Rumor Mill: Chandler Smith to RCR?
What’s Happening? While it may not be the full-time ride some hoped he would get, a new rumor is pointing to…
Monday, Richard Childress Racing announced that it will enter its third part-time car again in 2025. However, they are calling up one of their top Xfinity Series Crew Chiefs for the job, raising the question of whether this move is planting seeds for a future expansion.
While the driver of this car is unknown, a press release from RCR confirmed it will have multiple drivers in multiple races. Furthermore, RCR is calling up Austin Hill’s crew chief, Andy Street, to call the shots for this car. The release also noted that Street would have Crew Chief select Xfinity Series races, perhaps hinting at a return of RCR’s part-time Xfinity Series car.
Fans should not overlook the significance of the team giving Andy Street this role. Street is coming off a three-year stretch with Austin Hill in which the pair won ten races. This is part of a longer streak of four winning seasons in the Series for Street, making him one of the team’s best Crew Chief options.
Perhaps if RCR were planning an expansion, as past rumors have suggested, giving several up-and-coming drivers and a proven Crew Chief part-time starts would be a good start. While the team has not made any public plans to expand to three full-time cars, they could do so in the long run.
Fans should note, however, that RCR has a long history of running a part-time car, including in 2022, 2023, and 2024.
What’s Happening? While it may not be the full-time ride some hoped he would get, a new rumor is pointing to…
While there is no fine details about this part-time entry, there are a few assumptions we can make.
First, the car might be the No. 33 again; however, another RCR legacy number, the No. 31, is available following Kaulig Racing’s rebranding the No. 31 to the No. 10 ahead of 2025. Second, there is a short list of drivers who could race this car.
Two obvious options for part-time starts are the team’s Xfinity Series drivers, Austin Hill and Jesse Love. Both are winners in the Xfinity Series and are considered top candidates for Cup rides at some point. Hill, of course, has the connection to Andy Street but made four starts in RCR’s part-time car in 2025.
Another potentially overlooked option is the reigning Supercars champion, Will Brown. Brown made one start in the car last season with RCR. Some rumors suggest that the Chevrolet driver might return to RCR for more starts in 2025.
Another rumor, though it seems to be a stretch, comes from the nascarrumornostalgia Instagram account. During a streak of leaked rumors from the account, they mentioned that former Joe Gibbs Racing driver Chandler Smith could make part-time Cup Series starts for RCR next season.
On Friday, Matt Weaver of SportsNaut confirmed that Smith has plans for 2025. Weaver, however, made no mention of RCR. All drivers are good options for the team; whether or not they will do so as part of a great expansion effort is unknown as of now.
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