Richard Childress Racing had a dismal 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season. Controversy, changes within the team, and constant speculation surrounding Kyle Busch’s future became the key talking points. Well, that was it, because the two race cars weren’t up to speed for most of the season. And it was evident that major changes at RCR were needed to help them turn a corner for good.

Going by the latest updates, it seems like they have laid the foundation to overturn their misfortunes with some fresh faces in the team. Keith Rodden is now the VP of the competition at the team after taking responsibility mid-season this year from Andy Petree. On the other hand, RCR gets a new technical director and a crew chief for the #3 team.

Austin Dillon gets a new crew chief for the 2025 season

Most of the team banked on Stewart Haas Racing’s departure by roping in their drivers. But Richard Childress Racing decided to move smart and onboarded some key personnel from the SHR that can help steer the team in the right direction. And as it turns out, both changes are at the executive level with the RCR team.

John Klausmeier, who has previously served as crew chief for drivers like Kyle Busch and Chase Briscoe, will join RCR as a technical director. For most of his career, he’s led several teams from his pit box as the crew chief. However, the scathing L3 penalty with a $250,000 at Charlotte with the #14 team saw him transition into a managerial role at SHR. And he will continue in the same capacity at RCR as well.

Another big change is for Austin Dillon and the #3 team, as Richard Boswell will now lead the charge for the team as the new crew chief. Boswell was the one who replaced Kausmeier in the #14 team. One of the big highlights for Boswell in 2024 was Chase Briscoe punching his ticket to the playoffs with a win at the Southern 500. Justin Alexander will be making way for Boswell after what was a controversial 2024 season for the #3 team.

The Southern Cookout 500 was a particularly important race for Boswell. Not only did he get his only win in the Cup Series, but the #14 team secured their playoff berth with it. Interestingly, the Darlington win also saw Kyle Busch‘s second attempt at a win foiled by a rival and may have played a big part in breaking Rowdy’s 19-year streak of getting a win in every season. Regardless, Richard Boswell proved his mettle in the Xfinity series as well. Between 2016 and 2023, he collected nine wins as a crew chief before moving full time to the Cup Series.

Let us have a look back at what all happened with Dillon and the team throughout the year. This also includes tons of changes, right from engineers to crew chiefs at the #3 team, but despite all of that, the results stayed the same.

2024 wasn’t the best of years for Dillon and his team

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The start of the season was not short of a nightmare for Austin Dillon and the #3 team. In the first eight races, the team finishes P24 or worse except the Vegas race. This is when RCR decided to step in and stop the bleeding before it was too late. Keith Rodden was the crew chief until this period, and this is where Justin Alexander stepped in. In addition, they also brought in Joel Keller as the new lead engineer.

Well, nothing changed apart from two top-10 finishes in the next few races. However, the fall race at Richmond Raceway was indeed the highlight moment the team was waiting for. Austin Dillon finally won his first race of the season, but how he did that quickly became controversial. On the last lap of the race, Dillon dumped Joey Logano into the wall and then wrecked Denny Hamlin to take the checkered flag.

NASCAR dropped the hammer on the driver and the team and revoked their automatic qualification into the playoffs. However, the streak of controversy didn’t stop there, as Dillon was involved in race manipulation tactics at Martinsville Speedway. He purposefully defended the #24 car of William Byron to help him advance into the championship race. Although Byron did make the cut, it was the #3 team that felt the wrath of NASCAR’s penalty.

Justin Alexander and the spotter Brandon Benesch were both ejected for the championship race in Phoenix. Meanwhile, the driver and team owner were reprimanded with a hefty fine of $100,000 each. This penalty perfectly summarized the entire season for Austin Dillon and Richard Childress Racing. Well, they were in dire need of fresh faces and ideas, and now that they’ve got it, they should get right to work.