Richard Childress in a Position to Rack-Up First Championship in 6 Years

Richard Childress can dare to hope. The 79-year-old team owner last tasted success in the Xfinity Series in 2019, when Tyler Reddick won the championship in NASCAR’s second tier. It has been a rough ride since then, as the team has had to make way for the likes of Joe Gibbs Racing, JR Motorsports, and Stewart-Haas Racing to dominate the sport. However, all signs are pointing towards a blockbuster season ahead for the team based out of Welcome, North Carolina, who have a solid driver lineup for the year ahead.

Could this finally be the year Richard Childress Racing breaks its winless streak? With only one race having gone by, it might be too early to tell. However, the team looks in better shape than ever before and stands a realistic chance of competing for the silverware this year.

Could Richard Childress Racing dominate Xfinity Cup 2025?

Jesse Love has gotten off to a flying start. The Richard Childress Racing driver began his 2025 campaign with the best possible result, a win at the United Rentals 300 to automatically qualify for the playoffs. The 20-year-old is in his sophomore year in the NASCAR Xfinity Series but seems to be driving with maturity beyond his age against much more experienced competitors. After the triumph at the ‘World Center of Racing’, the 20-year-old secured his third straight pole at Atlanta Motor Speedway, continuing his dominance on superspeedways.

Despite completing just one full season in NASCAR’s second tier, Jesse Love already has six pole finishes in his short but impressive career. Driving at a speed of 174.724 mph, the youngster recorded the fastest lap which was clocked at 31.730 seconds. Joining him in the front row is teammate Austin Hill, who has won at Atlanta Motor Speedway four times before. Going by the numbers, it’s fair to say that Richard Childress Racing will be an overwhelming favorite going into the Bennett Transportation & Logistics 250.

In many ways, it feels like Jesse Love and Austin Hill are peaking at the right time. While the No. 21 Chevy driver didn’t have the best result at Daytona International Speedway, he did win the season-opener last year. With four wins in 2024, Hill ended the season fourth in the drivers standing, which was his best Xfinity Series campaign to date. However, a new year marks a new beginning for the 30-year-old, who will aim to build on his performance from last year to clinch the silverware at Phoenix Raceway.

Richard Childress hasn’t found himself in such a dominant position since the days of Tyler Reddick in 2019. With Kyle Busch and Austin Dillon underperforming in the Cup Series, a deep playoff run and a championship trophy might convince the team owner to promote Austin Hill to NASCAR’s premier series in 2026. Even though RCR has gone through some difficult times in recent years, 2025 is shaping up to be a year that could give them that much-needed boost which may alter their Cup Series fate as well.

Austin Hill shares his thoughts ahead of the race in Atlanta

Richard Childress Racing has quite a history at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The team has recorded seven wins at the 1.5-mile oval in NASCAR’s second tier, with Austin Hill winning three of them consecutively in 2022, 2023, and 2024. Jeff Burton has two triumphs to his name as well in 2006 and 2007 while Kevin Harvick secured a win in 2013. Given the team’s history, the expectations are at an all-time high going into the second race of the Xfinity Series season, and results in qualifying are showing plenty of promise.

Sharing his expectations ahead of the race at the 1.5-mile oval, Austin Hill said, “Every time we come to Atlanta, it’s special not only for me, but for everyone at Bennett. We’ve been very fortunate the last few years to get our Bennett Chevrolet to Victory Lane and we are going to do our best once again this weekend. There is a lot of pressure to perform well for them, but I expect us to run up front, lead laps and be in contention at the end of the race.”

Hill and Atlanta Motor Speedway seem like a match made in heaven. Despite making just six starts on the track, the racer has already accumulated four wins and a second-place finish while behind the wheel of the No. 21 Chevy. The Georgia native has led at least one lap in each of his six appearances at the ‘Real Racing, Real Fast’, dominating a total of 218 laps at the venue. Expectations are at an all-time high from the Richard Childress Racing star going into the second race of the season, and it will be interesting to see if he manages to live up to the hype.