Richard Childress began his NASCAR career as an owner/driver. He bought his first race car for $20 at the age of 17 and made it to the NASCAR ranks in 1969, serving as a replacement driver at Talladega Superspeedway during a drivers' strike. After he broke into the NASCAR world, he continued to drive his own car until 1981. During that time, he made 285 starts at the Cup level. Those starts included six top-five finishes and 76 top-10s. His highest points finish was fifth in 1975.
Childress' career as a car owner, however, skyrocketed after he decided to put another driver in his car in 1981. That driver was Dale Earnhardt. Earnhardt din't drive for Childress every year from 1981 until his death in 2001. The two went their separate ways for the 1982 season when Earnhardt left Richard Childress Racing to drive for Bud Moore, but he came back a couple of years later to drive for RCR in 1984 and never left the team again.
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Photo courtesy of ISC Archives/Getty Images
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