Richard Childress Doesn’t Hold Back When Blaming Driver for Violent Austin Dillon Crash

Richard Childress has watched his two-car Cup team go through plenty of ups and downs in 2024. The highlight in the first 34 races has been Austin Dillon winning at Richmond, although the victorious moment comes with a big asterisk after the last-lap contact he initiated with Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin and NASCAR's subsequent ruling for those actions.

Kyle Busch has had several near-misses, including a pair of back-to-back runner-up finishes at Daytona and Darlington, but hasn't reached Victory Lane. His record streak of winning one race a year for 20 consecutive seasons is in serious peril.

On Sunday at the two-time Cup champion's home track, he finished 13th. Dillon finished 37th, or dead last.

The No. 3 brought out the race's first caution with 18 laps to go in the first stage. It started when No. 31 drove into the rear of the RCR car, the contact redirecting the Chevrolet hard to the right and up the track for a violent hit into the outside wall. Unsurprisingly, Dillon's team radio had an opinion on what happened, including the team owner.

"F****** Hemric just turned him," Childress said moments after the accident.

"Where are you sitting, RC?" spotter Brandon Benesch asked. "It looked to me like he just drove straight through the back of us. Is that what you saw, too?"

"He did. Right into the back," the 79-year-old confirmed.

After a few minutes of silence, chatter returned to the radio when the owner asked if Hemric's team had anything to say about the incident.

"What did he say?" Childress questioned.

"He said he's sorry," the spotter replied. "He thought we were gonna go second lane and just didn't lift.

"F****** idiot," the NASCAR Hall of Famer finished.

And the rollercoaster ride of a season continues.

Related: Kyle Busch Doesn't Answer Reporter's Question Because It Would Be Inappropriate