Even as Richard Childress’ Cup hopes seemed dashed, Austin Dillon rose from his slumber. After enduring an excruciating streak of 68 races, Dillon decided it was time. So he scripted his own victory story at Richmond Raceway. However, it came with a controversial flavor. This long-awaited win came after making some active changes to the team. Now it seems more such overhauls may be in the works – which may not be good news for Kyle Busch.
The veteran driver has now endured 44 races without scraping the victory lane. Busch’s second year under Childress is going miserably, and suspicions are already afoot about his future. Now, with Dillon’s proclamations, they grow stronger.
More changes mean more uncertainty for Kyle Busch
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Now facing the longest drab streak in his career, Kyle Busch is in dire straits indeed. He also stands at risk of missing out on the playoffs. Two months ago, the 63-time Cup winner hinted at packing his bags. “I would say anything’s possible always,” Busch said while hinting at his openness to go back to Joe Gibbs Racing or Hendrick Motorsports. Despite both Busch and Childress snuffing out this suspicion, now the ground seems even more shaky for the No. 8 driver.
After collecting his fifth career victory at Richmond, Austin Dillon told Dale Earnhardt Jr how RCR is revamping itself. Richard Childress’ new vision is responsible for this. “My grandfather has done a good job of wanting to get better consistently. I think we have had to make changes to do that…and some changes will be made. I’m excited about it obviously…We’re gonna bring in some good talent that should freshen up the blood over at RCR and just some good people,” he revealed proudly. So does Kyle Busch count in the fresh blood group?
That is the way it seems for now, at least. Richard Childress professed his faith recently: “We feel that we’ve got a good shot. We can still turn it around. It’s not over, but we’ve got a lot of things we’ve got to do to turn it around.” However, Childress has also increased his footfall in the RCR office, hoping to filter out the workforce, as Dillon emphasized. “We’ve got people that have been at RCR for a very long time, and really care about how we run. But it was time to kind of bring in probably some new people.” This may be a cryptic message for Kyle Busch making his way out.
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Over this year, several crew changes have taken place within RCR. For example, Justin Alexander replaced Keith Rodden as the No. 3 crew chief in April. Then Andy Petree stepped down as the competition director in June, as Kyle Busch continued to record bad runs. However, as Rowdy is still on his miserable record, winds of change may be afoot at his doorstep. For now, a significant crew change may occur due to the Richmond race.
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Is Kyle Busch's time at RCR coming to an end? What do you think is next for him?
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Controversial radio chatter may offer another update
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The last lap of the Cook Out 400 race was quite controversial. Austin Dillon got on the nerves of two stellar drivers known for bump-and-runs themselves. But the No. 3 driver was not alone in his aggression. A snippet from the No. 3 radio clearly shows how Dillon’s spotter egged him on to wreck his contenders. The NASCAR community rang out in protest against such aggressive tactics, and the RCR team may need to shuffle its crew soon. But Dillon is trying his best to retain his spotter.
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Dillon tried to defend Brandon Benesch, as he claimed to not paying attention on the radio at the time. “Dude, at that point I’m elbows up, holding the throttle down, just trying to get to the start/finish line literally. I am sideways off of (Turn) 4 ’cause I’m already three-quarters of the lane up the track, hammer the gas. I’m just looking at the start/finish line. That’s it. I ain’t hearing [expletive] at that point, you know? Your eyes turn red. You see red, you get to the end of the race.”
Seeing red is probably why NASCAR would penalize Austin Dillon. Let us wait and see what ripples of change the Richmond race brings in RCR, and whether those will affect Kyle Busch as well.
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Is Kyle Busch's time at RCR coming to an end? What do you think is next for him?