Brett Griffin Teases Third RCR Car on Track: Who Could Drive It?

What’s Happening?

On the most recent episode of the podcast, “Door, Bumper, Clear”, Brett Griffin announced his spotter plans for 2024. He would be the spotter for RCR at 7 races for a to-be-determined driver. The only two races he announced were the Chicago Street Race and Gateway in June. Where did this third RCR entry come from, and who could drive the car?

• Richard Childress Racing has fielded a third car before. In 2022 they entered the No. 33 car at Michigan for Xfinity Series driver Austin Hill, and in 2023, Supercars Champion Brodie Kostecki climbed into the No. 33 car at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course. Before that, RCR had a third full-time entry from 2002 to 2017.
• Brett Griffin is a veteran NASCAR spotter. Most notably, he was spotted for Clint Bowyer at Michael Waltrip Racing in the early 2010s, including Bowyer’s career-best season in 2012. Most recently, Griffin worked at Kaulig Racing.
• Fans are now very curious about who the third driver could be at RCR. Could it be just one driver, or is it going to be multiple drivers in 2024?

Who Could Race in This Third Entry?

There are two obvious candidates for this third Richard Childress Racing entry, plus one Wild Card entry we would like to submit. Here is a breakdown of all of the drivers.

Brodie Kostecki

While there has been no formal announcement, there have been plenty of public comments saying that 2023 Supercars Champion Brodie Kostecki and RCR are interested in teaming up once again. Childress told Fox Sports in November that he wants Kostecki to compete in “4-5 races” with at least one oval potentially mixed in. He also told V8 Sleuth that Kostecki could potentially race full-time for RCR “At some point”.

Kostecki and Childress teamed up in 2023 at the Indianapolis Road Course with an affiliation from his race team at the time, Erebus Motorsport. It’s possible that Kostecki could be Childress’ third entry into the Chicago Street Race. However, some recent developments have called the group’s future together into question.

There have been conflicting reports about Kostecki’s relationship with Erebus Motorsport. Speedcafe reported in late January that Kostecki was looking to split from the team. Erebus fired back by saying that Kostecki was still with the team, but, he would not race in the season-opening Bathurst 500. A few days later Steve Blackmore, CEO of team sponsor SCTR, told speedcafe that the situation was similar to a separated couple, “they’re living in separate houses and they’re not talking, but technically they are still married”.

For now, the current status of Kostecki’s future remains murky. If he does indeed leave Erebus, what does that do to the RCR relationship? It’s unclear at the moment, and it will be interesting to see how everything breaks down.

Austin Hill

If Kostecki is not racing, then Austin Hill feels like a safe bet to compete for RCR this season. In 2023, Hill inked a multi-year contract with RCR in the Xfinity Series for 2024 and beyond. He does have some Cup Series experience, with 5 races in 2023 with Beard Motorsports and a one-off for RCR in 2022 at Michigan.

What might give this driver away is his comments right after the contract was signed. Hill went on the Dale Jr. Download, and he mentioned that one of the reasons for going back to RCR was the potential to drive in Cup for them. This came despite talks with Kaulig Racing to compete in the Cup Series in 2024.

Hill seems to believe there is a path there to go Cup Series racing at RCR at some point. This part-time ride could be the start of that journey, and maybe RCR could acquire a charter shortly. Who ultimately knows?

It’s also worth noting that Hill is not back with Beard Motorsports in the Cup Series this year, so, the door is wide open for Hill to race with RCR in the Cup Series. Given his success in the Xfinity Series, he’s earned a shot.

Kaz Grala

This is the wild card entrant, but, we feel it’s worth at least exploring. Kaz Grala signed with Rick Ware Racing for 25 races this season plus the Daytona 500 with Front Row Motorsports. That means there are 10 races left if he wants to complete a full-time Cup Series schedule.

That’s a tall order, especially this late in the game, but, RCR opens up an interesting opportunity. Grala has a previous relationship with RCR as he competed part-time in the Xfinity Series for them between 2019 and 2020 with a top-5 in each of his starts at Road America. He also made a Cup Series start to substitute for Austin Dillon at the Daytona Road Course in 2020, and Grala finished 7th. Grala is particularly good at road courses it seems.

A lot of it does depend on RWR’s schedule for 2024. The official schedule for Grala has not been released to the public, but, if RCR needs a driver for a road race such as the Chicago Street Race, Grala would be an interesting pick.

Again, this is a major wild card, and it also depends largely on Hill and Kostecki’s 2024 plans. However, Grala could be an interesting pick for this ride.

Which driver will slot into this #33 car for RCR? Will it be someone on this list or someone not on this list?