It’s official. Richard Childress Racing will not fight for the ultimate prize in the 2024 NASCAR Playoffs. And with that, they could lose “$2.5 million” in charter money, as Brad Daugherty, owner of JTG Daugherty, estimated on NBC Sports. For two consecutive weeks, Kyle Busch was moments away from helping RCR avoid that fate, but alas!

Adding to it all, the sport’s governing body rejected Austin Dillon’s last appeal against wrecking Denny Hamlin & Joey Logano in desperation to win at Richmond. All of that combined has certainly left a bitter taste in the mouths of the folks at RCR and their fans worldwide. But before the #8 car had its Round of 16 dreams dashed this past Sunday, the team owner said some interesting things during a media availability at Darlington.

Penalties leave Richard Childress & co. reeling on the road to 2025

Ever since his grandson showed the world what could truly happen in the hunt for a playoff berth with the clock ticking down, the incident has been on everyone’s mind subconsciously, at the very least. Who can forget that shove on the #22’s rear bumper? Or the ‘reactionary’ contact between the #3 and the #11 coming into the backstretch that sent the latter into the wall? When the season takes its final breath at Phoenix, Dillon’s bold move under the Richmond lights will echo as one of those pivotal moments that heavily affected the running momentum of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series.

For their part to play in it, NASCAR punished the #3 team and RCR by revoking 25 drivers and owner points. The governing body also disqualified Dillon’s Richmond win from playoff eligibility. This appears to have changed the game for the foreseeable future. And it has been evident in the relatively cleaner finishes in the ensuing races. For example, when Harrison Burton was moments away from winning his first Cup race at Daytona and was throwing brave blocks on Kyle Busch on the backstretch, there was no controversial contact. But according to Childress, “Their ruling has changed NASCAR racing on the final lap forever.” He argued, “The drivers now, they know where a line is, or they think they do. They don’t.”

Outlining the potential barriers of this brand-new precedent, he raised some impressive questions: “If you go in a car length – two-and-three-quarters was exactly how far back [Austin] was [of Logano], and the other car slows down 3 miles an hour on the last lap, you’re going to bump in a little to get [him] up the race track. Is that over now? What is the line? And then if you go to racing somebody off the corner and they get loose [as Hamlin did] and get into you, then does that mean you’re out of the Chase?” (as quoted by Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports.)

Still reeling from those game-changing penalties, RCR left no stone unturned and went all the way through with their appeal. They faced two separate panels comprising unbiased expert individuals representing the sport. RCR had their appeal upheld both times. And almost three weeks later, the confirmation fell. Austin Dillon would still not be in the playoffs. On the bright side, NASCAR reduced the #3 team spotter, Brandon Benesch’s three-race ban, to only one. But after a P15 finish at Darlington, Benesch’s reinstatement helped little in the broader background of their financial aspirations from the coveted playoff positions.

As Childress concluded with some strong words, “You know, it was an appointed appeal group — it’s tough to beat an appointment in anything. It’s over a million dollars to us. The largest fine ever in NASCAR. I’m just disappointed, disappointed, disappointed. That’s all I can say.” Technically, there was no monetary fine imposed on Richard Childress Racing. But the financial implications heavily outweigh the half-a-million-dollar fine NASCAR handed Hendrick Motorsports and Kaulig Racing for illegal hood louvers at Phoenix last year, which is still considered the largest amount ever issued for a financial settlement in NASCAR history.

Kyle Busch’s last stand at Darlington

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Regardless, even Austin Dillon tried to clear himself from the dirty air emanating from his Richmond victory at Darlington. But while Dillon and Richard Childress found themselves caught up in this narrative before Darlington, Kyle Busch praised the team for their inspirational advances in the penultimate stretch ending out the 2024 regular season after the race.

He noted, “They’ve turned it around the last four or five weeks and we’ve run a lot better, and that’s been much improved and beneficial to our team and organization,..” RCR is undergoing a period of steady changes, with the departure of Andy Petree earlier this season, and more shakeups planned for 2025.

Despite being inches away from a playoff spot, Busch remained optimistic. He explained, “Something to build on and get better for. We just missed a lot in the early part of the year and through the middle part of the year to put ourselves in this spot to be outside looking in. So, to come in here for a last-ditch effort and have a shot – early in the race, I wouldn’t have thought we’d have a shot – it felt like we really overachieved there toward the end, “

That last bit makes sense since, strangely, the results have only turned better after the two-week-plus Olympic break earlier in August. Certainly, they’ve been hard at work to flip their situations. But with millions lost potentially, thanks to the penalty and Kyle Busch’s bad luck, will they turn it around in 2025? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!