Since its inception in 1969, Richard Childress Racing has been housing several distinguished personnel who have taken the team to great heights over the years. Last year, it welcomed the two-time Cup Series champion, Kyle Busch. But that didn’t get them a championship trophy; at least not in 2023. Nevertheless, as the new NASCAR season is about to kick off, the Chevy team has made another addition to their team.
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The team announced that a long-time motorsports executive, Mike Verlander, will be assuming the office of the Chief Operating Officer at RCR. The NASCAR veteran will work closely with CEO Richard Childress and President Torry Galida to make strategic decisions and provide insights on how the 16-time championship-winning organization can climb further up the ladder of success.
With over 20 years of experience in the motorsports industry, Verlander is indeed a valuable asset to Richard Childress Racing. President Torry Galida said, “Mike Verlander is a highly respected industry veteran who will bring a wealth of knowledge and industry experience to RCR as he helps us chart the course for the long-term future during a very dynamic time in our sport. I’m excited for Mike to work with the leadership team in all aspects of our business operations and know that he will do a great job.”
Previously, Verlander worked for Kyle Busch Companies as the President and Chief Revenue Officer, where he was responsible for managing all commercial and personal revenues for Kyle Busch Motorsports and the entire Busch family. With him joining RCR now, Rowdy would perhaps be happy to be able to reunite with his former employee.
Kyle Busch Motorsports is still breathing, despite the Spire Motorsports takeover
For Busch, it was a hard call to make. Not only did he sell his team to Spire Motorsports, but he also transferred the ownership of his entire facility, including the shop and the race car manufacturing unit, to Jeff Dickerson, the owner of Spire Motorsports. But there is good news. Despite the trade-off in 2023, the essence of Kyle Busch Motorsports is still alive.
Speaking of his split with KBM, Busch said, “I definitely miss the Truck Series team a little bit. KBM still exists… But I’m obviously missing the people that were there and going into the shop and seeing them every single day or every week or whatever it might have been. That’s the part that I feel like I was going to miss from the start and kind of still do a little bit.”
The #8 driver stated that the team, although now a much smaller one, will be fielding cars for Busch and his son Brexton at the grassroots level of the sport. Nevertheless, with its recent change in the team, Richard Childress Racing looks forward to capitalizing on it in the form of their 17th championship title.
