Richard Childress will be the recipient of the North Carolina Motorsports Association’s Tribute Award at the group’s annual awards banquet on January 26, 2009, at the Embassy Suites Resort and Conference Center in Concord, NC. Childress is celebrating his 40th year as a NASCAR team owner in 2008, having amassed 11 championships, two Daytona 500 and two Brickyard 400 victories in addition to a lifetime of achievements on and off the track in his home state of North Carolina. As both a driver and team owner, Childress has been an integral part of NASCAR’s highest level of racing for five decades. His career as a driver spanned from 1969 to the middle of 1981 when he made the tough decision to step down as a driver but to remain a team owner with driver Dale Earnhardt. He built up his team and achieved his first Cup Series victory in 1983 with driver Ricky Rudd. Then in 1984, Earnhardt returned as Childress’s full-time driver, and together they went on to win six championships between 1986 and 1994. Still competing for championships to this day and continuing to grow, as Richard Childress Racing (RCR) will expand from a three-car to four-car operation in 2009, Childress is truly one of the most accomplished professionals in motorsports. An avid hunter and outdoor conservationist, he contributes annually to the North Carolina Wildlife Habitat Foundation and has been a longtime supporter of the Winston-Salem Soap Box Derby. In July, he teamed up with Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center to form the Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma – creating what will become the nation’s most comprehensive institute for pediatric trauma. In 2004, Childress was awarded the Order of the Long Leaf Pine by Governor Jim Hunt, the state’s highest honor, and in May he was inducted to the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame. His passion for fine wine led to the founding of Childress Vineyards, a Napa Valley-influenced winery that produces quality North Carolina wines in Lexington, N.C. — not far from his RCR race shop. Other winner’s of the NCMA’s Achievement in Motorsports Tribute Award include Richard Petty and Benny Parsons. Additionally, winners of awards in 10 distinct categories will be determined by an NCMA member vote.(NCMA PR)(11-12-2008)
