Halfway through the 2023 season, things were looking solid for Richard Childress Racing. The Kyle Busch acquisition looked like a slam dunk, as the veteran racked up 3 wins. However, things turned soured in the second half and through the playoffs. As for Austin Dillon, the less said the better. 2024 offered promise for RCR though. If Busch could avoid the DNFs, he should be able to bounce back. Dillon was entering 2024 hoping that last year was rock bottom. Well, neither turned out to be true. For the 2024 Season in Review for Richard Childress Racing, it is time to look at the disastrous year for the iconic organization.
#3 – Austin Dillon
2024 Stat Line:Â 36 Starts – 1 Win, 1 Top-5, 5 Top-10s, 13 Top-20s, Avg Fin: 22.56
Crew Chief: Keith Rodden (7 races)/ Justin Alexander (28 races)
Driver Points Ranking: 32; Owner Points Ranking: 33
Notable Results: Won summer Richmond race via cannonball mentality; NASCAR penalized Dillon/#3 team by voiding the playoff spot
Coming off a career worst season, there were some hopes that Austin Dillon could turn it around. While Dillon faces ire due to the number he drives, the grandson of Richard Childress has proven to be a worthy Cup driver. His 29th place points finish should have been an aberration. With Keith Rodden returning, 2023’s awful performance could be left in the rearview as Dillon builds chemistry with his crew chief. However, 2024 started out as poor as the previous season.
Through the first 7 races, Austin Dillon averaged a 25.71 finish with only 2 lead lap finishes. His best result was a 16th at Las Vegas. Richard Childress Racing could not hold off too far into the season. Change was necessary and pairing Dillon with his old crew chief seemed to be the wise choice. Out with Rodden, in with the returning Justin Alexander.
Despite the crew chief swap, Dillon’s performances only got marginally better at first. It was not until Gateway where Austin Dillon picked up his first non-superspeedway Top-10 of the season. Through the Brickyard 400, Dillon barely nudged his average finish below 25 while sitting outside the Top-30 in points.
Richmond Anarchy
When NASCAR returned from the Olympic break, one team stood out during Richmond’s summer weekend: the 3 team. From the unload, Austin Dillon was one of the fastest cars on track. He was quick in practice and put up his best non-superspeedway qualifying effort of the season. As the race progressed, it was clear that Austin Dillon could be the car to beat, especially on a long run. In fact, that started to become the reality of the race. Dillon managed to pass Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin, extending to a lengthy lead. A feel-good underdog win was on the way for the 3 team. Then Ricky Stenhouse Jr happened.
Bringing out a caution to set up overtime, Stenhouse spun while trying to pass Ryan Preece. After pit stops, Dillon restarted from the lead but got a horrible jump. Joey Logano managed to pass Dillon on the restart and led entering the final two turns. As everyone knows, Dillon then turned into a wrecking ball, first bumping Logano into next week then wiping out Hamlin. Austin Dillon won the race as the fans showered him with boos.
Clearly, the two moves to get Dillon to victory lane were bush-league. Bump one guy out of the way? Fine, but to then hook Hamlin into the wall was a line too far. NASCAR agreed, handing down a penalty during the week to unencumber Dillon’s win. He got to keep the trophy, but the playoff spot (and jump in points) were stripped.
2024 Grade: F
Normally, winning a race at least prevents a failing grade. Especially for an underachieving team, a win is a great way to save a season. However, Dillon’s win went hollow as it was stripped of playoff meaning and done in an ugly way. Outside the win, there is little to celebrate from Austin Dillon’s 2024 season.
2024 saw another downgrade in performance from last year. Dillon set a new career worst in average finish, had his fewest Top-10s since 2019, and finished outside the Top-30 in points for the first time in his career. The crew chief swap did little to boost the performance, outside a decent stretch from Richmond through Atlanta. To top it off, Austin Dillon was one of the Chevy cars to play defense for William Byron at Martinsville. Once again, some may think Dillon’s past two years are a true indication of how his talent. However, Dillon is more capable than what he has done over the past two seasons.
2025 Outlook
Can Austin Dillon ever truly be on the hot seat? Yes and no. In terms of his seat in the car, yes. With Austin Hill and Jesse Love waiting in the wings, Dillon will need to step up his performance to avoid one RCR’s Xfinity drivers (or a free agent) from taking his ride. Over the past two seasons, Dillon has been a blemish on RCR. While Kyle Busch’s 2024 season was not stellar, it shined compared to Dillon. Job security in terms of a job at RCR though? No; Dillon will “retire” from driving to head into the executive side of the organization.
Perhaps, a new voice in the ear of Austin Dillon will work out in 2025. Richard Boswell will come over from the 14 team to be Dillon’s crew chief. Although the pairing with Rodden did not work, Boswell managed to help Chase Briscoe to SHR’s final win and advanced to the Round of 12 in the playoffs. Could it be do or die time for Austin Dillon? Maybe, but the performance has to be better for justifying leaving Dillon in the 3 car.
#8 – Kyle Busch
2024 Stat Line:Â 36 Starts – 5 Top-5s, 10 Top-10s, 1 Pole, 230 Laps Led, Avg Fin: 18.31
Crew Chief: Randall Burnett
Driver Points Ranking: 20; Owner Points Ranking:Â 20
Notable Results: Numerous second place finishes throughout season; Broke season win-streak at 19 seasons after going winless
Although the ending of 2023 was not ideal, Kyle Busch’s first season with Richard Childress Racing would be considered a success. Busch won 3 times for the first time since 2019. Arguably, he was a Championship Four contender until the DNF-bug caught them before the playoffs. To say expectations were high for 2024 might be a stretch though, but there was no reason to think there would be a big step back for the 8 team.
