winston Western 500 (Riverside)
Awards = 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994 Winston Cup championship car owner

2001 and 2003 NASCAR Busch Series championship car owner

1995 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship truck owner (series' inaugural season)
Years_In_Cup = 12
Total_Cup_Races = 285

Richard Childress (born September 21, 1945 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina) is a former NASCAR driver and successful team owner of Richard Childress Racing (RCR) in NASCAR Sprint Cup competition. As a business entrepreneur, Childress has become one of the wealthiest men in North Carolina. A recent successful business venture was the 2003/2004 opening of a [http://www.childressvineyards.com vineyard] in the Yadkin Valley AVA, an American Viticultural Area located in North Carolina.

Driving career

Childress' career in NASCAR's top levels started auspiciously as a drivers' strike at Talladega Superspeedway left NASCAR President William France Sr. looking for replacement drivers. Childress was such a driver, and started his first race as a replacement.

By 1971, Childress began racing on the top level as an independent driver, using the number 3 as a tribute to Junior Johnson's past as a driver. Although he never won as a driver, he proved to be excellent behind the wheel registering six top-5, seventy-six top-10 finishes, with a career-best of third in 1978.

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 the 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.

Earnhardt was killed on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. 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 and 2006, RCR became the first team in NASCAR history to win all three of NASCAR's national championship series. RCR also won the Busch Series owners championships in 2003 with Kevin Harvick and Johnny Sauter and in 2007 with Scott Wimmer and Jeff Burton.

Childress in Davidson County

Richard Childress currently resides in one of the largest mansions in northwestern Davidson County, North Carolina. The Richard Childress Racing Museum is located in nearby Welcome, along with numerous racing maintenance shops. The Childress Vineyards winery is located a few miles south of the museum in Lexington at the US 52/US 64 interchange. Childress remains active in his current county of residence, attending fundrasiers and supporting local candidates for office.Fact|date=February 2007

Current Sprint Cup drivers

*07 - Clint Bowyer
*29 - Kevin Harvick
*31 - Jeff Burton

Current Nationwide Series drivers

*2 - Clint Bowyer
*21 - Bobby Labonte, Tim McCreadie,Stephen Leicht
*29 - Jeff Burton , Scott Wimmer

Former Sprint Cup drivers

*3 - Dale Earnhardt
*3 - Ricky Rudd
*07 - Dave Blaney
*30 - Jeff Green
*30 - Steve Park
*31 - Mike Skinner
*31 - Robby Gordon
*30 - Johnny Sauter

External links

* [http://www.racing-reference.info/owner?id=childri01 Owner's statistics at racing-reference.info]
* [http://www.racing-reference.info/driver?id=childri01 Drivers statistics at racing-reference.info]