OFFICIAL TEAM/DRIVER LINKS
Daniel Hemric
Richard Childress Racing
Childress Vineyards
Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma
ECR Engines
RCR Street Performance Group
PRIMARY SPONSORS LINKS
Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff (2 races)
ASSOCIATE SPONSORS LINKS
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS
Richard Childress Racing - Twitter
RCRCup - Twitter
Richard Childress Racing - Facebook
Richard Childress Racing - Instagram
Richard Childress Racing - YouTube
Daniel Hemric - Twitter
Daniel Hemric - Facebook
STATISTICS
Daniel Hemric - ESPN
Daniel Hemric - RacingReference.info
MORE INFO
2018 #8 Paint Schemes
2017 #27 Paint Schemes
2016 #27 Paint Schemes
Paint Scheme Gallery
Driver Appearances
Team Address/Contact
Contract Status: Sponsor: two races; Driver: part time rookie; team leasing Charter to #00 team in 2018 from the #27 team in 2017
#8 [was #27] Team / Driver News
Hemric to make Cup debut at Richmond: NASCAR Xfinity Series regular Daniel Hemric is scheduled to make his Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series debut on April 21, 2018 at Richmond Raceway with partner Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff on the #8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, Richard Childress Racing announced. This will be the first of two MENCS events in 2018 for the 27-year-old driver. He will also pilot the #8 Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff Chevy at Charlotte Motor Speedway's road course on Sept. 30.[More](3-20-2018)
StarCom Racing acquires charter for full Cup season: StarCom Racing acquired a NASCAR Charter for the upcoming 2018 MENCS season and will run a full 36-week schedule. SCR, a new team in 2017, led by Team Manager Derrike Cope will hit the track at the Daytona 500 in the 00 Chevy Camaro.[More](1-24-2018)
Childress fires shots at men who attempted break-in UPDATES: Authorities continue to search for three masked men who allegedly attempted to break into the home of Hall of Fame NASCAR driver and team owner Richard Childress. The incident happened at about 10:30 p.m. Sunday in the Reedy Creek community in Davidson County.(12-20-2017)
UPDATE: Clothing recovered from the home of NASCAR team owner Richard Childress could lead law enforcement to finding out the identities of three armed men, who are being sought for the attempted home invasion robbery, according to Davidson County Sheriff David Grice.(12-22-2017)
UPDATE 2: Two Winston-Salem men and another from Salisbury have been charged with attempting to break into NASCAR owner Richard Childress' home on Dec. 17.[More](1-2-2018)
Richard Petty Motorsports switching from Ford to Chevrolet, aligning with Childress: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series team Richard Petty Motorsports is closing in on announcing that it will switch manufacturers from Ford to Chevrolet starting in '18, according to sources.[More](12-7-2017)
Andy Petree named VP of Competition at RCR; Eric Warren named Chief Technology Officer: Richard Childress Racing (RCR) has named Andy Petree as its new Vice President of Competition, and Dr. Eric Warren as Chief Technology Officer, effective immediately. The organizational moves bolster RCR's competition department with more than 50 years of combined racing experience. Petree joins RCR on a full-time basis after he was brought on in an advisory role in October to conduct a comprehensive review of the team's competition area. Warren holds a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from North Carolina State University and has held numerous roles in stock car racing dating back to 1997 including competition director, chief aerodynamicist and technical director. [More](12-4-2017)
Childress looking at options with #27 With the 2017 NASCAR season coming to a close there is a lot of speculation about what Richard Childress will do with the open seat and charter for the #27 car.
