Ty Norris reveals the big steps taken by Richard Childress, Mike Verlander, and Bob Fisher after AJ Allmendinger’s outburst over ECR engine failure

During an interview with NASCAR analyst Alan Cavanna, Kauling Racing's Chief Business Officer, Ty Norris, opened up about how Richard Childress and other members took big steps over the engine failure. Norris also revealed that the team encouraged the driver to be honest about his concerns.

Earlier in May 2025, AJ Allmendinger competed in an intense battle at the Kansas Speedway and struggled in the race from the beginning. Since the qualifying session, the #16 Chevy Camaro ZL1 underperformed and completed the session with a top speed of 179.04 mph and a best time of 30.16 seconds, sending Allmendinger outside the top 30 drivers. Following his slow start, in the main event, he faced a mechanical failure and became the first driver to exit from the 267-lap race.

While his engine blew, AJ Allmendinger blasted Earnhardt-Childress Racing engines and expressed his frustration at his early exit. Following the incident, his team CBO, Ty Norris, revealed the big steps taken by Richard Childress, saying [00:21 onwards]:

"We don't want them to just shrug his shoulders back like everything's okay, because it's not. It's too freaking hard. So we sat down, Richard Childress sat down, Michael Verlander, and we sat down with Bob and all the guys at the engine shop and everyone. They put an army on us. They put an arm to make it better, and they just committed continually, or double down to commit, regardless of the words, the temper, and the things that happen to commit to make it better for college racing."

"And our first time back, we go to Charlotte, and we run top six all night, finish top four in a 600-mile race where engine means a ton, car means a lot, driver means a lot, and decisions, strategy, and pit crews. And so, you know, ECR stepped up, did an amazing job for us, and, you know, whether or not that moment was wrong, and it happened, and we managed it by saying, 'Don't back down. Bring your passion every week,'" he added.

AJ Allmendinger ranks 19th on the Cup Series points table with 304 points. He has secured four top-10 and one top-five finish in 15 starts this season.

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Richard Childress' ECR officials hinted at a bearing issue that ended AJ Allmendinger's day at Kansas Speedway

In a report shared by NBC Sports, Danny Lawrence, the Vice President of Alliance Operations for ECR Engines, revealed the engine might have failed due to a bearing issue. He added that the car was sent to the engineers for deeper analysis to study the cause of the blowup.

“It was a bearing issue,” Lawrence said. “We at RCR and ECR have a quality control department. They’re struggling to figure out exactly what happened. They’ve sent the bearings off to be analyzed, but the initial (cause) looks like a lack of lubrication."

The Dale Earnhardt and Richard Childress-based company is located on a campus owned by Richard Childress Racing in Welcome, North Carolina. The company provides engines for stock car racing teams as well as endurance racing teams.