In mid-August, Austin Dillon achieved more than one thing. He won the Cook Out 400 race at Richmond Raceway, punching his ticket into the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Moreover, he did so in style \u2013 dominating 107 laps en route to his victory, flipping the controversial narrative he had faced since his 2024 victory. What is more, Dillon also paved a path of hope for his team, Richard Childress Racing.<\/p>\n
Watch What\u2019s Trending Now!<\/p>\n
Since 2023, RCR has experienced a clash of passion to win and the inability to live up to that passion. Countless changes and internal shuffles have taken place within Richard Childress\u2019s fold. Now, with a rejuvenated mindset after Dillon\u2019s win, the team is gearing up again for 2026.<\/p>\n
ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
Richard Childress is up for another revamp<\/strong><\/p>\n Kyle Busch has been the focal point of RCR\u2019s efforts to improve. The two-time Cup Series champion joined the team at the end of 2022, won three races in 2023, and entered a long winless streak. Busch has been winless for 90 races after the YellaWood 500 in Talladega. In 2024, Busch could not crack the playoffs for the first time in 19 years and clinched 5 top fives and 10 top tens. 2025 has been a downer, with 2 top fives and 9 top tens so far \u2013 despite the success of Busch\u2019s teammate. So Mike Verlander, Richard Childress\u2019 president, is on a war footing: \u201cWe\u2019re in a bit of a transition and in a positive way.\u201d<\/p>\n Mike Verlander used to be the president of Kyle Busch<\/a> Motorsports. He was inducted into the same role within Richard Childress\u2019 team in February 2025. The fairly new executive emphasized retaining the older, talented guard of the team for the future. \u201cThere are folks that have been at RCR really since Day 1. A gentleman on the payroll has been there over 40 years. And then we have some new folks coming in. We\u2019re trying to blend how things happened and maybe adapt a little bit to how things will be done \u2013 and meet in the middle there and find that sweet spot.\u201d<\/p>\n ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n View this post on Instagram\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Well, there has been a big organizational shuffle between 2024 and 2025. Besides the promotion of Mike Verlander, there was also Torrey Galida\u2019s ascension from president to vice chairman. John Klausmeier was added as technical director of Richard Childress Racing.<\/a> Also, Richard Boswell became the crew chief of the No. 3 team with driver Austin Dillon. In May 2025, RCR signed an extension contract with Kyle Busch \u2013 clearly retaining hopes that \u2018Rowdy\u2019 will be back in form.<\/p>\n Verlander continued how Austin Dillon has played a big role<\/a> in fueling hope for Richard Childress\u2019s fold. He talked about the Richmond spectacle: \u201cI think the win this year at Richmond was huge, it was such a shock\u2026Yes, for the partners, but also for the 400+ employees to see the way we\u2019re doing it. Every weekend may not be perfect, but when you do find a perfect weekend, it rewards everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n\n