During Monster Energy Cup Series practice at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Friday, Childress told Kickin' the Tires he wasn't exactly sure what his plans were for his third team, which is being vacated by Paul Menard. "We haven't finalized it yet," Childress said. "We're still talking about two or three things and haven't finalized it." Asked if the hold-up was a driver or sponsor and Childress said, "it depends on what comes first."(Kickin' the Tires)[Read More Here](11-18-2017)
Last race for RCR and Menard Q) This is not only the last race of the 2017 season, but your last with Richard Childress Racing. What are your thoughts heading into Homestead? Paul Menard "I have to thank Richard Childress, everyone at RCR and all of the guys that have been on this #27 team over the years. We have had some good runs during that time and winning the 2011 Brickyard 400 is one of the highlights of my career. This year has been up-and-down, but we have had strong performances at times and hope to finish it off with another this weekend in the Richmond / Menards Chevrolet."(Richard Childress Racing)[Read More Here](11-16-2017)
Richard Childress Racing hires Andy Petree as Advisor NASCAR veteran Andy Petree will assist Richard Childress Racing in an advisory role in the competition area. Petree, who has held numerous roles in his 30-year stock car racing career, will be retained as an outside resource. Petree has experience as a championship-winning crew chief, driver, team owner and most recently, as an analyst for Fox Sports.(Richard Childress Racing)[Read More Here](10-25-2017)
Brennan Poole could be headed to the #27: Chip Ganassi and Brennan Poole are expected to part ways at the end of the season, Motorsport.com has learned. According to sources close to the situation, the likely landing place for Poole is a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series ride at Richard Childress Racing. With Paul Menard departing for the Wood Brothers next season, RCR has a vacancy.(10-11-2017)
UPDATE:"I don't have anything set," Poole said via phone on Friday. "Like I don't really have any plans. I don't really know what's going to happen. I haven't really had an in-depth conversation with Ganassi. So I really just am not sure."[More](10-13-2017)
Richard Childress heads National Hunting and Fishing Day Richard Childress is best known as a NASCAR icon, but there is another side of him that doesn't always grab the spotlight or capture the roar of the crowd. He is an outdoors man, a hunter, angler, conservationist and Second Amendment advocate. Childress has been named honorary chairman of National Hunting and Fishing Day, Sept. 23. He is a good choice for pumping life into what has become a lackluster event in many areas, including ours. Between now and Sept. 23, anyone who pledges to take a friend, family member, co-worker or neighbor with them hunting or fishing or a sport shooting, their name will be entered in a contest. The prizes are a VIP Race Weekend Package for two and a weekend of fishing and outdoor fun at Big Cedar Lodge in the Ozark Mountains. The pledge can be found at www.nhfday.org.(Roanoke Times)[Read More Here](8-25-2017)
Team Penske/Wood Brothers Teleconference: A transcript of Wednesday's teleconference following the news that Ryan Blaney will move to Team Penske next year and Paul Menard will move to Wood Brothers Racing.[More](7-26-2017)
Childress plans three teams in 2018: "Our entire RCR organization is 100 percent focused on getting all three of our Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series programs in the playoffs this year, and bringing another Cup championship to RCR in 2017. We will be announcing our plans for a third Cup team and our overall 2018 team lineup at a later date."[More](7-26-2017)
Wood Brothers Racing and Paul Menard Team Up Beginning in 2018 Wood Brothers Racing, the oldest active NASCAR team and one of the winningest teams in series history, and veteran driver Paul Menard, will join forces for the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENSC) season. The new partnership will see the team continue to compete full time for the coming seasons with Menard driving the legendary #21 Ford Fusion. Menards, the industry-leading home improvement store company, will sponsor the #21 Ford for 22 MENCS races. Additional sponsorship, including plans for long-time partner Motorcraft/Quick Lane, will be announced at a later date. The team's relationship with Roush-Yates Engines and the technical partnership with fellow Ford Performance organization, Team Penske, will also continue in 2018. In addition, Menard will run a handful of NXS races for Team Penske beginning in 2018.(Wood Brothers Racing)[Read More Here](7-26-2017)
Childress back to two car team? Richard Childress Racing is preparing for the possible departure of Paul Menard's at the end of the season [from the #27 team]. At least a dozen employees were laid off in the last week coming on the heels of the departure of RCR veteran crew chiefs Slugger Labbe and Gil Martin.(Motorsport)
AND Richard Childress Racing has been considering its options for '18 should primary sponsor Menards leave after this season, according to sources, an indication that the home improvement chain is eyeing a move elsewhere. Menards is said to be eyeing a move from RCR to the Team Penske/Wood Brothers Racing.(Sports Business Journal)(7-14-2017)
Paul Menard talks about the pressure to win Frontstretch talked to #27-Paul Menard about the pressure to win now that Dillon and Newman have found their way to Victory Lane this season. Nothing about the contract but good quotes and conversation about where to go from here. "We're not where we want to be, for sure," he said. "But there is a lot of promise. Obviously with the 3 and the 31 both getting wins, that's great for RCR, but our speed just hasn't been there as a group. I think we are working pretty hard at trying to qualify up front, be there and actually contend for race wins and lead laps." Menard believes that the team is a "couple of tenths" off the front runners. Knowing that, there is work going on with the #3 and #31 to help the #27 team make the playoffs.(Frontstretch)[Read More Here](6-6-2017)
Several cars to the rear for Daytona 500: With their primary cars damaged in Thursday night's Can-Am Duel 150-mile qualifying races, #48-Jimmie Johnson, #27-Paul Menard and #21-Ryan Blaney will start the Daytona 500 from the rear of the field in backup race cars. They'll be joined at the rear by three cars that failed to meet the minimum ride height requirement during inspection after the Duels.[More](2-24-2017)
Richard Childress Racing Announces 2017 Team Lineup: Richard Childress Racing (RCR) will return with three full-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series entries and five full-time NASCAR XFINITY Series teams for the 2017 season. It will be the first time in team history that RCR will field five full-time XFINITY Series entries, and the first time since 2011 the team has fielded eight full-time teams. #3-Austin Dillon, #27-Paul Menard and #31-Ryan Newman return to carry the banner for the RCR Cup Series program in 2017. Richard "Slugger" Labbe, Matt Borland and Luke Lambert have been assigned crew chief duties, respectively.
