Amidst his first public comments at the track since the death of Kyle Busch, Richard Childress offered some insight on Saturday (June 6) at Michigan International Speedway into what the rest of the season would look like with the renumbered No. 33 car.
In his news conference, Childress mentioned that “right now we’re looking at the rest of the season,” to have Austin Hill behind the wheel, who has already run Charlotte Motor Speedway, Nashville Superspeedway and Michigan International Speedway in the time since then.
RCR has some options with how to proceed forward, but did it choose the best one? Tanner Marlar and Thomas Dunn break that down on this week’s 2-Headed Monster.
Building Can Come Later for RCR and Its 2027 Plans
In 2001, Richard Childress had to make a decision no owner ever wishes to make.
Now, a quarter century later, Childress was tasked with finding a replacement for arguably the sport’s most beloved figure all over again. In 2001, that was Kevin Harvick. Now, it’s Austin Hill.
Both times the numbers were changed. Both times, Childress gave the keys to a driver who had a lot to prove. While Hill’s teammate and NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series champion Jesse Love is undoubtedly talented in his own right, Hill was and still is the right person to fill the role.
Once the news about Kyle Busch’s tragic death broke, this season went from one in which Childress was hoping to build his NASCAR Cup Series garage back up to its status just a few years ago to one that is now more about honoring the wishes of the late two-time Cup champion, getting to the end of the season, and regrouping from there.
Hill gets them to the end of the season without much fuss, without tearing up too many race cars, and on the Cup level at least, without much drama. For instance, at Michigan, he brought the car home in one piece and finished 20th.
That’s not the type of result that’s going to wow fans, but it will keep sponsors
happy and keep everyone building onto the next week.
In fact, Hill bested his teammate’s finish by 16 places after Austin Dillon crashed
but also found some speed for himself. The past few weeks in the RCR camp have been nothing short of tragic, and although he isn’t the flashiest option to fill the Cup ride for the rest of the year, Hill is the steadiest hand in the RCR garage that wasn’t already at the Cup level.
The detractors of making Hill the replacement for the remainder of the year will
say that Love is the better prospect, and they might be correct in the long term.
They’ll also say that Hill has shown himself to be hot-headed in the NOAPS garage and that he isn’t ready for this kind of pressure.
To those concerns, though, there are answers. For instance, Hill has made 20 Cup
starts now, including the previous three races, while Love has only made seven.
Even before the previous three outings, Hill had double the experience of Love in
the Cup car, and they weren’t just on ovals. In fact, Hill’s best finish of ninth in the Cup Series came at the Chicago Street Course.
Finally, during the last two weeks, Hill has been nothing short of a consummate
professional in both interviews and on the track. He hasn’t been the same brash
driver that we’ve seen in the NOAPS series, and in this very specific circumstance, that is a-OK, because Hill knows he’s not driving his own car, at least not to the outside world.
He’s driving Busch’s, and he’s treated it as such. That alone should earn him the
rest of the year, and it appears as though the top brass at RCR agrees. Ultimately,
that team would like nothing more than to win in that car for Busch, and if Hill
does manage to wheel it into victory lane one weekend, there won’t be a dry eye
at the track.
While Jesse Love is the future for RCR, he will have ample opportunities come his way, especially in the closing months of this season. However, Hill is just as big a part of that future as anyone else and has an impressive resume of his own. RCR made the right decision here, and Hill might be the guy who can steer the No. 33 to victory lane before this year is over. – Tanner Marlar
It’s Important to See What You Have
In acknowledging the reality that this decision pales in comparison to the tragedy that Richard Childress Racing is working through, there’s still the ever old phrase that people in the NASCAR industry mention in that ‘the show goes on.’ It happened when injuries and death occurred in the past and is still as stark today amidst all the beautiful tributes to KFB.
Within this business, you have to put yourself in the best possible position not only in the present but the future. While Hill may prove to be the correct decision down the line, the process of getting there leaves more questions than answers.
First, Hill has over seven years of O’Reilly Series experience, with a best points finish of fourth in the old playoff format. At age 32, he’s a known quantity when it comes to seeing a long-term upside as a consistent figure in the Cup Series prior to this whole situation.
On other side, Jesse Love is already an O’Reilly Series champion at 21 years old and has earned further looks as to what his potential can be. Is it automatic that he will turn out to be the best fit? Not necessarily, but it’s important to weigh the options and project your future. The Bay Area native has grown to be very mature for his age and is becoming one of the leaders in the O’Reilly garage, and he would be a presence that can serve RCR well off the track in promotional and sponsorship material as well.
Stability is definitely a necessary characteristic to have right now, but you also need to attack this from all angles if you are RCR. Sheldon Creed, Sam Mayer and Parker Retzlaff have all impressed in Chevrolet’s at certain points over the last few years and can possibly earn a look at the No. 33. Test cars aren’t really a thing in NASCAR currently, so this “open” gap in the driver schedule can be a time to get further looks.
If RCR was to consider road course ringers in the vein of Project 91 and Trackhouse Racing for Naval Base Coronado and Sonoma Raceway, that’s also something that could be on the table if it was to use that deck of cards.
There aren’t many, if any, ways to replicate the Rowdy-ness that will come from the No. 33 car this year, but splitting the schedule into halves or thirds leaves RCR with a notebook in how to proceed into the future should it decide to promote from its own pipeline. – Thomas Dunn
Tanner Marlar is a staff writer for Sports Illustrated’s OnSI Network, a contributor for multiple automotive news outlets, an award-winning sports columnist and talk show host, and a PhD. student at a premier college of media and mass communication. Tanner began working with Frontstretch in 2022, covering the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series.
Thomas is in his second year covering NASCAR at Frontstretch. A Bay Area NASCAR fan for over 15+ years, he found his love for the sport through Jeff Gordon. He helps manage the 2-Headed Monster Column.
Thomas has enjoyed several trips to Sonoma Raceway in his time and currently covers college athletics in the Bay Area, writing about the California Golden Bears and doing play by play broadcasting.
Hill is not the best to replace KB needs to be a sure winner RCR can do better
How many “sure winners” are there available, and that would want to come to RCR?