Pieces come together, but questions remain at RCR
by LARRY McREYNOLDS AND JEFF HAMMOND, FOXSports.com
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Last year, RCR demonstrated just how far it had come by qualifying all three of its cars in the championship deciding Chase for the Sprint Cup, finisheing third (Clint Bowyer), eighth (Jeff Burton) and 10th (Kevin Harvick). This season, it's jumped out of the box maybe stronger than ever as all three cars are currently in the Top 10 in the championship standings.
Even with this success, a lot of buzz about the team's future has developed — especially after it announced its intention to create a fourth team using General Mills sponsorship.
NASCAR on FOX experts Jeff Hammond and Larry McReynolds, a former crew chief for at RCR, share their opinions about the future of this organization.
McReynolds: Lessons learned will help Childress
Experience tells you not to underestimate Richard Childress and his racing organization, but personally, I am a little nervous about this fourth team he is adding in 2009. When Richard expanded to three teams in 2002, it took them a while to build up to where they are now.
In all honesty, it hurt the No. 29 and No. 31 teams for about a year when they made the move up to three cars. It's taken a while, but now all three teams are starting to get their act together and are more consistent on the track with their results. They are going to have to work hard to make sure that fourth team doesn't take away from the other three.
However, I think they learned their lesson from the last time and that's why you are seeing the announcement of the fourth team for next year a lot earlier in the year. We are only eight races into the season and they are already working on creating the fourth team.
I don't believe anyone knows who is going to drive the new car. I do believe in the blind obvious that it's going to be Bobby Labonte. Look at the indicators; Bobby is already driving a Nationwide car in some select races this year for RCR. General Mills has already announced they are leaving and moving to RCR beginning in 2009 and Bobby obviously has a great relationship with General Mills, his current sponsor at Petty Enterprises. But you don't know what Richard Childress is thinking.
I don't think anyone saw him putting Clint Bowyer in that car a few years ago, but he did and it obviously has worked out well for him. So maybe Richard is thinking outside of the box again. He might be looking at another up-and-comer to put in that car.
That said, another positive for Richard making the fourth car announcement so early is the fact it opens up more options for him to consider. There are a lot of driver contracts that are up at the end of the 2008 season. Again, one example is Bobby Labonte. He has been offered a lifetime contract to drive for Richard Petty but he doesn't seem to be in any hurry to sign it. Tony Stewart's contract is up and so is Greg Biffle and Ryan Newman's at the end of the year. I don't think Richard is going to make any knee-jerk reaction to who is going to drive that race car.
Putting Bobby Labonte in that fourth RCR car gives Childress the best of both worlds — experience behind the wheel for a new team and a past champions provisional if they need to fall back on it. It sure is nice to able to tell your sponsor that you have protection by backing a new team with no points going into 2009. But unless qualifying is rained out or something else, Bobby Labonte probably won't ever need to use the past champions provisional should he make the switch.
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Let's face it, the fact that Labonte has a past champion provisional available might be a dictating factor in the decision process. General Mills is a sponsor that hasn't gotten a lot of bang for their buck over the last few years, so they might not be willing to roll the dice with someone young. Naturally they want to win races, be competitive every week and have a chance at a championship. Unfortunately General Mills has not been able to say that over the last few years.
Hammond: RCR is a team of opportunities
I have known Richard Childress since he was a driver himself many, many years ago. He is a fierce competitor and a great businessman. Richard Childress is a racer at heart. He hired Dale Earnhardt in the beginning, then let him go only to re-hire him a second time. Naturally, the rest was history. He has also had drivers like Ricky Rudd drive for him in the past.
Childress is not afraid to try new talent. He went out and got Mike Skinner and tapped him to do some driving for him. When we lost Dale Earnhardt, Richard chose Kevin Harvick who was young and inexperienced. Clint Bowyer — where did he come from? He was a kid from Kansas that drove on dirt. Richard spotted and evaluated the talent and signed him. He gave Scott Wimmer another opportunity.
In addition to having an eye for new talent, Richard is also not afraid to grab a veteran. Jeff Burton is a great example of that and if the rumors are true, likely Bobby Labonte for next year.
I think it's interesting that we always seem to talk about Jack Roush, Rick Hendrick, Chip Ganassi and others and what they have accomplished both on and off the track. But Richard Childress has made his living in this sport, since day one, basically. He has never wavered from what he has wanted to accomplish in this sport and that's to build the biggest and best racing organization. He was able to do that with Dale Earnhardt. But even after losing his best friend at Daytona in 2001 and even after considering leaving our sport once and for all, he has rallied back.
He has given some guys some great opportunities. He has brought his organization back to the forefront of our sport. He represents his sponsors so well. He represents our sport so well. Sometimes I think Richard Childress gets overlooked as a man with a keen eye for talent and who will do what's necessary to win.
Richard Childress is a great owner, but even better than that, he is a great person.
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