"If I failed at that, I’d probably fail it all" - When Richard Childress reflected on signing Dale Earnhardt for his NASCAR survival

In 2019, Richard Childress sat with Kyle Petty to discuss everything around NASCAR — from Dale Earnhardt's legacy to the sport's current state. The owner of the Richard Childress Racing also touched upon the moment that changed NASCAR forever. Childress claimed to put everything on the line to bring Earnhardt to RCR for his and the team's survival.

The late NASCAR driver, Earnhardt, was one of the renowned Cup Series faces in the fraternity. With seven titles and 76 Cup Series victories, he was one of the greatest stock car racing drivers to grace the sport.

The Kannapolis-born driver earned most of his legacy in NASCAR during his time at Richard Childress Racing. He arrived at RCR in 1984 and stayed with the team until his death in February 2001, aged 49.

Kyle Petty accompanied Richard Childress in the latter's vineyards to take a trip down memory lane as they discussed Richard Childress Racing and the importance of Dale Earnhardt. In the 2019 video posted by 'Motorsport on NBC' on YouTube, Childress revealed how he was ready to go to any extent to bring Earnhardt to RCR.

"So I went out and borrowed everything I could back then to make that work in the end and put everything on the line and I knew if it could go out and run good, we'd have a chance of putting another driver a car or be able to go out and put a deal together," Childress said. (10:45)

"But I knew we had to run good and here I have a champion who was gonna be a star, he was a star already. But he was coming to a really big star and I knew if it failed at that, I'd probably fail it all. So I just put everything on the line," he added.

After initial disagreements with Richard Childress in 1981 when Earnhardt saw himself in three different teams — Rod Osterlund Racing, Stacy Racing, and Richard Childress Racing — he arrived at RCR and took over the #3 Chevrolet by replacing Ricky Ruud.

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Richard Childress opened up on Dale Earnhardt's lasting impact at RCR

Richard Childress climbs into the car of his late driver Dale Earnhardt Sr. (3) to pace the field prior to the 1000Bulbs.com 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

Richard Childress founded Richard Childress Racing in 1969, and in the team's 55-year history, Dale Earnhardt remained in the forefront.

Speaking about the late driver's influence and impact, the owner of RCR recently told Kevin Harvick on the latter's 'Happy Hour' podcast:

"That night at the campfire, we were talking, I told him, I said, ‘Dale, if anything ever happens to me, you know you got to go in and race the next week. You’d have had to win on in Phoenix and race. And he said, ‘Well, if it ever happens to me, you got to do that.'"

Richard Childress Racing is still in operation and fields two full-time and one part-time Charters. The full-time Charter belongs to Austin Dillon and Kyle Busch. The part-time car is driven by Austin Hill, Will Brown, and Ty Dillon.