“Let me tell you how important it is to not lose the draft,” Denny Hamlin exclaimed on his Actions Detrimental podcast, his tone a mix of shock and exasperation. After the NASCAR Cup Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, what should’ve been a smooth exit turned into a highway spectacle. Hamlin, fresh off a fifth-place finish, expected the usual post-race grind: traffic, tired crews, and a long ride home. Instead, he found himself as a witness to an incident that’s got everyone talking. A police escort, a team car, and a name synonymous with NASCAR lore collided in a way that’s anything but routine.
This sport’s no stranger to drama beyond the checkered flag. Homestead itself has history, like the 2004 finale where Kurt Busch’s wheel fell off, yet he still clinched the title. Now, as the 2025 season unfolds, a new chapter’s been written one that’s less about racing glory and more about road-bound recklessness. What unravelled under those Florida lights? The answer’s lurking just ahead, and it’s a curve nobody saw coming.
The heart of this story is fan discontent, zeroing in on the Childress family’s perceived “culture” of aggression and entitlement, sparked by Denny Hamlin’s explosive claims. It went down after the Homestead race, where JGR’s police escort was rolling out. Hamlin, riding with co-host Jared Allen, saw it all. Richard Childress, the veteran RCR owner, wasn’t on the guest list. “Richard Childress, okay, Richard Childress was not part of this escort. He was part of the vehicles that needed to move out of [the way]. The police got him to move out of the way.”
What followed was chaos. Hamlin alleges Childress swerved left, smashing a JGR car’s right side. “Well, somebody, within Joe Gibbs Racing [left] a gap, and Richard says, ‘Well, I’m joining this escort whether you guys like it or not.’ And he forced his way in. Well, this employee says, ‘No you can’t just join in,’ so he pulled up beside him. What did Richard Childress do? He hung a left, destroyed the side of the car. He did, he turned left, I witnessed, we were right behind it. I’m like, ‘Oh my god, did he just, he did.’ And I was like, ‘Jared pull up, pull up to the car.’ The right side of the JGR car was destroyed and Richard he just stayed in the gas. I mean, hung a left on them and just doored the s**t out of our car. I couldn’t believe it.”
DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA – AUGUST 23: RCR team owner and NASCAR Hall of Famer, Richard Childress looks on during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway on August 23, 2024 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
Childress reportedly gunned it, leaving the JGR employee stunned and the car mangled. Maybe frustration from a lackluster day, RCR’s Austin Dillon finished decently, but not spectacularly. Jared’s stop-start driving had already loosened the convoy, inviting trouble. This has just triggered fans. Richard Childress’ 1984 brawl with Tim Richmond at Pocono proves he’s no stranger to confrontation.
This isn’t Hamlin’s first tangle with the Childress crew. Recall Richmond 2024: Austin Dillon wrecked Hamlin for a win, only for NASCAR to strip his playoff spot. Childress shrugged, “You do what it takes.” That ethos seems alive here. Fans see a pattern of aggression over sportsmanship.
Fan Backlash: A Family Legacy Under Scrutiny
Fans unloaded on Reddit, and their takes cut deep. “I guess we know where Austin gets it from then,” one wrote, linking Childress’ highway stunt to Dillon’s on-track antics. This isn’t just a throwaway jab, it’s a nod to a lineage of aggression. Insiders recall Austin’s 2017 Coca-Cola 600 wreck with Joey Logano, where he spun out a rival without hesitation. Childress cheered it then, just as he backed Dillon’s Richmond 2024 move.
“RC is such a pos. I am so happy Reddick and Creed escaped,” another fan cheered, celebrating ex-RCR drivers Tyler Reddick and Sheldon Creed ditching the team. Reddick bolted to 23XI Racing in 2023 after not getting a new contract. Creed, meanwhile, left after 2022, looking for a new opportunity after his time with RCR didn’t yield the best results. Fans see their exits as proof of a stifling, volatile environment under Childress.
“Richard Childress acting like a baby when he doesn’t get his way? Consider me SHOCKED,” came one sarcastic bite. It’s more than mockery, it’s exhaustion with a man who’s dodged accountability since the ‘80s. Fans argue he’s still that impulsive figure, expecting the world to bend for him. Smashing a JGR car because he couldn’t join an escort?
“Pretty on-brand of RC when he could’ve joined his own RCR police escort but no, he had to be crazy entitled like that,” another fan snapped. This digs at Childress’ ego RCR had its own escort, per pit-road chatter, yet he targeted JGR’s. It’s a power play, fans insist, echoing his 2006 spat with Kevin Harvick, where he muscled into team decisions post-Earnhardt. They’re saying Childress craves control, not cooperation, and it’s dragging the family name through the mud.
“They say culture starts at the top, and I guess they might be right!” ties it together, fans see a top-down rot. Without Earnhardt’s No. 3 glory, one added, “they’re just an embarrassment.” NASCAR’s past backs this RCR thrived on Earnhardt’s grit, not Childress’ tantrums. Today, fans want a reckoning with less drama, more racing. Will they get it, or just more tire smoke?
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