Richard Childress Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series at Darlington Raceway… In 154 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Darlington Raceway, Richard Childress Racing has earned eight wins, all by Dale Earnhardt. The driver of the No. 3 Chevrolet claimed the checkered flag in 1986 (spring), both races in 1987, 1989 (fall), another sweep in 1990 plus spring events in 1993 and 1994. Additionally, the team has earned two poles, 27 top-five and 51 top-10 finishes, has completed 92.2% of the laps contested (48,441 of 52,565 laps) and led 2,618 laps at the historic facility. Childress, a former driver in NASCAR’s premier division, contributed a pair of those top-10s himself between 1977-1978.
A Place of Firsts… On April 15, 1973, NASCAR Hall of Famer Childress scored his first Cup Series top-five finish at Darlington Raceway. Driving the No. 96 Chevrolet for Tom Garn, Childress worked his way to the fourth position when the checkered flag waved, earning him a payday of $4,035 – nearly as much money as he had earned through the first four races of the season.
Richard Childress Racing in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series at Darlington Raceway… RCR’s best finish at Darlington Raceway in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series is second, achieved on five separate occasions by four different drivers, most recently by Austin Hill in 2024 (spring). While the team is still looking to find Victory Lane for the first time, the Welcome, N.C.-based organization has earned 14 top-five finishes and 34 top-10 finishes in their pursuit of the checkered flag.
Honoring and Remembering… This year will mark the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks when thousands of Americans tragically lost their lives, including hundreds of first responders. On Wednesday, September 9 at 9 a.m. ET, in conjunction with Veterans Bridge Home, RCR will host a special edition of their monthly Veterans Coffee to honor and recognize our nation’s courageous first responders. The monthly gathering invites veterans from the community to RCR’s campus on a monthly basis for fellowship, coffee, and programing that includes guest speakers and access to organizations and resources that can help veterans and their families. Veterans Coffee events are free to attend and open to all veterans, with a special invite extended for this month’s gathering to first responders. Media are invited to join RCR for our next Veterans Coffee at the RCR Events Center in Welcome, North Carolina.
Catch Saturday’s Action… The O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Darlington Raceway will be televised live on Saturday, September 5 at 7:30 p.m. ET on The CW and streamed live on the ESPN App for viewers with an ESPN Unlimited subscription plan. The live radio broadcast can be heard on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. Saturday afternoon’s practice and qualifying sessions will be shown for free on The CW App beginning at 2 p.m. ET.
Watch Us on USA Network… The Cup Series’ Cook Out Southern 500 will be televised live on Sunday, September 6 beginning at 5 p.m. ET on USA Network and will be broadcast live on the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. Cup Series practice and qualifying on Saturday will be broadcast on truTV live at 4:30 p.m. ET. Ride shotgun all season long with live, in-car camera feeds and scanner audio with a paid subscription to Max as part of their NASCAR driver cam experience during the race.
Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Boot Barn Chevrolet at Darlington Raceway… Austin Dillon has made 20 career starts in the NASCAR Cup Series at Darlington Raceway, posting a career-best second-place finish in September 2020 when he missed Victory Lane by a narrow margin, edged by Kevin Harvick. Dillon has completed 98.5% of the laps in the Cup Series at the historic venue. Dillon also had a fourth-place finish in 2017. When the Cup Series visited Darlington Raceway this past March, Dillon qualified 10th and finished 25th.
Beyond the Cup Series… Dillon has made four appearances at The Lady in Black in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, securing his best finish of fifth in 2012. The 2011 NASCAR Truck Series champion has two starts at the track in the Truck Series, earning his best finish of fifth in August 2010.
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Beyond The Track… Beyond the driver’s seat, Dillon serves as the general manager of the Carolina Cowboys, a professional bull riding team in the PBR Teams league. Dillon is instrumental in all aspects of the team, from rider contracts to setting the operational budget, and has utilized various aspects of his racing background to help form the identity and structure of his bull riding team. Learn more about the team on their official YouTube channel, https://www.youtube.com/@CarolinaCowboysPBR. Don’t miss the Carolina Cowboys 2026 “Cowboy Days” homestand September 18-20 at First Horizon Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina. Tickets are on sale at PBR.com and Ticketmaster.com.
