Johnson gets high praise from Chlidress

Car owner Richard Childress. (Getty Images)
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Car owner Richard Childress. (Getty Images)
Car owner Richard Childress. (Getty Images)

HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Jimmie Johnson got a ringing endorsement from car owner Richard Childress, who fielded the No. 3 Chevrolets in which Dale Earnhardt won six of his seven championships.

“I think he’ll go down in history as one of the greatest, if not the greatest,” Childress said in Friday’s media session that included fellow owners Rick Hendrick and Joe Gibbs. “He’s got many good years ahead of him. I think he’ll set a lot of records before he decides to hang it up.”

Asked when he planned to announce 2014 plans for his grandson, Austin Dillon, Childress turned coy.

“We’ll probably announce something here in the next few weeks,” Childress said, declining to confirm rampant speculation that Dillon would drive the No. 3 RCR Chevrolet in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

“Everybody is just speculating right now. I guess that’s the right word.”

Greg Engle
About Greg Engle 7421 Articles
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.