After another underwhelming outing by his drivers at Dover, with Kyle Busch fighting to salvage an 11th-place finish and Austin Dillon sliding to 15th after running higher early in the race, Richard Childress made no effort to hide his frustration. His blunt remarks over the team radios made it clear that he was unhappy, and Denny Hamlin believes the criticism was aimed at the entire RCR operation.
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Childress’s anger boiled over during the cooldown lap as Busch wrestled through traffic to the finish. Unimpressed with the equipment his team had brought to the track, Childress fired off on the radio: “Gotta get some race cars. We are in trouble. Period.”
Childress didn’t stop there, extending his ire to Dillon’s camp as well. “I’ve seen enough out of our drivers and teams, we’ve got to work on this shit. Period,” he snapped.
Speaking on his Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin weighed in on Childress’ comments, saying, “He’s not in charge of engineering them. I think he’s challenging his employees to come up with some different answers. He knows that the parts and pieces are the same… What I believe he’s saying is that, ‘We got to put them together better.'”
Hamlin suggested that the issue could stem from faulty simulations, discrepancies in tire data, or a host of other variables. While admitting he doesn’t know the inner workings of RCR’s program, the Joe Gibbs Racing ace conjectured that Childress’ message was clear.
He said, “I’m here speculating that he’s challenging everyone to, you know, ‘We can’t come back with the same thing,'” as the team isn’t fast enough, and the drivers need better cars to have a fighting chance at winning races.
Hamlin believes the pressure could improve RCR’s performance
The entire RCR camp has been mired in a slump. With Busch unable to capitalize even on his strongest tracks and Dillon fading from solid runs to lackluster finishes, Richard Childress’ public criticism of his team could serve as the wake-up call needed to spark better results, according to Hamlin.
The No. 11 JGR driver noted that Childress’ remarks might not only push the team to build faster cars but also show support for his drivers by emphasizing that the equipment needs improvement. “Certainly, what it will do is it’s going to create a discussion. I’m sure media throughout the week will talk about that,” Hamlin said.
Such a statement, Hamlin believes, can put a spotlight on those making critical decisions, putting them under added pressure. However, he sees more upside than downside.
“The positives outweigh it. I think when you say that you’re having the driver’s back, you’re letting them know that you’re not happy with what you’re bringing for them to compete in. And maybe there needs to be a discussion publicly. Sometimes that works best,” he added.
RCR’s next test comes at Indianapolis, where fans will be eager to see if Childress’ challenge lights a fire under the team and produces stronger results.
