Richard Childress. Bob Goshert/For IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK

Richard Childress says his team is 'in trouble' after Dover

By Samuel Stubbs | Last updated Jul 20, 2025 8:50 PM ET

Kyle Busch is still in the thick of the NASCAR Cup Series playoff picture following Sunday's race at Dover Motor Speedway, but team owner Richard Childress isn't happy with where the No. 8 is in regard to speed.

Busch had collected consecutive top-10 finishes at Chicago and Sonoma to claw his way back into playoff contention going into Dover. After finishing eighth in Stage 1 and 12th in Stage 2 at the "Monster Mile," Busch brought home his No. 8 Chevrolet in 11th — a solid day to be sure, but not what the two-time champion driver and seven-time champion car owner are looking for, especially in the midst of a playoff push.

"Gotta get some race cars," Childress said over the radio following Sunday's race. "We are in trouble, period."

From Kyle Busch's radio: Richard Childress was frustrated on the cooldown lap after Busch had to fight through traffic just to get an 11th place finish. Not happy with what RCR's bringing to the track.

"Gotta get some race cars. We are in trouble. Period." pic.twitter.com/g5w1uKS87r
— Steven Taranto (@STaranto92) July 21, 2025

Busch won three races with Richard Childress Racing in 2023 before going winless for the first time in his career and missing the playoffs in 2024. 2025 hasn't been much better, as Busch is 18th on the playoff grid and 39 points out of a postseason berth with five races remaining in the regular season.

Busch's teammate and Childress' grandson, Austin Dillon, is 28th in the Cup Series standings, 21 races into the season.

According to Childress, Busch and Dillon will need better cars to work with if they are to get RCR back to the Cup Series playoffs.

Samuel Stubbs

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

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