Richard Childress Racing has endured a tough 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season for many reasons. However, the organization has shown signs of progress, as seen during the race at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday. Austin Dillon, who secured his second Top 10 of the season, credited his grandfather, Richard Childress, for the improvement.

On Saturday, Dillon qualified in an impressive fourth place for the race. And during the race, the Quaker State 400, he held his own to score points in Stage 1 and eventually bring home a seventh-place result.

In a post-race interview with NASCAR reporter John Newby, the No. 3 RCR driver was questioned about the hard work his crew has been putting in back at the factory.

"I mean, it's huge. I think all the guys back at the shop have been working really hard," he said in the video shared by Newby on X. "My grandfather's (Richard Childress) been hard on everyone, and rightly so; we got to go out there and perform better than what we have."

For Dillon, it was his second-best result of 2026 after a sixth-place finish at Watkins Glen.

"It was really nice to come up with some speed," he added. "There were times when we were really struggling out there tonight, but we kept putting ourselves in a better position, and at the end it really paid off."

This progress feels like a big step forward for Dillon and the RCR team. After 20 races, Dillon has only led five laps. With six races to go in the regular season, he stands in 28th place in the NASCAR Cup Series Driver’s championship. 

However, this is not the first time that Dillon has credited his grandfather for the success of RCR.

Austin Dillon says Richard Childress is the "energizer bunny" at RCR

Last month at the Great American State Fair, Richard Childress represented the state of North Carolina. He was joined by Austin Dillon for the panel that shed light on the various opportunities NASCAR has to offer.

After this, while talking to Pockrass, Dillon spoke about Childress’ contribution to the North Carolina-based team, having grown so much in various businesses. Dillon replied by saying, 

"I would say one thing, and that's Richard Childress. He is the energizer bunny at his age he still goes and he’s always looking forward, looking to the next thing and I’m very proud to be a family member, be a part of his blood and just working with him and understanding why he does certain things and he loves the country, loves NASCAR and its cool to be a part of and i want to carry on RCR and keep out company going for as long as possible."

Richard Childress’ influence goes far beyond NASCAR. He is mainly known for founding the racing team, but also for other businesses such as the ECR Engines engine program, along with co-owning the Carolina Cowboys.

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Written by

Chionia Libania Colaco

Edited by

Yash Kotak