For most of his life, Richard Childress has hung around race tracks attempting to go that extra mile to make Richard Childress Racing a more successful organization. This commitment, focus, and sheer will has come at the cost of not being able to spend as much time as he would have liked with his family. So, he doesn’t want his grandsons, Austin and Ty Dillon, to make that sacrifice as well.
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The two Cup Series drivers are in position to take over the leadership of the team in the coming years. Speaking on the Stacking Pennies podcast with Corey LaJoie, Austin mentioned how Childress is happy to see the children of his grandsons bonding and be best friends. It appears to satisfy a deep-lying need in the old man, something he couldn’t attain for himself as a child.
Austin said, “We’ve all come way closer and that’s good to see. I think that’s good for my grandfather to see also, like he wants that. Because his whole career has been at the racetrack, right? And he’s had to sacrifice a lot of family time from that situation. So, he doesn’t want us to sacrifice that because it’s like a regret for him, I feel like.”
It also helps him believe in the future of his team. These kinds of strong family values are ingrained in the fabric of Richard Childress Racing as well. There are several employees in the race shop at Welcome, North Carolina, who have been with the team for well over two decades.
Austin added how the journey that his grandfather underwent from the stands of Bowman Gray to here is a story that needs to be written as a book.
When will Austin and Ty Dillon take over leadership?
For many weeks now, Austin has been confronted with questions about when and how he will be leading Richard Childress Racing into its future adventures. He was asked for a timeline in the podcast as well. For him, it’s all about how long he is able to continue being a potent competitor on the track.
Austin continued, “Right now, I think the team and I’ve been bragging about it a lot. The team that we’ve built is probably the best team that I’ve been a part of. I feel that way. So if we can’t go out and compete the rest of this year, the next year, we got to think about what that direction is for me. I want to be a contender.”
Austin also expressed awareness about how he wanted to help the team in whatever capacity that would be most beneficial. He is also not oblivious to the rising young talent pool in the sport. He understands that there will come a time when he will eventually have to be replaced in the driver’s seat.
