Richard Childress Hires From Within His 55-Year Old Racing Team to Strengthen for 2024

Remember when Richard Childress ,in the early 80s, told Dale Earnhardt he should jump ship and try his hand with Bud Moore Engineering because the owner thought the team he had put together with GM and Wrangler wasn’t good enough for ‘The Intimidator’? While Earnhardt’s time with Bud Moore was tumultuous to say the least, when he returned to Richard Childress Racing, the team he had left behind had completely transformed itself.

After 55 years, the iconic outfit has amassed over 16 championships with a list of iconic drivers including Earnhardt and Ricky Rudd. They were also the first team to win a championship in the Cup Series, Truck Series and Xfinity Series. Fast forward to 2023, and the team announced another major overhaul to its operational structure, promoting three prominent contributors to the team’s ever-growing success.

Richard Childress Racing boost their 2024 chances with internal promotions

The team’s former vice president of competition, Andy Petree, has been chosen to play a bigger role in the team’s overall functioning as the Executive Vice-President of Richard Childress Racing. Petree is no stranger to the sport, and with over 35 years of experience in the circuit, he has led the team to 23 victories, out of which nine originated in the Cup Series and the remaining in the Xfinity Series. They have also appeared in seven Cup Series Playoffs since 2017 under his leadership on the competition side of things.

Petree will be replaced by other loyal Richard Childress Racing engineers such as Justin Alexander, the new competition director for the team. Alexander’s role includes all things related to racing, whether it’s leadership, strategy or development. As the previous Director of Performance, Alexander has led efforts toward a faster car and a more competent team as a package. He also guided Austin Dillion to the checkered flag on all four occasions as the crew chief for the No. 3 Chevy.

On the other hand, Eric Kominek has been selected to take on the newly introduced Technical Director role which comes with a fresh set of responsibilities according to the announcement. Kominek will be in charge of supervising the engineering side of things as well as the vehicle design and the RCR’s Xfinity Series teams. The U.S. Air Force veteran will also lead efforts with Dow and Lenovo.

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With new faces filling the RCR lineup in the Xfinity Series such as Jesse Love, the team behind the infamous No. 3 Chevrolet is expecting big results from the internal promotions not just in the Cup Series. With the 2024 season gearing up to be an action-packed calendar, Richard Childress shared why he believes Andy Petree is the right man for the job.

Loyalty trumps all when it comes to Childress

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The owner and CEO of Richard Childress Racing also shared his confidence in Petree’s ability to make the team shine brighter than ever before, as per the team’s statement.“Andy Petree has been around racing his entire life in various roles and titles, from race car driver to car owner to two-time championship-winning crew chief for Dale Earnhardt, not to mention his contributions to motorsports through his work as a TV analyst for NASCAR Race Hub on FOX”

The man behind it all commended Petree for his work as Earnhardt’s crew chief, leading him the consecutive Cup titles in 1993 and 1994, as well as twenty-five Cup races! Childress also highlighted the importance of commitment to the team and its ambitions in the long term, “That experience and loyalty to RCR makes him the perfect choice to take on a larger role at RCR that transcends the competition side of our business. At the same time, Justin Alexander and Eric Kominek are both extremely talented engineers who are proven in their ability to lead and are going to be valuable in their respective competition-focused positions.”

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With Richard Childress Racing making big moves on the chessboard, only time will tell if the new positions suit the established members of the team. Will Petree, Alexander and Kominek succeed in getting RCR back to its prime?