This Sunday, the 2016 season of NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series will kick off with the 58th running of the Daytona 500—and a special connection for NRA members.
Fans are very familiar with one of the series’ most-storied teams: Richard Childress Racing (RCR), who, together with the legendary Dale Earnhardt, has won 6 championships in NASCAR’s premier series. However, even the most knowledgeable fans may not know that, in addition to his myriad other accomplishments, team owner Richard Childress added another title in 2015: He was selected as the Second Vice President of the National Rifle Association.
Childress has had a long-standing commitment to NRA, serving two terms on its Board of Directors and chairing the Hunting and Wildlife Conservation Committee since 2010. In addition, in 2015 Childress offered the 500-plus RCR employees a unique Christmas bonus: If they wished to join or upgrade their NRA membership, Childress would write the check. Half of them took him up on his generous offer.
The story of the unique and enormously successful relationship between Childress and Earnhardt is on exquisite display at the 47,000-square-foot RCR Museum that fronts the 13-building RCR campus in Welcome, N.C. A1F Daily was honored to receive a guided tour of the outstanding collection as the team made its final preparations before loading the transports for the trip to Daytona.