With the addition of rookie driver Daniel Hemric, RCR will operate five entries out of its XFINITY Series stable. The #2 and #3 Chevys in the XFINITY Series will include multiple drivers. Austin Dillon and Paul Menard will be primary drivers for the #2 Chevy, with second-year crew chief Justin Alexander atop the pit box. Ty Dillon will remain with the #3 Chevy team and will partner with rookie crew chief Matt Swiderski, who has spent 10 years at RCR in its engineering department. Swiderski made his debut as crew chief last season at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where he led the #3 team to a second-place finish. Additional drivers for RCR's #2 and #3 teams will be named at a later date. Brandon Jones and Brendan Gaughan return with full-time driving duties of the #33 and #62 Chevys, respectively, and will compete for the XFINITY Series driver championship. Jones and veteran crew chief Nick Harrison will be paired together, while Gaughan returns with his long-time crew chief Shane Wilson for their 12th season together. In 2017, RCR will welcome back the storied #21 entry with Daniel Hemric behind the wheel. Hemric and two-time NASCAR championship winning crew chief Danny Stockman will work together as Hemric competes for Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors and the XFINITY Series driver championship.(RCR)(12-21-2016)
Richard Childress Racing Adds New Operations Director: Sammy Johns has joined Richard Childress Racing (RCR) as the new operations director for the Welcome, North Carolina, racing organization. Johns will report directly to Dr. Eric Warren, director of competition for RCR. "I have known and worked closely with Sammy since 2001 in a variety of teams and roles," said Warren. "He is well rounded and understands the sport from multiple perspectives. He has the hands-on experience of a crew chief along with the understanding of what it takes to build a modern, technical racing organization capable of winning races in today's competitive environment."
Johns will take on an integral role at RCR managing and coordinating the manufacturing and car assembly processes, along with overseeing the crew chiefs and general execution of the race teams. RCR's Technical Director, Mike Coughlan, will continue to focus the engineering department on improving the performance of the cars and the ability to create and use data for a competitive advantage. The Lakeland, Florida, native began his racing career at local short tracks before being named crew chief at Andy Petree Racing. From there, Johns shifted gears and joined Evernham Motorsports as director of competition. He remained a permanent fixture within the organization through 2009 when the company officially became Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM). Johns transitioned into a new role of vice president of operations with RPM and resumed his title until earlier this year.
