Dale Earnhardt Jr. presses Austin Dillon on RCR future after Richard Childress retirement

Richard Childress Racing (RCR), founded in 1969, is one of NASCAR‘s most storied and longest tenured race teams. Richard Childress has been the leader of the team for decades, overseeing six Cup Series championships.

Next month, Childress turns 80 years old. His grandsons, Austin Dillon and Ty Dillon, one day would like to take the reins from Childress — whenever he’s ready. Austin Dillon spoke about it with Dale Earnhardt Jr. on Tuesday’s “ Dale Jr. Download.”

Austin Dillon wants the best for RCR

“Definitely, I hope that and it’s a dream of mine. I’ve come across the railroad tracks here in Welcome for my entire life. It’s really all I know,” Dillon said. “We can go into other things, but it’s not for the love and the passion for these people here in Welcome. That’s what I love; I love this area, the people that I see, the faces that I know. I think what’s been cool this year is Ty has kind of stepped in, too. Him coming along — I think what my grandfather’s biggest fear or regret is his time wit h family. He has been so committed to RCR and the business. That is what he has put all his focus and effort in, and we love him for that.

“He’s been a rock and like an Elvis of the garage for so long. He’s the one owner you’re going to see every weekend, standing on the top of a trailer and inside the inner workings constantly. That’s just who he is. I think his worry of turning over that position to Ty and I would be he knows the sacrifices he had to make, and he doesn’t know if he really wants us to have that burden a little bit. It’s a great thing, but it’s also a time-consuming position to be run well.”

RCR is all that Dillon has ever known. He’s grown up around it and he’s driven almost exclusively for the team since making his Xfinity Series debut in 2008. Dillon, 35, is now a NASCAR veteran. His career has been full of ups and downs, but he’s playoff-bound after winning last Saturday’s race at Richmond Raceway.

Austin Dillon, along with Ty Dillon, has an idea of how they’d want to push RCR forward. Ty Dillon has the advantage of having been with other teams and seeing how things work elsewhere. Austin Dillon is RCR through and through — he explained to Earnhardt what he wants to improve on the competition side of the team.

Austin Dillon: Richard Childress ‘sees the wring on the wall’

“Ty and I look at it as we both want to be able to bring our families along and show them this wonderful life that we have,” Dillon said. “It’s a tough life, but you say that — there’s a lot of great that goes with it — but it’s a lot every weekend of the year. If Ty and I can share that burden and that load together and really push RCR forward, I think both of u,s because Ty’s aspect has come from a different side of things. He’s had to go work with other t eams, he’s seen the inner workings of other teams, he’s now working with one of our partners in Kaulig and it’s kind of getting an inside track to how can we deliver more for Kaulig on that side of things.

“From my aspect, I really know the competition side of RCR. I’ve seen it my whole life and my entire Cup Series career. Where we’ve done things well. Where we’ve done what I think is not good and how we can improve on them. So, I think I can directly get in there and make our competition side that much better. I know our trends. At the beginning of the year, we show flashes of speed, we go through the middle of the year and sometimes struggle and we push hard again at the end. I’d love to get that to where it flatlines and compete constantly throughout the year.

“I love this place, and I want to help in any way I can. RC is still fired up at 80. He sees the writing on the wall. I think he’s starting to stay home a couple more times a year.”