Austin Dillon’s win in the Cook Out 400 should have been a celebration. The 35-year-old driver rolled to his first win of the 2025 season in the #3 Chevrolet and locked in his playoff spot.https://sportsnaut.com/tag/austin-dillon/
But rather than only focusing on enjoying the win, Dillon used his post-race press conference to share the family issues with his grandfather, Richard Childress, that still haunt RCR. He said:
“Well, I mean, we have knockdown dragouts between the two of us. We get into arguments to the point of frustration. And it’s very hard when he’s your grandfather to have an argument with him because you don’t want to argue about it. But, there’s certain directions we’ve got to go and move this boat forward, right? And uh I’m constantly pushing him.”
That resonated a lot with fans. For some, it confirmed what they’ve long suspected. That Richard Childress is at the roadblock, keeping it from adapting to NASCAR’s modern world.
‘Stuck in the Past’: NASCAR Fans Clash Over RCR’s Direction
On social media, the reaction to Austin Dillon’s revelations was immediate and harsh. Many fans insist RCR has not really changed since Dale Earnhardt’s era and his passing in 2001.
One fan said: “When them 2 take over the team and turn it into a winning team again we’ll all realize RC refused to innovate after Dale died.”
When them 2 take over the team and turn it into a winning team again we’ll all realize RC refused to innovate after dale died
— Slice of Anime 🩵 (@TheSliceofAnime) August 17, 2025
This view suggests Childress leaned too heavily on Earnhardt. Other teams were already embracing data and innovation in the 2000s, but critics say RCR was stuck in the past, leaving the Dillons to deal with modernization decades later.
Let’s just be honest… RCR was never actually good, it was carried heavily by Dale Earnhardt who had to drive the snot out of those cars just to win races because Richard never knew what he was doing. Even when Harvick was there the team was still a C- tier company
— INoahGuy (@INoahGuy2025) August 17, 2025
Some fans take it further, saying RCR’s reputation has always been overinflated. To them, the success of the organization was due to the drivers like Earnhardt and Kevin Harvick, and not the team itself. So, they suggest the team’s struggles aren’t new. They just look different and more apparent now that there are no superstars to overcompensate.
it is time for Austin to move out of the car into the offices at RCR. Let him make the changes needed
— flint005 (@flint005) August 17, 2025
Others see Austin Dillon himself as the solution:
“It’s time for Austin to get out of the car and into the offices at RCR. Let him make the changes needed,” one fan said.
Dillon’s Richmond win proved he can still get it done on the track, but a growing number of fans believe his bigger impact will come from the front office .
To RCR’s credit though there are efforts for progress. They’ve hired technical leadership, locked down strong sponsorship and are doing great it in the Xfinity Series.
But in the Cup Series, good results have been harder to come by. Dillon’s win is a bright spot but Kyle Busch is winless in 2025 and has been for over 70 races now since February 2023.
But Austin Dillon did offer some hope: “You tell him one thing and he’s going to be upset about it. And then two weeks later, he’s like, ‘Hey, what about this?’ and you’re like, ‘That’s a great idea!’”
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