Richard Childress hasn’t raced competitively in decades, but the NASCAR Hall of Famer is climbing back behind the wheel this weekend.
At 80 years old, the longtime Richard Childress Racing owner is set to compete in Friday night’s sold-out New England 900 at Stafford Motor Speedway in Connecticut, an event hosted by YouTube star Garrett “Cleetus” Mitchell, better known as Cletus McFarland.
The appearance marks a rare return to competition for one of NASCAR’s most recognizable owners, and it has already generated buzz across the racing world.
Richard Childress returns to competition at age 80
Childress will race a Crown Victoria in the New England 900, a 90-lap exhibition that has quickly become one of grassroots racing’s biggest annual attractions.
Jeff Gluck of The Athletic first shared the news Thursday evening, noting that Childress had picked up a new firesuit and was preparing for Friday night’s event.
The race sold out well in advance and features a diverse lineup of drivers from across motorsports and online racing culture.
Although Childress stepped away from full-time driving decades ago to focus on building Richard Childress Racing into one of NASCAR’s premier organizations, his competitive spirit has never disappeared. The team owner has remained a constant presence in the NASCAR garage while overseeing championship-winning programs and helping develop generations of drivers.
Now, he’ll once again strap into a race car himself.
Ryan Preece couldn’t resist referencing Childress’ famous Kyle Busch moment
The announcement also led to one of the weekend’s funniest media exchanges.
RFK Racing driver Ryan Preece, who won last year’s New England 900, was asked by Jeff Gluck about competing against Childress.
Preece immediately referenced one of NASCAR’s most memorable post-race confrontations.
“Hell, yeah,” Preece said. “Yeah, so I already told him to hold my watch.”
The comment was a nod to the infamous 2011 incident when Childress removed his watch before confronting Kyle Busch following a Truck Series race at Kansas Speedway.
When Gluck jokingly asked whether he was planning to rough up Childress, Preece quickly made it clear that wasn’t the case.
“Rough him up? Yeah, I don’t want to rough him up.”
After Gluck joked that Childress might be the one roughing him up, Preece laughed and explained why he was excited to share the track with the NASCAR legend.
“Well, he can hold my watch then,” Preece joked. “But no, I mean he’s coming to my place. Actually, when I was talking to him a few weeks ago, because I was pretty pumped, I saw that he was gonna run it. I’m happy. He’s gonna enjoy that experience, but he told me he had actually gone there and raced there way back in the day. And so, that was interesting to find out.”
Childress joins a star-studded field that includes Preece, Jesse Love, Ty Dillon, Bobby Earnhardt, Downforce Danny, Squirrel McNutt, Cletus McFarland and several other racers.
The sold-out New England 900 is scheduled for Friday night at Stafford Motor Speedway, with qualifying beginning after the live stream starts at 6 p.m. ET.
80-Year-Old Richard Childress Is Getting Back Behind the Wheel for the New England 900