CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Richard Childress Racing has long been one of the marquee teams in the NASCAR Cup Series.
RCR has accounted for six championships at NASCAR’s highest level, all of them fashioned by driver Dale Earnhardt Sr.
The organization, however, hasn’t reached the pinnacle of the sport since Earnhardt won his final title in 1994. Kyle Busch would like nothing better than to end the drought in his first year with NASCAR Hall of Fame team owner Richard Childress.
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“It would be phenomenal – it would be awesome,” Busch said during the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Media Day at the Charlotte Convention Center. “That’s what we all strive for. I don’t care what team I’m at, I’m going to go try to win a championship, right?
“But to have the history and the legacy of RCR and everything that they’ve done over the years – with Earnhardt and with the other drivers that have been there … yeah, it’s been a little quiet lately, but that would be nice to shake that up.
“I feel like when you’re in the (Championship 4), that is a championship season. You’ve just got to go out and execute in that last race, and there are so many things that can go against you in that last race to not let you win a championship, but that’s a title season.”
A two-time Cup champion, Busch has won three times in his first year with Childress, but that’s below the benchmark he sets for himself.
“(Five) is always my number,” Busch said. “Anytime you look at a championship season of a driver, they’ve got around five wins. That’s been a good year. You can always bank yourself as being a championship guy if you’ve got five wins …
“So, let’s win two of these final 10, and then we’ll really have something to talk about.”
The opening postseason race will take place this Sunday in the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway (6 p.m. ET, USA, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App).