Richard Childress' retirement rumors gain attention but RCR clears the air

Speculation around Richard Childress’ retirement has reached the boiling point, but Richard Childress Racing was quick to shut it down. The clarification came during one of RCR’s more challenging years in recent memory.

Kyle Busch has now missed the Cup Series Playoffs for a second straight year. His teammate and Childress’s grandson, Austin Dillon, managed to reach the postseason but was eliminated in the Round of 16. Amid this, the NASCAR Central account on X reported that the longtime owner would retire at the end of the 2025 season. RCR stepped in, confirming that Childress has no plans to step away.

"This is not accurate. Richard Childress is not planning to retire following the end of the season."

RCR

@RCRracing

@NSCR_Central This is not accurate. Richard Childress is not planning to retire following the end of the season.

Richard Childress, who turned 80 last week, has watched the organization endure a frustrating 2025 campaign in which neither the No. 3 nor the No. 8 car has consistently run up front.

RCR’s struggles have been plain. Across the season, the two teams have combined to lead just 181 laps, with 107 of those coming in Dillon’s Richmond victory, a tire-wear race where strategy brought him from behind to the win. Since that afternoon, they’ve collected only one top-10 finish in the last six races. Their average finish sits at 20.1, and Busch has already seen his crew chief, Randall Burnett, commit to a move to Trackhouse Racing for 2026.

For Childress, though, walking away is no simple decision. He built the team from the ground up, starting as a driver in NASCAR’s rough-and-tumble years before building Richard Childress Racing into a six-time championship organization.

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Austin Dillon fuels Richard Childress' retirement: "He sees the writing on the wall"

(L-R) Austin Dillon, Richard Childress, and Ty Dillon at Texas on November 1, 2013. Source: Getty

Richard Childress’ legacy in the sport is secure. His championship runs in the Wrangler-sponsored No. 3 with Dale Earnhardt in the 1980s and ’90s set the gold standard of NASCAR excellence. Though RCR hasn’t won a Cup Series title since Earnhardt’s final crown in 1994, the organization has remained a fixture in NASCAR and expanded with success in the Xfinity and Truck Series.

The conversation around Childress’ future took on new life earlier this summer after Austin Dillon’s Richmond win. Appearing on the Dale Jr. Download, Austin was asked about whether the day was approaching when the reins of RCR would be handed down to him. Dillon admitted the subject was difficult, but he didn’t shy away from acknowledging the reality:

"I love this place and I want to help any way I can. RC is still fired up at 80. He sees the writing on the wall that, you know, and I think he’s starting to stay home a couple more times a year." (45:40 onwards)

Dale Earnhardt Jr. also noted Childress’s age and whether Dillon and his brother Ty had begun preparing for the transition. Dillon hopes to share the burden of leading RCR with his brother. Ty, who currently races for Kaulig in the Cup Series, has also stepped into more team involvement.

As RCR made clear, Childress remains committed to chasing wins, championships, and staying present in the garage for now and isn’t stepping away from the sport he’s helped define.