Controversial Actions and Statements:
Richard Childress
Richard Childress (Board Member)
Richard Childress, born in 1945 in North Carolina, ran moonshine to illegal bars as a young man. Deciding to pursue other endeavors after seeing βa guy getting blown apartβ by a shotgun during one of his deliveries, Childress began a career in stock car racing. First entering NASCAR in 1969 as a replacement during a strike, Childress went on to have a successful career as a driver. Shortly before his retirement as a driver in 1983, Childress began adding cars to his one-man independent driving team to form Richard Childress Racing, which is now one of the most successful NASCAR racing teams.
Richard Childress (Board Member)
In June 2011, Childress confronted Kyle Busch, a NASCAR driver for a rival racing team, by placing him in a headlock and punching him several times. NASCAR fined Childress $150,000 and put him on probation through the end of the year. Childress accepted the fine without apologizing to Busch.
Richard Childress (Board Member)
During multiple hunting trips in Africa, Childress completed the βThe Dangerous Seven,β shooting a lion, leopard, cape buffalo, rhinoceros, elephant, crocodile and hippopotamus as trophies. Childress has also participated in polar bear hunting.