Meet Dillon… Fans traveling to Darlington, South Carolina for the Southern 500 race weekend will have three opportunities to meet Dillon in person. On Saturday, September 5 at 11:30 a.m. Local Time, Dillon is scheduled to be at Boot Barn (1945 W Palmetto St Ste 408, Florence, SC 29501) for an autograph signing. On Sunday, September 6 at 12:55 p.m. Local Time, Dillon is scheduled to sign autographs at the RCR Merchandise Hauler in the Fan Zone. Fans are encouraged to stop by, meet Dillon and stock up on RCR gear before the green flag waves. Following, at 1:30 p.m. Local Time, Dillon is scheduled to make an appearance at the Boot Barn display in the Fan Zone, providing fans limited edition tote bags to store all their race weekend essentials.
AUSTIN DILLON QUOTES:
What is the most challenging part of Darlington Raceway?
“Probably just taking care of your stuff, taking care of tires, not stepping over the edge, and then you have to be on the edge to be fast, so it’s like a knife edge. You got guys that are going to run right against the fence, you got guys who are on the bottom, but there’s pace on both of those at different times of the race. You got to be comfortable switching lanes.”
What is the physical toll of racing at Darlington Raceway, and how demanding is it on you as a driver?
“The precision that it takes, you’ll find yourself at times right up against the wall. Other times you’re underneath people in Turn 4, which gets really tight. The bumps off of (Turn) 4, you really have to stay on your game because one slip can knock you out of the race and put you in a bad position. You’re dancing the whole time on the edge of the intensity levels of what it takes to be good at Darlington.”
Talk about racing at Darlington Raceway and how much emphasis you place on that race.
“Darlington is a place that you’re constantly fighting the track. The track changes with temperature, and the Southern 500 is a race where you’ve just got to work at every lap. You try and work your way to the top, and at times you can come off of it and work different lanes. It gets really tight off of Turn 4. But it’s a really cool race because it’s so long, and its grueling and everyone wants to win the Southern 500.”
You’ve won two Crown Jewel races. What would it mean to you to win this one?
“It would be really cool to win the Southern 500 with the No. 3 Boot Barn Chevrolet. We’ve won a couple of big races – the Coke 600 and Daytona 500 – and the Southern 500 is kind of the three that you would really like to get. I would love to bring home that trophy and it would be an epic game changer for us this year.”
How different is Darlington Raceway now compared to a couple of years ago when you finished second in the Southern 500?
“It’s not much different. I think the car is the biggest thing. We’ve come a long way with the Next Gen car and it takes a little something different. So hopefully we hit on that with the No. 3 Boot Barn Chevrolet and go have some fun.”
Austin Hill and the No. 33 Morgan & Morgan Chevrolet at Darlington Raceway… Austin Hill has one career NASCAR Cup Series start at Darlington Raceway, coming in April 2025 behind the wheel of RCR’s third entry. During that event, Hill showed top-25 speed but lost track position in the final stage when varying pit strategies shuffled the running order.
Lady in Black Success… While Sunday will mark Hill’s inaugural Southern 500 start, the Winston, Georgia native has found success in lower divisions at Darlington Raceway. Hill has three top-five and seven top-10 results – including a pair of runner-up finishes – in nine career NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series races. In addition, Hill has one top-five finish (third) in three NASCAR Truck Series events at the historic South Carolina racetrack.
Rearview Mirror… One week ago, Hill earned his career-best Cup Series qualifying effort of third and led a race-high 27 laps at Daytona International Speedway. The No. 33 Chevrolet showed significant pace throughout the first two stages, finishing the segments in 11th and 10th respectively.
Honoring KB… This weekend, Morgan & Morgan will honor Kyle Busch and his legacy with special tributes on their familiar black and yellow scheme. Busch’s famous bow will adorn the hood of the No. 33 Chevrolet, while The Bundle of Joy Fund (BOJF) logo will ride with Hill on the decklid. For more information on ways to support BOJF and continue the work that Samantha and Kyle Busch started, please visit bundleofjoyfund.org.
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Meet Hill… On Sunday, September 6 at 1:45 p.m. Local Time, Hill is scheduled to sign autographs at the RCR Merchandise Hauler in the Fan Zone at Darlington Raceway. Stop by to meet the racer and purchase new No. 33 gear before the green flag waves.