"I am grateful for the opportunity to join such an iconic sports organization in Richard Childress Racing," Johns said. "The level of engineering and technical expertise at RCR is second-to-none, and I look forward to contributing my knowledge and capabilities to helping this team succeed in 2017 and beyond."(RCR)(11-30-2016)
Matt Borland getting back to NASCAR as crew chief UPDATE: Matt Borland is getting back in the NASCAR game. Sources told Motorsport.com that Borland will join Richard Childress Racing. Borland, 45, worked as a crew chief for 10 seasons in NASCAR before he was promoted to Vice President of Competition for Stewart Haas Racing. Borland rose up the ranks with rookie Ryan Newman for one race in 2000 through the A-B-C development program established at Penske. After a brief stint with Michael Waltrip Racing and Dale Jarrett to start the 2007 season, Borland joined Haas CNC Racing as director of competition and remained through the transition to SHR in 2012. Newman moved to RCR for the 2014 season and signed a contract extension last month. After his friend's departure, Borland had delved into the engineering end of SHR and shifted his concentration to Haas' Formula 1 project. (Motorsport)(11-1-2016)
UPDATE: Richard Childress Racing has named Matt Borland as crew chief for its #27 Menards NASCAR Sprint Cup Series program. Borland will begin his duties as crew chief at the conclusion of the 2016 season, replacing interim crew chief Danny Stockman. Stockman will return to RCR's NASCAR XFINITY Series program, where he has won seven races and the 2013 Series championship. Borland, a seasoned NASCAR engineer and crew chief, brings to RCR more than 20 years of motorsports experience. Most recently, he served as vice president of technology for Stewart-Haas Racing where he oversaw the team's NASCAR and Formula 1 operations, while managing its engineering staff of 30.(Richard Childress Racing)(11-2-2016)
Childress close to finalizing 2017 plans UPDATES: Car owner Richard Childress anticipates he'll know his 2017 driver lineup within three weeks. While Childress told NBC Sports on Thursday that "we've still got a couple of months before we make any real decisions," he did say that "we'll kind of know in the next two or three weeks. We'll have a direction." The main question for the three-car organization is #31-Ryan Newman's status. He's in the final year of his contract, and Childress' grandson, Ty Dillon, appears set to move to Sprint Cup next season. The team also includes #27-Paul Menard, who is 23rd in the points. Childress said Menard's is expected to return to the team as sponsor next year. The final member of the team is #3-Austin Dillon, who is 13th in points and seeking to make the playoffs for the first time.
Ty Dillon has driven eight Sprint Cup races this season. He drove three races for Tony Stewart early in the season and has run five races for Circle Sport - Leavine Family Racing. "I think he'll be in a Cup car next year," Childress said of Ty Dillon. "I'm pretty sure he'll be in a Cup car. We're working on some different programs. Hell, he may be with us, who knows? We're just working on a lot of different things. Right now it's just a lot of things are hanging. We're trying to put together what's going to be the best for everybody, not just for RCR, but for the drivers and the sponsors, we're trying to put together good programs."(NBC Sports)(7-22-2016)
UPDATE Richard Childress Racing is expected to announce its 2017 Sprint Cup Series driver lineup in the coming weeks. Ryan Newman, in his third season as driver of the #31 RCR Chevrolet, isn't quite sure if he'll be a part of it. "We haven't talked about it in-depth yet, but we have talked about it," Newman, 13th in points, said Thursday at Kalahari Resort in Pocono Manor, Pennsylvania. "Hopefully, we'll get to sit down and talk about it soon." While Newman offers consistent, above-average production week in and week out, RCR may be faced with a tough decision as Childress' grandson, Ty Dillon, appears ready for a full-time Sprint Cup Series ride with no clear path to a spot for him. Still, the team owner told NASCAR.com earlier this year at Michigan International Speedway that he's planning on having the '16 XFINITY Series title hopeful in a Sprint Cup car full-time in 2017, while the exact organization and ride has yet to be finalized. Right now, Newman doesn't appear to be getting his ducks in order just yet on the off chance he finds himself ousted from his ride in favor of the younger Dillon. "I plan on (coming back)," he said. "If they'll have me back, I'll be there."(NASCAR.com)
AND: The team is a question mark, the number is uncertain and the logistics are still behind closed doors. But one thing's for certain: If he has his way, Ty Dillon will be in a Sprint Cup Series ride next season. "I fully plan on being in the Sprint Cup Series next year full time," Dillon said Friday at Iowa Speedway. "We've got a lot of options on the table. A lot of chips still left to fall before we kind of get to that point, but hopefully we'll have something really close to getting done in a month or so." With #31 driver Ryan Newman's RCR contract up after this season, it looks to be seen whether or not Dillon will take his place as the driver of the team's third car or if organization will add a fourth car. The possibility of driving for a different team also looms. "Talks have progressed a lot further than they have in past years," Dillon said. "I had talks with other teams in the past couple years and had opportunities, but it's always been my dream to drive for RCR and be teammates with my brother. "But now it seems like the time's more and more important. We've got some things going with RCR but we're still slowly working on other options."(NASCAR.com)(7-30-2016)
Richard Childress Racing announces promotion, new staff: Richard Childress Racing has promoted Jeremy Burleson to the newly created position of Vice President, Partnership Marketing and Communications and has added Carl Anderson and Jay Pennell to the team. Burleson, a Locust, N.C., native joined RCR in 2008 as partnership marketing manager. Since that time, his role has grown to include overseeing a staff of 12 marketing and communications professionals as the Managing Director of Marketing/Communications. In addition to Burleson's enhanced role, RCR has enriched the front office staff with the addition of Carl Anderson to the Business Development team and Jay Pennell to the Communications team.
