F4F - Richard Childress & Iowa Speedway President - Eric Peterson

Jun 27, 2024

48:18

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Sponsored by Iowa Corn Growers

Funded by Estes Performance Concaves

Richard Childress

Grew up in Winston-Salem, NC
Married to his wife for over 50 years
3 great-grandchildren
Who or what is Growth Energy
Richard Childress Racing
Former race car driver in NASCAR
Childhood
As a child spent time at Bowman Gray Stadium - city’s local short track
Sold peanuts and popcorn to help support his family
First race car - an old 1947 Plymouth - $20
1969: first time competing in NASCAR - placed 23rd
For awhile he was a one-man team: driver, mechanic, chief engine builder, etc
Had to find other jobs to fund racing
1980’s: grown RCR to full-time and part-time employees
Other who raced the No. 3 car
Ricky Rudd
Dale Earnhardt - help them become a dominant team in 80’s/90’s
Mike Skinner - drove Chevrolet Silverado in Truck Series
1998: Earnhardt won their first Daytona 500
2007: Kevin Harvick won the No. 29 car in Daytona 500
2018: Austin Dillon won the 60th running of the Daytona 500
First team owner to win championships in all three NASCAR’s top touring series
2017: inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame
Family
Grandsons, Austin and Ty Dillion race under RCR in early 2000s
Now:
Over 300 team members
Multiple teams in the Cup and Xfinity Series
Over 200 NASCAR victories
3 Daytona 500 wins
And a lot more wins listed on the RCR racing page
Away from the track
Loves wine, the outdoors and investing in America’s youth
2004: opened a vineyard in the Yadkin Valley AVA near Lexington, NC
Activist for the conservation of natural resources
He can be found hunting at home in Montana or fishing at his Hampton Estates in Lexington, NC
2008: his wife (Judy) and him founded the Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma (CIPT)
Mission to help discover and share the best ways to prevent and treat severe injuries to children