Keith Rodden Named Vice President of Competition; John Klausmeier Joins RCR as Technical Director and Richard Boswell Named Crew Chief of the No. 3 Chevrolet
WELCOME, NC (November 20, 2024) – Richard Childress Racing announced this week several key competition leadership appointments ahead of the 2025 NASCAR season.
Keith Rodden has been promoted from interim competition director to vice president of competition for Richard Childress Racing, where he will play a larger role in competition administration functions for the 55-year-old race team. In his new role, Rodden will provide forward thinking and direction in all areas of performance and budgeting and lead strategic performance-based partnerships, including technology collaborations with Chevrolet, Dow and Lenovo.
“I’m honored that Richard Childress, Torrey Galida, Mike Verlander and everyone at RCR have put their faith in me to take on a larger role on the competition side of operations as vice president,” said Keith Rodden, vice president of competition for RCR. “I’m excited for the future of this company and the promising new hires we have joining the great group we already have in Welcome. RCR has all of the resources in place to excel in 2025 and beyond, including a robust group of partners who we have already been meeting with to help contribute to our success.”
John Klausmeier has joined RCR as technical director, overseeing all technical engineering activities for the high-performance motorsports team and focusing his energies on vehicle systems engineering, design and metrology. The Baltimore, Maryland, native will provide departmental oversight for RCR’s talented team of engineers and crew chiefs. Klausmeier comes to RCR with more than 20 years of motorsports experience, including experience in the technical director role at Stewart-Haas Racing and six years as a race-winning crew chief in both the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
“I’m thrilled to join Richard Childress Racing as technical director,” said Klausmeier. “With such a rich history in the sport, I’m excited to contribute to their groundwork for success. I look forward to working with the team to pursue performance and refine processes, all with the goal of consistently contending for wins and championships. Growing up as a Dale Earnhardt and Richard Childress Racing fan, it’s special to join the organization I pulled for in my younger years.”
In his new role, all competition departments will report to Klausmeier, while Klausmeier will report to Rodden.
Richard Boswell has been named crew chief of the No. 3 Chevrolet in the NASCAR Cup Series and will be paired with driver Austin Dillon. Having grown up in a racing family, Boswell brings more than 15 years of professional motorsports experience as a crew chief, engineer and driver. He most recently completed his first full season as a Cup Series crew chief, having posted one win and qualified for the NASCAR Playoffs with Stweart-Haas Racing and Chase Briscoe.
“I have tremendous respect for Richard Childress, Austin Dillon and all of the hardworking people at Richard Childress Racing and I am honored to have the opportunity to help contribute to the on-track success of the legendary No. 3 Chevrolet,” said Boswell. “My dad used to race with Dale Earnhardt so he was always a huge fan and the No. 3 was the car we all grew up cheering for in my household so this truly feels like a full-circle moment.”
Randall Burnett will continue to work with Kyle Busch as crew chief of the No. 8 Chevrolet in the Cup Series.
“Keith Rodden has stepped up in the interim competition director role this past season and has shown an eagerness to help improve and fine-tune all aspects of RCR,” said Richard Childress, Chairman and CEO of Richard Childress Racing. “That enthusiasm and loyalty earned him the title of vice president of competition. I know he will do a great job serving our competition executives. John Klausmeier and Richard Boswell have both been great winners in the garage and I know their experience and skills will contribute to RCR’s overall success. I feel confident that all of our crew chiefs will do a great job leading their respective teams and we will give our partners, employees and fans plenty to be excited about in 2025. I’d like to acknowledge and thank Justin Alexander for his contribution to RCR. He and Austin Dillon won five Cup races together and we wish him the best.”
For more information, please visit rcrracing.com.
Richard Childress Racing (www.rcrracing.com) is a renowned, performance-driven racing, marketing and manufacturing organization. Incorporated in 1969, RCR has celebrated over 50 years of racing and earned more than 200 victories and 16 championships, including six in the NASCAR Cup Series with the legendary Dale Earnhardt. RCR was the first organization to win championships in the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Truck Series and is a three-time winner of the Daytona 500 (1998, 2007, 2018). Its 2025 NASCAR Cup Series lineup includes two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch (No. 8 Chevrolet) and 2017 Coca-Cola 600 winner and 2018 Daytona 500 champion Austin Dillon (No. 3 Chevrolet). RCR fields a full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series program with Jesse Love (No. 2 Chevrolet) and Austin Hill (No. 21 Chevrolet).
