Kyle Busch and Richard Childress’ partnership at RCR has been off to a strong start, with three wins in the regular season. But if anyone looks into the past they would know the kind of relationship these two individuals shared; a frosty one, even involving a physical altercation.
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But fast forward to the current times, Busch races for RCR, and Childress seems to be quite proud about it. Recently, while speaking about Busch and how he has added great value to the team, Childress had nothing but praise for the two-time Cup Series champion.
Richard Childress is gratified with Kyle Busch despite their cold past
While speaking with Sirius XM NASCAR Radio, Childress stated, “He’s everything that we knew he would be as a driver. But as a personality, he’s even beyond our expectations and I think the fans like you can’t believe the amount of fans that says, ‘Man Kyle is a changed man today.’ And you know, he’s, he has changed, I’ve changed. The sports’ changed, you got to change with it.”
“And with the amount of sponsors that we’re dealing with today. You got to represent them and he understands that and I’m so proud of his way and the way he’s handling the situation…”
“…So it’s just one of those things he’s a pleasure to work with. He’s great with our partners, our sponsors, and he’s great for NASCAR right now.”
In year one with @RCRracing, @KyleBusch
will be competing for his third career #NASCAR Cup Series championship 🏆Richard Childress says his new driver has been more than he expected.
💭 “As a personality, he’s even beyond our expectations […] he’s a pleasure to work with.” pic.twitter.com/gDAR6oOmx2
— SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) August 31, 2023
Ages before Busch signed with Childress, the pair had an explosive past. The pair had been involved in a fight after tempers flew at an all-time high. The incident had taken place at the 2011 Kansas Truck race but had been building up for several years prior, thanks to Busch constantly getting into altercations with RCR drivers.
Busch and Childress did not have a good relationship
During the Kansas Truck race, Busch and RCR driver Joey Coulter were in a wheel-to-wheel battle. However, Coulter made a move on Busch which may have been a little too ambitious. Meanwhile, Busch was not too happy about how Coulter passed him on track, and during the cooldown lap, he gave him a little tap on the side.
However, Coulter’s team owner Childress had enough of Busch at this point. According to reports, he apparently removed his watch and gave it to his grandson Austin Dillon, before heading over to Busch and punching him. Thereafter the pair began a serious verbal altercation, but Childress managed to grab hold of Busch again and this time he put him in a headlock and punched the young driver once more. Right after the pair had been separated by the officials.
After all these years, seeing these two now working together is somewhat interesting. It is a good thing that both of them were able to put the past behind them and move on. But still, imagine going to work with the man who punched some years ago.