Anderson joins RCR with an impressive academic background and sales experience. He previously served as a Corporate Sponsorship Account Executive at IMG College in Huntington, W.Va and also has group sales experience with the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team.
Pennell joins RCR with significant experience and knowledge in the digital media and content arenas, which he will be utilizing to help produce and generate original content for RCR's digital space. His responsibilities also include management of the #33 XFINITY Series program with Brandon Jones. Pennell has been a writer for SB Nation, spent the past several years as the digital writer/editor for FOX Sports, and most recently was a freelance writer for NASCAR.com.(RCR)(5-17-2016)
RCR adding to engineering department: When Martin Truex Jr. won at Pocono Raceway on Sunday, he didn't get to Victory Lane alone. Certainly, there was the unwavering investment of time and effort of his Furniture Row Racing team. But the engine and the chassis underneath Truex came from a technical alliance with Richard Childress Racing. JTG Daugherty Racing, Germain Racing and Circle Sport Racing also enjoys similar relationship the Welcome, N.C.-based race shop which has increased technological investment considerably over last year. RCR's Competition Director Dr. Eric Warren wasn't kidding when he referred to RCR's engineering department as the United Nations. In 2015, RCR has bolstered its resources with talent from all over the globe but primarily Formula One.
In January, Amro Karim, Miguel Botella, Travis Slagle, Richard Youden and Ben Siegle were added to RCR's engineering department. Karim most recently was a Vehicle Performance Engineer with Marussia F1 but also worked as a F1 Project Engineer for Wirth Research. Bottella was a Software Engineer at both Caterham F1 and HRT F1 Team. Younden was as an Electronics & Control Systems Engineer at Williams F1. Previously, he worked as an Applications Engineer at Racelogic, an Electronics Design Engineer at Hasford Sensors and a Systems Engineer at Honda Racing F1 and Stack Ltd. Slagle advanced from a Systems Engineer at Moog to Systems Development Lead prior to joining RCR. On June 1, Javier Marcos Padros, a performance engineer from Williams F1 and DIL Simulator Engineer Lawrence Hodge, who also worked as a Trackside Aerodynamicist with Scuderia Ferrari F1 and McLaren Racing, joined the fold.(Motorsport)(6-12-2015)
Robin Johnson named VP of Business Development for RCR: Richard Childress Racing has named Robin Johnson as its new Vice President of Business Development to oversee sponsorship sales and partnership expansion, effective immediately. Johnson brings more than 20 years of combined legal and business development leadership to the multi-championship NASCAR team. He most recently served as the General Counsel for the S.C. State Treasurer's Office. Prior to that position, the South Carolina native served in similar business development roles at Front Row Motorsports and Roush Fenway Racing, where he helped build what was arguably one of the most respected sponsorship bases in professional sports during his tenure. Johnson is an honor graduate of The Citadel (class of 1986) earning his B.S. degree in business administration. He is also an honor graduate of the University of South Carolina School of Law and is licensed in South Carolina and New York. Robin is married to Emily Linder Johnson of Bennettsville, SC, and they have three children - Erin, Lachlan and Jake.(RCR)(5-27-2015)
RCR Partner Chartwell Seeks Equity Sale: Richard Childress Racing Enterprises, a premier sports enterprise focused primarily on NASCAR race teams, has advised its employees, drivers and key sponsors that RCR's minority partner, Chartwell Investments and RCR have hired Houlihan Lokey to assist in exploring strategic alternatives for the sale of its equity position in the company. Houlihan Lokey is serving as financial advisor to RCR. Questions regarding the process should be directed to Lee Ann Gliha (RCR).(2-26-2015)