"He said, 'I’ll pay you extra money'": When Richard Childress took Bill France Sr.'s offer and built a NASCAR dynasty

Richard Childress Racing is one of NASCAR's oldest and most successful teams. The team won six championships with Dale Earnhardt Sr. and the Daytona 500 thrice (1998, 2007, and 2018).

Owned by NASCAR business magnate Richard Childress, RCR started in the Cup Series in 1969. This was also the year when the Talladega Superspeedway was opened. Similar to the Daytona International Speedway, this was an extremely fast track. However, there were concerns with the drivers because of tire wear throughout the practice sessions.

When NASCAR authorities carried on with the race anyway, the Professional Drivers Association, led by Richard Petty, decided not to participate.

It was at this time that Bill France Sr. offered "extra money" to Childress to participate in the race, which was an offer the new team found hard to refuse.

"We did race Saturday in the Grand American car," Richard Childress was quoted as saying by Advance Local Media. "The PDA, Professional Drivers Association -- I think Richard Petty might have been the president -- and several of those guys they boycotted that race. So that evening after our race, or that morning before, Bill France Sr. had came over to us and got the drivers together and said, ‘Look I’ll pay you guys some extra money if you’ll race here tomorrow.’"

Childress then took the money and worked on the car. This gave them enough financial backing to support them in the long run.

"So that was our opportunity to make some extra money. We worked that night real late to prepare our cars to race the next day," Childress said. "I had made three or four thousand dollars on a Saturday. The money that he paid us to run -- we called it deal money in those days -- plus my winnings I came back with seven, eight, 10 thousand dollars. In those days it was big money."

Although the inaugural race at Talladega was dubbed the "worst NASCAR race ever", it was a major boost to Childress who got a headstart to form the legacy behind RCR.

The recent seasons have been a little tough for the team. They collected only one victory in the 2024 season through both their drivers and could not qualify for the playoffs because of the controversy around Austin Dillon's only win that season. Heading into 2025, Childress feels that the team needs to deliver the maximum.

Austin Dillon feels Richard Childress Racing needs to put in "maximum efforts" to win this season

The team welcomed Kyle Busch in the 2023 Cup Series season. He maintained his competitive form and managed to win three races that season, keeping up his streak of winning a race in 19 consecutive seasons.

However, the 2024 campaign turned out to be a disaster for Busch and the team. The team wasn't strong enough. Although the drivers did manage to put their Chevrolets in competitive spots, they fell short of victory multiple times.

Heading into 2025 with Busch on the team, Dillon mentioned how RCR would have to put in maximum effort.

"For us at RCR, we just have to put maximum effort in every week to deliver the best product, and that’s the best we can do. Try and give maximum effort every weekend, put him in the best position we can, and we’ll see where all the chips fall at the end. But I think he’s enjoyed his time at RCR and wants to be at this organization to the end, I hope," Dillon said via Bob Pockrass on FOX Sports (2:17 onwards).