Richard Childress Racing has been grappling with engine troubles since last season. While Kyle Busch has taken the setbacks in his stride, AJ Allmendinger lost his cool when the problem struck his #16 Chevy at Kansas, relegating him to a P38 finish.
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Frustrated in the heat of the moment, he took a swipe at the engine supplier RCR partners with — a move that appears to have ruffled feathers at the top and left Richard Childress less than happy.
Just six laps into the Kansas race, Allmendinger’s engine gave out, which triggered a sharp, expletive-laced outburst on the team radio. He ranted, “Hey ECR, you guys (expletive) suck.” When a crew member inquired whether he had lost the engine, the driver replied with biting sarcasm, “Yeah, shockingly.”
This marked his second engine failure in a row following the Texas race, leaving little room to bottle up the frustration. Childress, however, was far from pleased with the outburst. Though he hadn’t yet spoken to Allmendinger, he made it clear that such commentary didn’t sit well with him.
Drawing comparisons, he noted, “The #12 (Ryan Blaney) blew up two times, the #48 (Alex Bowman) blew up (one time); they never said anything. It’s how you want to run your mouth.”
Childress was more interested in getting to the root of the situation. He explained to NBC Sports, “I want to know what happened to the engine. When (Allmendinger) jumps out (of the car at Kansas), he don’t even know if the belt come off the oil pump or what.”
“Childress told NBC Sports on Friday at North Wilikesboro that he had yet to talk to Allmendinger but expressed his displeasure with Allmendinger’s comments, noting how other drivers have reacted on a team’s radio after an engine failure.” https://t.co/pBgTnjzoNH
— Adam Stern (@A_S12) May 18, 2025
ECR’s Vice President of Alliance Operations, Danny Lawrence, informed NBC Sports that debris might have triggered the failure in Allmendinger’s engine at Kansas.
The back-to-back engine issues sent Allmendinger plummeting in the points standings, from 14th down to 25th — once holding a playoff berth is now outside the top 16. Notably, he had also finished last [P41] at the season-opening Daytona 500 due to an engine failure.
Earnhardt Childress Racing (ECR) currently supplies power units to Kaulig Racing, Richard Childress Racing, Trackhouse Racing, and Beard Motorsports. In 2023, these teams collectively notched six victories, mostly credited to Kyle Busch and Ross Chastain. That total was sliced in half last year, with just three wins split between Chastain, Daniel Suarez, and Austin Dillon. So far in 2025, the scoreboard shows zero victories for any of them.
Although, for now, it’s just the Trackhouse Racing drivers who have voiced concern over their lack of speed, as qualifying efforts have consistently fallen flat, all three teams are also failing to secure stage points, a critical barometer for overall pace.
Judging by the numbers, ECR Engines appears to be losing ground, especially when stacked against powerhouses like Joe Gibbs Racing and Hendrick Motorsports.
