What change Richard Childress Racing needs to make to bring it back to the winning way? The team looks to scramble to find the answer.

A month into Andy Petree, the competition executive, made a surprising exit, RCR signed a multi-year, multi-car partnership with Titan Risk Solutions on July 16, marking a comeback for Ty Dillon to the Cup Series to race the No. 33 Chevrolet in the Brickyard 400. In one more significant development, Justin Alexander replaced Keith Rodden as a struggling Austin Dillon’s crew chief. But is RCR up for more changes?

The Paris Olympics seem to have given RCR the much-needed time to recuperate from an exhausting season. Kyle Busch sits at No. 18 on the points table, 309 points behind the leader Kyle Larson. On the other hand, Richard Childress’s grandson Austin Dillon’s situation is even worse—a lowly No. 32 on the table. By the looks of it, only a miracle would get them a spot in the playoffs. However, according to Dillon’s latest statement, RCR might be slated for some more radical changes.

There have been rumors about a change in the team’s personnel, as is evident in a conversation between Austin Dillon and Peter Stratta. Austin said, “I think there’re probably some changes coming and all for good, you know what I mean? And I’m really excited about it, probably the most excited I’ve been in my Cup career going into next year.”

Austin also asserted, “You know, my grandfather’s committed to putting RCR where it needs to be, getting the A car myself and Kyle (Busch) upfront.”

UPDATE: While we might have to wait for some more time to get the details, RCR’s continuous efforts seem to have started getting results. In a stunning turn of events, Austin Dillon pulled off a surprise victory in the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway earning the playoff berth. And how? He wrecked both Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin off the final corner in NASCAR overtime to seal the victory. Let us get some more details.

After passing Denny Hamlin, Dillon was leading in the final 30 laps. At that point, it looked like a clean victory for the No. 3 RCR driver. But a wreck with two laps to go sent the race to overtime. Logano was in the lead in the overtime. In the final lap, in turn 3, Dillon dug deep into the corner, knocking away the No. 22 Team Penske Ford. Then, off turn 4, he hit Denny Hamlin in the right rear of his No. 11 car, something that is strict in racing. However, this gave Dillon the lead he needed to take the checkered flag.

It was Dillon’s first win in nearly two years in the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. It gives the long overdue victory to RCR and the five-time Cup Series race winner, who came to Richmond with no top-5 finishes and two top-10 finishes. On the other hand, it was RCR’s first win at Richmond after Kevin Harvick’s in 2013. As things turn around for RCR, will this finally stabilize the shake-ups that are going on in its organizational structure?

It has been three decades since the RCR has won a Cup Series championship. That even prompted Richard Childress to actively look into the matters to bring things back on track. Last month, he had told to NBC, “I’m more involved than I have been in several years because I want to get the right people to help me make the right decisions.” Naturally, big changes were slated to come. Recruiting Kyle Busch in the last season to pilot their No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro was a major step toward it. Soon, more changes followed.

In January, RCR announced that Mike Verlander, who was the then president and chief revenue officer at Kyle Busch Motorsports, would join the organization as the chief operations officer. Verlander was slated to work alongside Richard Childress (Chairman and CEO) and Torrey Galida (President) to provide strategic direction and oversee the day-to-day operations of the team. Alongside, Jennifer White was promoted to the chief marketing officer of RCR.

Come June 2024, its competition executive Andy Petreeone’s departure shocked the NASCAR realm. Having a storied association with the motorsport industry for 35 years, Petree joined Richard Childress Racing in 1993 as the crew chief for the iconic No. 3 Chevrolet driven by Dale Earnhardt. The association saw Earnhardt secure his sixth and seventh championships in 1993 and 1994. The pair also registered 15 wins, seven poles, 56 top-five, and 47 top-10 finishes together.

As the competition executive, Petree guided the organization to 26 race wins (nine in the NASCAR Cup Series and 17 in the NASCAR Xfinity Series) and helped RCR win the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship in 2019. Interestingly, Kyle Busch saw some positivity in the development!

“I mean, change sometimes lends itself to an open opportunity, hopefully for the better. So, you know, I respect the hell out of Andy, and what he’s done and what he’s done in this sport and the legacy that he holds. We had a lot of fun together and some good laughs and some good relationships and um, hopefully, we can better our program without him there and carry on in the future,” Busch said back then, via Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports. If this was not enough, the other development was no less astonishing.

Keith Rodden was appointed interim competition director of RCR. “Keith Rodden has big shoes to fill as interim competition director, but I know his passion for motorsports and dedication will help drive RCR forward during a key time for our organization,” Richard Childress had said about the development. Rodden himself had said that the appointment was “a little bit unexpected.” Indeed, it was, especially after he was replaced as the crew chief of Austin Dillon in April.

Dillon was paired back with Justin Alexander, who guided all four of Dillon’s NASCAR Cup Series victories, including the 2018 Daytona 500. Dillon’s disastrous stint was probably was necessitated the change. Rodden started working with Dillon at the start of the 2023 season. During that, Dillon finished 29th in the championship standings. Amid-season points penalty also hampered his standing, making it Dillon’s worst season since the start of his Cup career. His average finish of 21.8 was a career-low as well.

Despite that, what prompted RCR to bring Rodden to that position was never clear. Meanwhile, Richard Childress, last month, appeared to have dropped a hint about the direction of his organization. “We need to change the culture. We need to have more racers,” Childress said to Pockrass. So will he consider replacing any driver? Are you thinking of Kyle Busch? It does not seem so.

“I feel as strong about Kyle Busch as I did when he became a part of this company a year-and-a-half ago. I feel as good about that,” Childress said about Busch. But simultaneously, the Hall of Famer also kept the intrigue. “We’ve got to change some things. You’ll see it,” the NASCAR veteran said.

While you ponder over the possibilities, you might also be wondering what suddenly brought out this nearly miraculous victory for Austin Dillon. Let’s hear what Dillon himself has to say.

Did a break work wonders for Richard Childress’s grandson?

Taking a break shuts down the tunneled vision, and when you take a step back, you tend to see the bigger picture. This seems to be Austin Dillon’s mantra for the NASCAR Olympics break. He spent time with the family and cheered for the Carolina Cowboys that Richard Childress bought earlier this year. Getting comfortable with yourself after being in a pressurizing situation for a long time is important.

And while the drivers were relaxing in their time off, the team was still busy working on their Richmond cars. The tire changes were tested, which turned out to be optimal for the team. RCR chose to run with option tires to improve the car’s grip on the track and avoid crashes going forward.

“I feel that we’re strong in a lot of areas and weak in some of the others. I want to beef up our engineering,” Childress told NBC Sports. Although RCR has been drowning for the entire season, the ray of hope can bring it back to the surface for the season’s closure. The boost of confidence that Austin Dillon might be feeling will also be crucial for the team to return with a bang.