The penultimate Xfinity Series race in Martinsville ended in a huge controversy for Richard Childress Racing. Sheldon Creed’s ambitious move to take victory in the race proved costly for the team who failed to get even a single driver in the playoffs. Sheldon Creed was publicly chastised by Richard Childress himself at the end of the race which shocked the NASCAR world. The team owner’s reaction drew a lot of criticism from fans and experts, including Childress’ former driver Jeff Burton.

Jeff Burton might not have won the Cup Series title in his career, but has won quite a few races in the top division. During a period of uncertainty in his career, Richard Childress gave him a seat on his team. In his own words, Jeff Gordon feels like RCR rejuvenated his career and gave him another chance to compete for race wins. However, he was not a fan of how his former employer treated Sheldon Creed.

Jeff Burton sides with Richard Childress Racing outcast after Martinsville drama

The Sheldon Creed-RCR saga had begun long before the events unfolded at Martinsville. The whole PR nightmare around the announcement of Creed leaving the team at the end of the year was quite a big story as well. Saturday was perhaps the culmination of several weeks of frustration between both parties. It certainly seemed that way given how everyone reacted.

“I’ve had drivers drive for me before, but nobody as stupid as Sheldon Creed,” Childress had said after the race. While people understood why the legendary team owner was frustrated, no one agreed with his reaction. According to Jeff Burton, it was wrong of the 78-year-old to publicly chastise his driver just because he was going for the win.

“Remember, Sheldon Creed is leading, so everybody is going to take Austin Hill’s side but I agree with you. I think the comments went too far. I have a ton of respect for Richard Childress. That guy rejuvenated my career. He put me back in winning equipment. He gave me a second shot at…or maybe my third shot at a career of winning races and I have a ton of respect for how that guy is,” the former RCR man said.

“But I did not like the post-race comments. I think that…I understand the disappointment, I 100% understand. You want your car to make the playoffs, Sheldon Creed is not going to be your driver next year so all the emphasis is now on Austin Hill but you cannot blame that young man for giving everything that he had,” Jeff Burton added.

Historically, Richard Childress Racing has never done well with outgoing drivers. This was brought into the spotlight by Denny Hamlin on the recent episode of the Actions Detrimental podcast. The Joe Gibbs Racing star gave the example of Kevin Harvick to prove his point.

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Joe Gibbs’ star exposes the ugly side of RCR

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Harvick was brought into the Cup Series by Richard Childress Racing in 2001 as a replacement for the late great Dale Earnhardt. After more than a decade with the team, the veteran racer decided to join Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014. It’s safe to say that it did not go down well with the team.

“I mean, we’ve seen it in the past, right? When Harvick.. he announced he was leaving. It was not good, they did not appreciate it. I don’t know, I would say RCR probably is the biggest family-feeling organization you could possibly go to. And this is coming from someone that races for Gibbs. Because they’re isolated kinda on their own island up there… They just feel like you’re part of it up here and you should stick it out with us,” Denny Hamlin explained.

As far as Sheldon Creed is concerned, he will be glad that he is getting out of an unfavorable environment. The 26-year-old is highly rated by many in NASCAR today and he will be joining Joe Gibbs Racing in 2024. Will Sheldon Creed be a success at JGR? Only time will tell.

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