RCR's legacy of durability alive and well team-wide

AVONDALE, Ariz. -- During his peak years at Richard Childress Racing, so many of Dale Earnhardt's championship runs were fueled by reliability. During his 1990 title quest, he finished 28 of 29 points events and during one 13-race stretch completed all but three laps. In 1993, the Intimidator finished 28 of 30 races, and clinched his sixth NASCAR crown by completing all but five laps in a 15-event span late in the year. His black No. 3 car was often as durable as a tank.

Jeff Burton

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That legacy is evident today within the Childress organization, whose three cars lead the Sprint Cup tour in percentage of laps completed entering Saturday night's Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Speedway. That durability is a large reason why RCR drivers Jeff Burton, Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer stand first, second and 11th, respectively, in the series standings, without a single DNF -- the NASCAR abbreviation for did not finish -- between them.

"I think if you go back and look at the history of RCR, they've always been a very reliable race team," Harvick said. "They've always concentrated on being very consistent, finishing races, and running laps. When we crash our cars, we don't give up. We try to fix them, even if we only go out and run two laps. That's been kind of a trademark of the RCR organization long before I got here. It's something Richard really pounds into everybody's head."

It starts at the top. Childress has long stressed reliability, going back to his days with Earnhardt, and sometimes at the expense of top-end power. Something like the engine failure suffered last weekend by Dale Earnhardt Inc. driver Martin Truex Jr. -- whose team shares an engine-building alliance with the Childress organization -- sticks with the car owner for days.

"It starts with Richard, there's no question," Burton said. "When Martin broke last week, that's been in Richard's head about the engine thing. That's just how he is. He believes we have to run every lap. When we don't run a lap, he gets very frustrated about it. When we have a mechanical problem, that really bothers him. Not only does he own all the stuff and is our boss, he's the head guy when it comes to reliability and the one you have to answer to when you're not finishing races."

Kevin Harvick

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That mandate shows in the statistics. Burton is the only driver on tour to have completed every lap in all seven events thus far this season. Harvick had been tied with his teammate until last week, when he finished one lap down at Texas -- the only lap he hasn't completed all year. Bowyer has completed all but two laps, those coming at Las Vegas. How important is finishing? Just look at Hendrick Motorsports driver Jeff Gordon, who's failed to complete three races this season, stands a distant 34th in percentage of laps completed, and as a consequence is 14th in championship points.

"You can't compete for championships on the [wrecker's] hook by any means," Bowyer said. "Our engine department has done an exceptional job making sure we have good horsepower, but making sure it will last throughout the race and throughout the weekend. That's the No. 1 key. Obviously, when you go to the engine guys, you want performance. You want to push the envelope if you can. But Richard has always been conservative to the aspect of making sure it's going to live throughout that race. Knock on wood, no trouble so far. That's the key to racing for a championship right there."

Childress remembers Earnhardt going long stretches without ever experiencing a failure, the kind of reliability his organization prides itself upon. "We've always tried to have good, reliable cars," the owner said. "I try to explain to everybody in every department, it's about consistency. The drivers are doing a great job on the track. Anything can happen anytime; you look at Talladega, you look at some of these places. But that's what we try to do."

Even if it means sacrificing other things.

Clint Bowyer

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"You can probably lean on the engines maybe a touch harder than we do," Childress said. "But I'd rather have them all there all year than have just a little more. You're always sitting there with more on the shelf, but you don't gamble until you know you've got it right. That's how you keep getting a little better."

The result is a team that seems poised to place all three of its drivers in the Chase for a second consecutive year. But for all those laps completed and high points positions, the Childress cars still have only one victory -- Burton's win at Bristol Motor Speedway -- between them. Durability may get a vehicle to the finish, but it's up to people to complete the job.

"We haven't shown that dominance on a week-to-week basis as far as being able to lead a bunch of laps. We still have work to do," Harvick said. "We've been very consistent over the first few weeks, and we have to continue that consistency. When we've had a bad day, we've kept it so it's not a 30th- or 25th-place bad day. We've kept it kind of in championship form, I guess you could call it. That was one of our goals coming in, when we had a bad day to finish in the top 12, because that's what we felt it was going to take."

Bowyer agreed. Durability of the equipment is only part of the equation.

"We've got to get better, obviously," he said. "We've come a long way. I'm very proud of everybody at RCR. We've got equipment that makes Jeff, Kevin and I real good. But we've got a long ways to go."