What was once the race shop where six championships were earned is now being transformed into a museum honoring one of NASCARs most storied racing operations. Richard Childress Racings (RCR) original race shop and museum at the RCR complex, with the construction of a connecting building between the two, is now a single-structure museum showcasing five decades of auto racing history. Nearly 50 race cars driven by Dale Earnhardt, Kevin Harvick, Mike Skinner, Richard Childress and others will be on display along with an incredible array of trophies, banners, photographs and other memorabilia.. Also near completion in the 47,000-square-foot building is a gift shop in the area that was the original race shops administrative offices. The new RCR Museum & Gift Shop is scheduled to open to the public May 16, 2003. The original shop area will be dedicated to the famed No. 3 teams with Earnhardt that earned NASCAR Winston Cup championships in 1986-87, 1990-91, and 1993-94. Nearly 20 of the world-famous black paint-schemed No. 3 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet Monte Carlos, including the 1998 Daytona 500 and 2000 Winston 500 (at Talladega [Ala.] Superspeedway) winners, will be on display. Video screens and memorabilia throughout the building will showcase the highlights and amazing history of the No. 3 team during its 16 seasons within those walls. With all the history made within those walls, it wouldnt be right to just lease the building out to another company or to put another race team in it, said Richard Childress, president and CEO of Richard Childress Racing Enterprises, Inc. I had mixed emotions on how to do it. I wanted to do something the Earnhardt family would be proud of, every employee that ever worked at RCR would be proud of, and the race fans would be proud to come and see. To me, its going to be one of the most incredible stock car racing museums in the country because of the history that was made there over the years. I want the race fans to feel they are a part of that history because they were the ones that made it possible. When they leave, I want them to walk away with a smile on their face knowing that they had just been on an incredible tour. The area that was the original RCR Museum and Gift Shop will have a variety of cars on display. Vehicles representing RCRs championships in the NASCAR Winston Cup, NASCAR Busch Series and NASCAR SuperTruck Series (RCR is the only organization to have championships in all three), its current lineup of Winston Cup and Busch Series teams, cars for each of the No. 3 teams special paint schemes for The Winston from 1995 through 2000 and a number of other race cars significant to RCRs history will be showcased. Theres a lot of history that Ive kept over the years from all of the RCR race teams that Im looking forward to sharing with race fans, Childress said of the area that was the original museum. Those cars, the ones driven by Kevin Harvick, Mike Skinner, Robby Gordon, and many others, including some that I drove, are also a big part of RCRs success through the years. The newly constructed center part of the building will be dedicated to Childress devotion to wildlife and outdoor conservation. The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, the North Carolina Wildlife Habitat Foundation, the National Wild Turkey Federation and Ducks Unlimited, all actively involved in the conservation of the nations wildlife and natural resources, will be showcased in this area along with many of the animal trophies Childress has collected over the years. RCR moved into the building, located in this small town 10 minutes south of Winston-Salem off Highway 52, in June 1986. The entire operation at that time was under one roof in the 33,000 square-foot building. The No. 3 team earned its first victory working out of the new shop in October 1986 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (now Lowes Motor Speedway). They went on that year to capture RCRs first, and Earnhardts second, NASCAR Winston Cup championship. During the time the No. 3 team occupied the building, from mid-1986 through the first race of 2001, it earned 58 victories, 16 pole positions and more than $38 million in race winnings. The three-car Winston Cup program and the administrative staff moved into a state-of-the-art 86,000 square-foot building in the same 35-acre complex in early May 2002. RCR, which also has a two-car NASCAR Busch Series program, now consists of more than 260 employees working in 12 buildings with approximately 300,000 square-feet of shop space.(RCR PR)(4-12-2003)
