Austin Dillon, Richard Childress Racing out to prove Daytona 500 win was no fluke

Austin Dillon may have won the season-opening Daytona 500, but Richard Childress Racing still must prove that it can be contender on a consistent basis.

“Leaner but meaner” became Richard Childress Racing’s mantra this offseason amid a downsizing from fielding three fulltime Cup Series teams to two. Those within the organization have adamantly maintained that despite the loss of a high-dollar sponsor, which necessitated the restructuring, RCR would be better off in the long run with its performance in the short term not declining.

One race does not reinforce the “leaner but meaner” ethos, though there appears to be some truth in RCR’s philosophy that it can maintain its competiveness despite being smaller. On Sunday, Austin Dillon opened the season by winning the Daytona 500, prevailing in a crash-filled final laps to score his second Cup Series win. Teammate Ryan Newman finished eighth.

But performance on a restrictor-plate track doesn’t equate to performance on intermediate ovals, the style speedways that makes up the bulk of the Cup Series schedule including four of 10 playoffs. For a team to have sustained success requires having speed on 1.5-mile tracks -- like Atlanta Motor Speedway, site of Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 (1 p.m. ET, Fox).

To achieve that goal, RCR named former team owner and crew chief Andy Petree as vice president of competition and reorganized personnel several behind-the-scenes. The impact of Petree, who guided former RCR driver Dale Earnhardt to consecutive championships (1993-94), has already been felt.

After Dillon’s No. 3 Chevrolet sustained damage in his Daytona 500 qualifying race, it was Petree who made the call to switch to a backup car even though team owner Richard Childress was against the idea thinking the damage could be repaired. That decision ultimately proved correct and both Dillon and Childress credited Petree’s leadership with RCR’s early-season reversal of fortunes.

“We had to do something different at RCR, and I brought Andy Petree in,” Childress said. “Andy Petree adds so much more to our racing operation, and just the whole group that we’ve built around (Dillon and Newman). With two cars, it’s given us a lot more focus.”

As part of its offseason overhaul, RCR also let go an undisclosed number of employees, a move brought about by closing two of its Xfinity Series teams and the departure of driver Paul Menard and his multi-million dollar family sponsorship that prompted the shuttering of RCR’s third Cup Series team. Dillon said RCR is at about 425 employees, a decrease from the 500-plus Childress has previously touted as being on the payroll.

Childress is certainly not the only team owner to believe less is more. Smaller organizations designed to be more efficient have become a trend in NASCAR, as teams deal with ballooned budgets in a troubling economic climate and too few companies willing to spend large sums to serve as primary sponsors.

Furniture Row Racing fielded two teams last year for Martin Truex Jr. and Erik Jones; Truex won the Cup Series championship, while Jones was named Rookie of the Year. And yet, despite the array of accomplishments, a lack of adequate sponsorship forced FRR to scale back to one car for 2018.

If FRR can make it work, RCR believes it can too. RCR continues its technical affiliation with Germain Racing and Leavine Family Racing, and entered into an alliance with Richard Petty Motorsports, which moved into a vacant spot on RCR’s campus. Those partnerships help bridge the gap created by the downsizing and provided additional revenue streams.

“We’ve still got a lot to prove,” Dillon said. “Andy Petree and all the guys are RCR are working hard. I think coming down to a two-car team move is big for us. We’ve got to take advantage of that.”

Whether Dillon’s Daytona win was merely him seizing an opportunity that was a byproduct of a chaotic restrictor-plate race or a harbinger of things to come for RCR should be known by the start of summer. After Atlanta, come races on intermediate tracks at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (March 4), Auto Club Speedway (March 18), Texas Motor Speedway (April 8), Kansas Speedway (May 12) and Charlotte Motor Speedway (May 27).

“The future is going to be bright for us, I promise you,” Childress said. “We tested at Vegas, and our intermediate cars are going to be great, so we’re really looking forward to Atlanta.”