DAY 2: Childress ‘Excited’ About 2014 Season, New Look

By Ron Lemasters Jr.

Despite having his record of being early or on time tarnished by a fender-bender between him and downtown Charlotte, Richard Childress was happy to be in the Charlotte Convention Center on Tuesday morning.

He’ll be even happier walking out on the grid prior to the Daytona 500.

“I couldn’t be more excited about the teams, the organization,” he said. “We’re as well-organized as anyone in the garage. Mark McArdle (team competition director) has a lot of meetings and just the organization as a whole is running really smooth. I can’t wait for the season to start.”

Of course, Childress took a lot of guff from his grandson for being late, too. “I apologize,” Childress said, a bit sheepish. “I preach about being never being late, and I got a good early start, but that accident happened right in front of us and cost me an hour.

“I hate to face Austin and Ty like this.”

Of course, Austin Dillon told the assembled media that when RC finally made the door, a big round of applause was needed to “welcome” him.

Team-wise, Childress has a lot to be excited about. The addition of Ryan Newman to his stable is a positive, giving experience to the group that includes Cup rookie Austin Dillon, and Paul Menard is rounding into form as well.

For Newman, it’s a fresh start with a twist.

“This is the first time I’ve been with a team that’s established,” he said. “At Penske, we built that team from the ground up. At Stewart-Haas, we took an existing team and added the guys we needed, a lot of them. Everyone here is established, has worked together, and it’s about getting to know everyone.”

The team also announced a two-year technical partnership and marketing agreement with Lucas Oil, marking that company’s first foray into NASCAR’s top division. The partnership is about business development, sure, but a lot of it is focused on emerging technology in lubricants and greases as well.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Childress presser without mention of the No. 3 returning to the top series.

“This was something that was decided 14 years ago,” Childress said. “Me and Dale were sitting in a car somewhere during a rain delay and talking about plans for his (Earnhardt’s) retirement. We decided that once he retired, he wanted to help the 3 group and the team, but that when it got back on the track, it would be  Dale Jr. or Kelley or one of my grandsons that drove it. We were going to keep it around until then.”

Asked about how he felt about getting on the grid at Daytona and seeing the No. 3 there for the first time since Feb. 18, 2001, Childress reiterated what he said during the unveiling in December.

“It’ll be special,” he said. “I’ve watched that number in the Truck Series and in Nationwide, but it will be special to see it out there for the Daytona 500.”

As is usual, during the Media Tour, teams often give media gifts during the week. Childress took it a step farther, as Rick Hendrick usually does. In lieu of a gift bag, RCR took the money it would normally spend on it, Childress doubled it, and the $6,500 went in the form of a donation to the Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma.

Well-played, sir.