NASCAR Hall of Fame 5th Class Finalist - Richard Childress, Owner
 Richard Childress |
SEE ALSO: Complete List Of Finalists - Includes Official NASCAR Bio's and Pictures
(b. 9/21/45)Hometown: Winston-Salem, N.C.
Competed: 1969-Present
Starts: 2,289
Wins: 101
Poles: 43
Long before he became one of the
preeminent car owners in NASCAR history, Richard Childress was a race car
driver with limited means. Still, he persevered, which is what you do when
you purchase your first race car for $20 at the age of 17.
Childress, the consummate self-made racer, was respectable behind the wheel. Between 1969-81 he had six top-five finishes and 76 top 10s in 285 starts, finishing fifth in the NASCAR premier series standings in 1975.
Having formed Richard Childress Racing in 1972, Childress retired from driving in 1981. The rest, as they say, is history.
Much of that history is
linked to one of NASCAR’s greatest drivers, inaugural NASCAR Hall of
Famer Dale Earnhardt, who won six championships and 67 races between
1984-2000 for RCR.
But Childress has had
other successes. In addition to Earnhardt’s championships, Childress
drivers have given him five others. His total of 11 national series owner
championships is second all-time. Childress was the first NASCAR owner to
win championships in all three of NASCAR’s national
series.
