With the 2019 season serving as the 50th anniversary of Richard Childress Racing, we plan to dip into the archives to present the stories of iconic moments, race wins, championships and much more as part of our weekly Throwback Thursday series.
This weekend’s race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval is only the second edition of this unique course and track, so with so little history on this course our Throwback Thursday feature will take a slightly different approach.
While the Roval is still relatively new, Jack Daniel’s is returning to Richard Childress Racing as a partner on Austin Dillon’s No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for this weekend’s race. The iconic brand rejoins the organization after serving as the primary partner on the No. 07 Chevrolet from 2005 until 2009.
Richard Childress and @austindillon3 sit down to discuss why the partnership between RCR and @JackDaniels_US is so special.#RCR50 | #ROVAL pic.twitter.com/anT8JYufv3
— RCR (@RCRracing) September 23, 2019
Jack Daniel’s and RCR first came together in 2005 with Dave Blaney behind the wheel of the No. 07 Chevrolet, earning two top-10 finishes.
When Clint Bowyer joined the organization in 2006, he took over the reins of the No. 07 Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet and the match was almost as smooth as the Lynchburg, Tennessee whiskey.
WATCH: RCR 50 The Inside Story – Clint Bowyer
In his first year behind the wheel of the No. 07 Chevrolet, Bowyer earned four top-five and 11 top-10 finishes.
The next season kicked off with a dramatic last-lap crash in the Daytona 500, where Bowyer’s No. 07 Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet rolled on its roof and caught on fire on the final lap as teammate Kevin Harvick narrowly scored the win over Mark Martin.
That same season, 2007, Bowyer earned his first-career NASCAR Cup Series victory at New Hampshire Motor Speedway with Jack Daniel’s on his No. 07 Chevrolet. That event, which kicked off the 2007 Chase for the NASCAR Cup, Bowyer started on the pole and dominated the race, leading six times for 222 of the 300 laps.
In 2008, Bowyer earned five top-five and eight top-10 finishes with Jack Daniel’s colors on his Chevrolet.
When Bowyer moved to the No. 33 RCR Chevrolet for the 2009 season, Casey Mears joined the organization as the driver of the No. 07 Jack Daniel’s Chevrolet. Mears would go on to earn four top-10 finishes that season with Jack on the car.
Now, 10 years later, Jack Daniel’s is back on the side of an RCR Chevrolet, as Austin Dillon hopes to take it to Victory Lane this weekend at the Roval.
It is only fitting that the two iconic brands come back together during RCR’s 50th anniversary celebration.
