Richard Childress Racing has competed in NASCAR since 1969 when Richard Childress himself started out as the driver/owner. The organization has won six Cup Series Championships and six in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. The most recent was last season when Jesse Love drove their No. 2 Chevrolet to the crowning achievement.
However, the wins on the NCS side have been lacking with only 13 victories in the past 10 seasons and no championships since Dale Earnhardt’s seventh and final one in 1994.
It was time make some changes in RCR’s Competition Department, and the team announced those on Wednesday, January 14.
Dillon to COO
Mike Dillon, Childress’ son-in-law and former driver, has been named to the position of Chief Operation Officer for RCR. His focus will be centered on the competition administrative side of the team. The goal is to have him provide forward thinking and a guiding direction in all areas of performance and operation.
An additional duty will be to recruit and retain top talent from the racing industry. Dillon has been with the team for decades as an integral part of the organization on both the racing and business sides.
Prior roles with RCR have been vice president of competition and director of team operations. Dillon was also a key component when the team launched its O’Reilly Auto Parts program in the late 1990’s.
Two Named to New Competition Department Positions
John Klausmeier is now the Competition Director for RCR and will be in charge of all technical engineering for the high-performance motorsports team with a focus on the vehicle systems engineering, design and metrology.
He has experience as a winning NCS crew chief. Klausmeier will remain involved with RCR’s engineers and crew chiefs with all competition departments reporting to him.
RCR will have a new Performance Director with long-time employee Andy Street focusing on research and development to improve the team’s on-track performance. He will also continue his crew chief duties for the No. 33 Chevrolet that races part time in the NCS.
Street’s prior experience includes engineering manager, team engineer and design engineer for RCR, where he has been for more than two decades.
Cup Crew Chiefs
As previously announced, Richard Boswell will remain as crew chief of the No. 3 Chevrolet and Austin Dillon. The 2025 season was their first together and produced a victory at Richmond International Raceway to secure a place in the now former Playoffs.
Jim Pohlman is new to the pit box for RCR as he will guide the No. 8 Chevrolet team driven by two-time NCS Champion Kyle Busch. Pohlman comes to the team from JR Motorsports where he guided driver Justin Allgaier to the 2024 O’Reilly Series Championship.
Notable, Busch has been winless the past two seasons after taking RCR to Victory Lane three times in 2023.
RC About the Changes
âRCR has assembled a talented team of professionals to help lead our race team into the future,â said Richard Childress, Chairman and CEO of Richard Childress Racing. âMike Dillon has already began assembling top talent for RCR and has a track record of success when working with the competition side of our race team.
“Similarly, John Klausmeier continues to elevate our competition program. Andy Street stepped up for us this year and will be a great asset for RCR as we focus on increasing performance across the company.
“I have full confidence in our crew chiefs this year. I know that both Richard Boswell and Jim Pohlman will do a good job leading our Cup teams.â
RCR’s quest for success begins at Daytona International Speedway in February.
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