"I'm responsible for my actions" - When Richard Childress defended his stance against Kyle Busch following a $150,000 NASCAR penalty
In 2011, Richard Childress and Kyle Busch were involved in a physical altercation after the Truck Series race at Kansas Speedway. The NASCAR Hall of Famer Childress took full responsibility for the scuffle after being fined a hefty amount and claimed his emotions got the better of his passion.
During the 2011 O'Reilly Auto Parts 250 race, Busch bumped the then-RCR driver Joey Coulter on a cooldown lap for battling too hard in the truck race. As a result, the RCR owner Childress got in a brawl with the Kyle Busch Motorsports owner and punched the latter after putting him in a headlock. Soon after, NASCAR put the 79-year-old on probation for the rest of the season and fined him $150,000.
A couple of days after the garage incident and the fine, Childress, the owner of one of the most decorated NASCAR organizations in 2011 accepted the penalty but didn't outrightly apologize for his actions. Childress in a statement said (via jacksonville.com):
"First of all, I'm responsible for my actions, plain and simple. As you know, I am a very principled person and have a passion for what we do at Richard Childress Racing. I believe passionately in defending my race teams and my sponsor partners. In this instance, I let that passion and my emotions get the best of me."
The probation mandated by NASCAR allowed him limited movement in and around a race track, however, he must not come in the vicinity of the Cup Series driver Busch. Childress in his statement continued:
"I accept the penalty NASCAR announced today and, as a company, we will now focus on this week's races at Pocono Raceway and Texas Motor Speedway."
It was also reported that before getting into the fight with the two-time Cup Series champion Busch, Childress handed his watch to his grandson, Austin Dillon, and uttered the famous phrase - "hold my watch".
However, after 11 years, life came full circle when Childress said those same words after signing the 39-year-old Busch in 2022.
Check out the video of the RCR owner gifting a watch to Kyle Busch below:
"That's history": Richard Childress on his infamous brawl with Kyle Busch
NASCAR veteran Kyle Busch joined the historic Richard Childress Racing in 2023 after driving 15 years for Joe Gibbs Racing. Moreover, the Las Vegas native Busch secured three triumphs in his first 15 races with the Welcome, North Carolina-based organization.
After Busch's third win at the 2023 Enjoy Illinois 300 race, Childress addressed the infamous scuffle with Buschin in 2011, saying:
"Yeah, we put that totally behind us. We talked about it. That was one of the first things we talked about. That’s history. We’ve both grown a lot. I know I’ve grown up. I’ve grown older, but I’ve grown up, too. There’s an old song out there, ‘I’m still growing up but I’m getting older."[0:11]
However, since the #8 team's last victory at World Wide Technology Raceway last year, things have been a rollercoaster ride for Busch.
With only three races left this 2024 season, the Chevy driver hasn't been able to increase his 63 Cup wins tally and is on the verge of losing his streak of not securing a win for the first time since his full-time debut in any season.