Richard Childress serves as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Richard Childress Racing, a renowned, performance-driven racing, marketing and manufacturing organization. Childress has grown RCR from a one-man team in 1969 into one of the most-respected organizations in NASCAR. The Welcome, N.C., team has nearly 400 employees supporting full-time operations in the NASCAR Cup and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series plus other special projects outside motorsports.

Childress, his career, and his many notable contributions to the sport of NASCAR have been recognized throughout the stock car racing community. He was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2017. As a car owner, Childress has earned more than 200 victories in NASCAR’s top-three national series, 17 championships, three Daytona 500 championships and three Brickyard 400 championships. Notably, six of Childress’ championships were earned with his best friend, Dale Earnhardt, over a dominating eight-year span (1896, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993 and 1994).

In addition to being a member of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, Childress has been honored with the Cameron R. Argetsinger Award for outstanding contributions to motorsports by the International Motor Racing Research Center in Watkins Glen, New York (2023), the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (2016), North Carolina Auto Racing Hall of Fame (2016), the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame (2012), International Motorsports Hall of Fame (2011), NASCAR’s Buddy Shuman Award (2011), the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame (2008), and the NASCAR Humanitarian of the Year award (2008). He is a three-time winner of the Sporting News Owner of the Year (2001, 2006 and 2010).

Away from the track, Childress is a businessman, philanthropist and conservationist – he loves wine, the outdoors and investing in America’s youth. Childress’ properties include the award-winning Childress Vineyards, which has been voted one of the top 25 tasting rooms in America by Wine Enthusiast Magazine, one of the top 100 scenic restaurants in America by OpenTable and has been acknowledged as the premier vintner in the state of North Carolina with four Governor’s Cup Awards. Childress is a long-time Cattle rancher and owns Yadkin River Angus Farm in North Carolina. He holds a seat on the board of directors of Growth Energy and holds an honorary doctorate degree from the University of Northwestern Ohio. He co-owns the Carolina Cowboys, the reigning world champions in the PBR Teams league, alongside prominent business leaders and agriculturalists Jeff and Tammie Broin.

Childress enjoys spending his free time outdoors and has been an avid hunter and fisherman since he was a child. Having traveled to many parts of the world, he became an activist for the conservation of our natural resources. He proudly supports the Congressional Sportsman Foundation and served two terms on the organization’s board. Childress also supports the Boone & Crocket Club as well as non-government organizations like Ducks Unlimited, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and the National Wild Turkey Federation, serving on the board of the latter. He is the former second vice president of the National Rifle Association. Childress’ efforts as a conservationist were recognized with the Congressional Sportsmen Foundation’s Dingell-Young Sportsmen’s Legacy Award for a Lifetime of Conservation Leadership in 2025, as well as an induction into the North Carolina Outdoors Hall of Fame in 2024. He was honored by the Dallas

Safari Club in 2023 when he was named recipient of the Peter Hathaway Capstick Hunting Heritage Award for the promotion of responsible hunting and wildlife conservation. In 2021, Childress became the recipient of the National Wild Turkey Federation’s Lynn Boykin Hunting Heritage Award for his example, effort and support in preserving our rich hunting heritage.

Together with his wife, Judy, Childress formed the Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma in 2008 with a mission to help discover and share the best way to prevent and treat severe injuries to children. In conjunction with Wake-Forest Baptist Medical Center, the Childress Institute helps raise awareness of the No. 1 killer of children in the United States. Childress frequently volunteers with the Roc Solid Foundation to build hope for kids fighting cancer. He raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to benefit communities across America during the COVID-19 pandemic, arming national and local first responders and frontline workers with personal protection equipment and working directly with Feeding America, Samaritan’s Purse and countless local charities to provide immediate COVID-19 relief and assistance to families and individuals struggling to put food on the table during the pandemic.

Childress remains a strong supporter of U.S. Military veterans and has visited troops here at home and overseas. He hosts local area veterans at his race shop in Welcome, N.C. for a Coffee with Veterans event, and regularly opens his race shop for team building activities for active-duty service members. Childress has run patriotic paint schemes in both the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. He is a 2020 recipient of the Helping a Hero Lee Greenwood Patriot Award for being a leader who has demonstrated outstanding patriotism and support for our military and veterans.

Childress’ family shares his love for motorsports. His grandsons, Austin and Ty Dillon, began racing under the RCR banner in the early 2000s and are both currently successful drivers in NASCAR. Childress’ son-in-law, Mike Dillon, was a former Xfinity Series driver in the mid-1990s and now serves as RCR’s Executive Vice President.

Childress resides in Welcome, NC, and is married to Judy Childress. The couple have one daughter, Tina Dillon, two grandsons, and five great grandchildren.