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Recharged Childress teams have title in sight
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There's a new era at Richard Childress Racing — the Harvick, Burton, Bowyer era.
Richard Childress and Dale Earnhardt were synonymous with success, winning six Cup championships, and, in 1998, the elusive Daytona 500.
In 2001, Richard Childress Racing rode an emotional rollercoaster after Earnhardt's death. His replacement, Kevin Harvick, won twice that season and claimed his first Busch Series title.
After that, the No. 29 car was good for a win here or there, but lacked the consistency that leads to Cups.
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Programs of the week
Sunday, 3/22 on FOX 1:30 pm: Food City 500 This week on SPEED Friday, 3/20 Noon: Cup practice 1:30 pm: N'wide practice 3:00 pm: NASCAR LIVE 3:30 pm: Cup qualifying 4:30 pm: N'wide practice 7:00 pm: Trackside Saturday, 3/21 11:00 am: Cup practice 12:20 pm: Cup practice Sunday, 3/22 11:00 am: NASCAR in a hurry 11:30 am: NASCAR Raceday 8:00 pm: Victory Lane All times ET | ||
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In 2006, RCR finally rediscovered its stride, thanks to the young gun, the veteran and the rookie. Harvick, Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer combined for six wins, 26 top-five finishes and brought home nearly $16 million in winnings. With the No. 29 and No. 31 cars firmly in the Chase for the Nextel Cup, the rebirth of RCR was official.
And 2007 marked the next step toward a very bright future.
Emerging from Earnhardt's shadow with a new sponsor, new colors and a new attitude, Harvick edged out Mark Martin to win the 2007 Daytona 500 by .02 of a second. Burton avoided the last-lap wreck and finished third. Teammate Bowyer wasn't so fortunate.
You know there's an old saying in racing; either bring back checkers or bring back the steering wheel. RCR teams did both. Harvick brought checkers; Bowyer, well, pretty much just brought back the steering wheel.
| Speed Mail Steve |
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At California Speedway, Burton and Bowyer finished fourth and sixth while Harvick's shot at a win fell flat. He ended up 17th after a bizarre flat tire under yellow.
RCR owns two of the top six spots in the point standings with Bowyer only 11 points out of 12th place. Even though the Nextel Cup Series has only run three races this season, all three drivers are thinking Chase. For Childress — already a step ahead with Car of Tomorrow testing — this is the team's best shot at the Cup in a very long time.
NASCAR on FOX and SPEED host and reporter Steve Byrnes has covered racing for more than 20 years.
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