Richard Childress was visibly upset as he stood next to grandson Ty Dillon’s black truck during Friday’s qualifying at Phoenix International Raceway. It had nothing to do with Dillon’s chances to win the Camping World Truck Series championship, trailing James Buescher by 15 points with two races remaining. It had everything to do with an ESPN.com report that Sprint Cup driver #29-Kevin Harvick has signed a multi-year deal to begin driving for Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014. ‘I ‘ve got a contract for 2013 and this is 2012,’ the owner of Richard Childress Racing said of his deal with Harvick. ‘I ‘m not talking to you about nothing [regarding that]. Too far out.’ Asked if Harvick had told him he will not drive for RCR beyond 2013, Childress barked, ‘You need to go talk to them people. Don ‘t talk to me about it. If you want to talk to me about [the truck] championship, I ‘ll talk about it. But don ‘t talk to me about anything else.’ Harvick’s departure will be huge, particularly if he takes primary sponsor Budweiser with him. Remember, RCR lost Chaser Clint Bowyer to Michael Waltrip Racing after last season due to lack of sponsorship and had to shrink from four to three teams. Some will say Harvick leaving only opens the door for Childress ‘ other grandson, Nationwide Series driver Austin Dillon, to move to Cup in 2014. But plans already were in place for Dillon to make the move then, either in the fourth car that is vacant or as a replacement for Jeff Burton, whose contract expires after 2013. And by the way, while Dillon will make his Daytona 500 debut in the #33 next year, Childress left open the possibility the #3 Earnhardt drove remains a strong possibility for his grandson. ‘That’s still on the table,’ Childress said. Sources close to the situation told me Childress was blindsided by the news, which explains his mood. Replacing Harvick has to now be his No. 1 goal in order to remain relevant in the series.(in part from ESPN)(11-10-2012)