AUSTIN HILL QUOTE:
What are your thoughts entering your first Southern 500?
“I have run a Cup race at Darlington before, but the package we are racing this weekend is completely different so I’m not sure there is much to transfer over. We have more horsepower and a smaller diffuser. It’s the package we’ve been running at tracks like Richmond, Iowa, and Nashville, so we have a base knowledge of what to expect. I think this package is going to play into my hands better though. You can still get tight in dirty air or get loose but it’s not as aggressive. It cuts it probably in half of how bad the dirty air is. If our Morgan & Morgan Chevrolet is good enough, we should be able to drive up through the field, especially with the tire fall off. Even though the package is different, Darlington is still Darlington to me. How you approach the racetrack is going to be the same as the O’Reilly (Auto Parts Series) car, so that should be a positive. I’m pretty excited about it.”
Jesse Love and the No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet at Darlington Raceway… Jesse Love has made four NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series starts at Darlington Raceway, all behind the wheel of the No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet. In 2024, the Menlo Park, California native secured a pair of top-10 finishes – an eighth-place effort in the spring event and a sixth-place result in the fall race. At the lone O’Reilly Auto Parts race in 2025 held at the track, Love both qualified and finished 11th. Earlier this year, the 21-year-old qualified 10th and ended up in 11th. Across all four of his starts at the track Too Tough to Tame, Love has completed 100% of the laps.
Let The Chase Begin… This weekend at the famed 1.366-mile oval, the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Chase will get underway, marking Love’s third career qualification to the postseason (2024-2026). Love, the series’ defending champion, will begin the postseason as the No. 4 seed, 40 points behind No. 1 Justin Allgaier.
About Whelen Engineering… Whelen Engineering is a family-owned company with a pioneering spirit and a passion to protect the lives of those who protect and serve others. The company mission is to provide industry-defining safety solutions around the world, while creating a community of problem-solvers who are inspired to push boundaries and continue our legacy of delivering ground-breaking innovation. As a global leader in the emergency warning industry, Whelen has been trusted to perform since 1952, when George Whelen III invented the first rotating aviation beacon. Whelen now encompasses two state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Connecticut and New Hampshire with over 750,000 square feet of engineering and manufacturing space and the largest design staff in the industry. Every part of every Whelen product is proudly designed and manufactured in America. We embrace quality as our foundation, and we celebrate innovative engineering in every product we produce.
Meet Love… Fans will have two opportunities to meet Love this weekend at Darlington Raceway. On Saturday, September 5 at 4:30 p.m. Local Time, Love is scheduled to stop by the RCR Merchandise Hauler in the Fan Midway. Be sure to stop by, meet Love and get outfitted in the latest RCR gear. Following, at 5:00 p.m. Local Time at the nearby Portabar, Love is scheduled to be available for a special meet and greet before the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Chase gets underway.
JESSE LOVE QUOTE:
What are your thoughts this weekend heading to Darlington Raceway for the first of nine races in The Chase?
“I’m really excited for Darlington and to start The Chase. It’s been a rough year. I am not somebody that really believes in bad luck, but I just feel like if it does exist, we’ve had a lot of it. The good part of it, is I feel like we have as much speed as anybody on any given weekend in the field so we can rely on our grit and tenacity to make a run at the championship. I know that we can. I know that I am able to, and I am capable of it, and my team is as well, but we’re definitely going to have to not have the things that have been happening to us, happen anymore. If all of that is on our side, I think that we’re ready to start this championship run, and Darlington is a decent place to do it. But more importantly the races leading up after it are even better for our team. So we need to go hold serve this weekend, put ourselves in position to win and then go from there.”
Austin Hill and the No. 21 Carolina Cowboys Chevrolet at Darlington Raceway… Austin Hill has made nine career NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series starts at Darlington Raceway, earning a top-10 result in all but two events and a pair of runner-up finishes in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Hill has also competed in three NASCAR Truck Series races at Darlington, posting a best finish of third in 2020.