From a solid rebound season to arguably the worst of Kyle Busch’s career, 2024 was not pretty. His 18.31 average finish was his worst since his rookie season. To boot, his 24 lead lap finishes were his fewest since 2015. In 2015, Busch only had 20 lead lap finishes because he missed 11 races due to an injury at Daytona.
Most importantly though, Kyle Busch’s 19-year season win streak came to an end. Despite numerous close calls, Busch was unable to nab at least one win to hit 20 seasons. As the season wore on, the important of that streak became vitally important to Busch. Moreso than making the playoffs, Busch wanted to get that win to continue the streak. Ultimately, he came short. Perhaps none more heartbreaking than Atlanta.
Silly Season Drama
The season went so poorly for Kyle Busch that his name started to float in silly season rumors. Prior to Justin Haley’s announcement to join Spire Motorsports, Busch was widely regarded as a potential fit for the team. Afterall, Busch did sell his Truck Series team to them as well as drove his 5 Truck races with them. The rumblings seemed justified after how poorly the season went. Especially after his fight with Ricky Stenhouse Jr at North Wilkesboro, where Kyle Busch said “I suck just as bad as you”.
Since Kyle Busch signed a 3-year deal, it turned out to be highly unlikely that he would leave RCR for a new team. Despite the bitter disappointment of the season, Busch was going to remain at RCR. Credit to Busch, his matured ways actually helped simmer the rumor mill. Never doing anything to entice the notion of him leaving, Busch held steady in his support of the 8 team. Granted, that still meant some interesting quotes here or there. Kyle Busch will still be Rowdy after all.
2024 Grade: F
No playoffs. Lost the season win streak. Finished tied for the lowest points position in his career. This is what a failing season looks like for Kyle Busch. Similar to Austin Dillon, the entire season was bad minus a small stretch from Richmond through Atlanta. During that stretch, Busch looked formidable, especially to pick up a win. In the 4 races after the Olympic break, Busch averaged a 3.75 finish with 2 second place finishes. Away from that stretch, Busch would pop off a solid run here or there. However, consistency was a recurring problem for the team.
2025 Outlook
Looking ahead to next season, it is a bit difficult to pinpoint what exactly to expect. Based on last season, it would be fair to think the 8 team could visit victory lane. There were a handful of races where it could have happened this year, especially on superspeedways. This team is only a season away from a multi-win year as well. Remember, the 8 team has been a winning one dating back to the year before Busch arrived. It would be troubling for RCR as a whole if they could not return to victory lane next year.
As for Kyle Busch, the question is whether he will remain with RCR after the 2025 season. The consistent issues throughout the past season and a half surely weigh heavy on the mind. If another capable team is willing to offer him a ride, would Busch be tempted to leave? Another question will be is if Busch is in a performance decline. Could the struggles in the 8 car be due to driver or team? The reality is both, but it will be interesting to see how it plays out next year.
#33 – Open Team
Drivers: Austin Hill, Ty Dillon, & Will Brown
2024 Stat Line:Â 6 Starts – 1 Top-20, 8.38% Laps in Top-15, Avg Fin: 29.50
Crew Chief: Keith Rodden
Three drivers spent time in the 33 car for RCR this season. Austin Hill led the trio in starts, with 4 across a variety of tracks. His best finish came at Daytona, which is not much of a surprise given his record on superspeedways. Meanwhile, Ty Dillon and Supercars driver Will Brown each got a start a piece in the 33. Brown made his start at Sonoma, finishing 31st after getting some damage. Meanwhile, Ty Dillon had the best finish of the trio, coming home in 19th in the Brickyard 400.
Overall, the 33 RCR entry raced poorly throughout all 6 starts. On track, the car features the speed expected out of the back markers in the Cup Series. Hopefully, this will change for 2025. RCR has already announced that the 33 will be making numerous starts throughout next season. Will Brown also said he was hoping to make 1-2 starts himself, which many would assume to be with RCR. Austin Hill also will likely feature heavily in the 33’s starts.
Richard Childress Racing 2024 Grade: F
When both of your drivers put out career worst seasons, then a failing grade is applicable. 2024 could not have gone much worse for the entire organization, both on and off the track. On-track, the performances were poor outside a handful of races. However, the bright spot of the season got shrouded in controversy based on Dillon’s actions. Meanwhile, an early season crew chief change foreshadowed a series of personnel moves that RCR would make. Andy Petree retired midseason, Keith Rodden moved around from role to role, and recently the organization announced a shuffling of roles for their Xfinity crew chief lineup.
There will be few teams more eager to see the calendar flip to 2025 than RCR. With low expectations, RCR will be the team to watch for the silly season drama. There will be pressing questions throughout the season, including the 2026 status for every driver under their employment. On the bright side, 2025 could easily get off to a great start for the team with a Daytona 500 win. Austin Dillon and Kyle Busch have been strong at Daytona, so a win there is entirely plausible.
For other 2024 Season in Review articles, click the link(s) below:
Robert Cwick: Team Penske, JTG-Daugherty, Front Row Motorsports
Griffin Fuller: 23XI Racing, Hendrick Motorsports, RFK Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing, Wood Brothers Racing
Daniel Smith (statistical reviews): Team Penske/Wood Brothers, Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, Trackhouse Racing/Richard Childress Racing, RFK Racing/Front Row Motorsports
