Richard Childress is a rare breed in the NASCAR garage. While heavyweights like Roger Penske juggle global automotive empires, and Joe Gibbs balances racing with his NFL legacy, Childress has always been all-in on stock cars. Racing isn’t just a piece of his world, it’s the whole thing.

Starting as a scrappy driver in the late 1960s with a $20 used car, he clawed his way out of a tough North Carolina childhood through grit and gasoline. He wasn’t a star behind the wheel, but when he put Dale Earnhardt in his No. 3 car in 1981, Richard Childress Racing became a juggernaut. Six Cup Series championships and over 100 wins later, RCR stands as a pillar of NASCAR’s soul.

Unlike Rick Hendrick with his dealership network, or newer owners like Justin Marks and Michael Jordan splitting time betwee

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