Darlington Consistency… In his nine O’Reilly Auto Parts Series races at the “Lady in Black,” Hill has completed 99.6% of the laps (1,322 of 1,327) and posted a top-10 finish in 77.8% of the starts. The Winston, Georgia native has an average starting position of 11.3 and an average finishing position of 10.7.
Regular Season Rewind… In 24 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series regular season events, Hill tallied two wins, one pole, seven top-five and 11 top-10 finishes. The veteran racer has led a total of 173 laps and completed 95.3% of laps competed (3,665 of 3,846). Hill’s two wins came in spectacular fashion – his fourth season-opening victory at Daytona International Speedway and his first road-course win in the inaugural Naval Base Coronado Street Course.
Let the Chase Begin… Hill enters the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Chase as the fifth seed, 45 points behind leader Justin Allgaier. With the new format rewarding consistency across the final nine races, the 32-year-old has previously won at four of the final nine tracks – Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway, Martinsville Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway. Hill has qualified for the playoff format each of his five full-time seasons in the series, dating back to his rookie campaign in 2022.
About Carolina Cowboys… The Carolina Cowboys, 2025 PBR Teams Champions, are based at First Horizon Coliseum in Greensboro, N.C., where the team will hold its fifth Cowboy Days homestand Sept. 18-20, 2026. The Cowboys are coached by PBR co-founder Jerome Davis and assistant coach Robson Palermo, a three-time PBR Teams Series World Champion. Under the leadership of General Manager Austin Dillon, the team is owned by Richard Childress and prominent entrepreneurs and agriculturalists Jeff and Tammie Broin. For more information on Carolina Cowboys and for updates on the upcoming PBR Cowboy Days, visit https://pbr.com/teams/carolina-cowboys, Carolina Cowboys on Facebook, @carolinacowboyspbr on Instagram, or @CARCowboysPBR on X. Go behind the scenes for the Carolina Cowboys’ championship season with exclusive long form video content on the Carolina Cowboys’ YouTube channel @CarolinaCowboys.
About POET… POET’s vision is to create a world in sync with nature. What began with a single bioprocessing facility in 1987 has grown into the world’s largest biofuel producer and a global leader in sustainable bioproducts. Headquartered in Sioux Falls, S.D., POET operates 35 bioprocessing facilities and four terminals across the U.S., producing bioethanol, animal feed ingredients, corn oil, bioCO2, purified alcohol, and other bioproducts for customers around the world. POET is proud to sponsor Austin Hill and No. 21 alongside the Carolina Cowboys, connecting the strength of American agriculture to the feed ingredients that help nourish livestock. As the first official bioethanol partner of NASCAR, POET is also powering a new era of racing that delivers a 100% American-made bioethanol that creates more jobs, less pollution, and zero carbon footprint. It’s grown by farmers, produced by POET, and proven on the track.
AUSTIN HILL QUOTES:
What is the outlook heading into week one of the Chase?
“Every year, it seems like I get more relaxed heading into the Chase. Our No. 21 team has started to hit our stride here as of late, so we were able to gain track position on the standings last week. We are starting fifth, instead of seventh, and those 10 points could mean something at the end of it.”
With your move up to the Cup Series full-time in 2027 and the only driver running double-duty throughout the entire Chase this season, how do you stay focused on winning a championship in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series?
“I’m still trying to give a 100% effort to both series. Obviously with me being in the No. 33 next season, I want to continue to put a lot of effort into those races this year to set us up for success in 2027, but I also want to the leave the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series with a championship under my belt. I know I won’t be in this series again next year, so it’s not lost on me to try and win the big trophy this season. The work hasn’t slowed down on either side. I’m still working seven days a week right now to give both cars all of the prep and focus that I can.”
Where is the focus of the No. 21 team with the new Chase format?
“It fits the way that we operate more. You don’t have to go out there and win races. Now, obviously, you want to win races because of the extra bonus points, but our focus mainly comes down to getting stage points in Stages 1 and 2 and finishing as high as we can at the checkered flag. To win the championship, I think it’s going to take running consistently inside the top-five and your bad days need to be eighth to 10th. But you can only have one or two bad days. The competition is so strong, so you have to be on it each and every week. That starts with the preparation during the week and then the first laps of practice. I think you can win the championship without winning a race in the final nine, but you’ll have to be very consistent.”
