After a dismal start to the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series campaign, Richard Childress Racing is making a change to the personnel lineup on the No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro, beginning with Sunday’s Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway.
The championship-winning organization announced the changes on Tuesday, which includes the reuniting of Austin Dillon and long-time crew chief Justin Alexander, who effective immediately, will replace Keith Rodden as crew chief of the No. 3 Chevrolet.
In addition to the crew chief change, Joel Keller has been appointed the lead engineer for the No. 3 team.
After six years removed from being a full-time crew chief in the NASCAR Cup Series, Rodden was selected by Richard Childress Racing to take over crew chiefing duties of the No. 3 Chevrolet, as Alexander was leaving his post to become RCR’s Competition Director.
Paired with Rodden, Dillon would have one of the most difficult seasons of his NASCAR Cup Series career to date, scoring a single top-five result and seven top-10s, which resulted in a 29th-place points finish at the end of the 36-race campaign.
In the first seven races of 2024, Dillon has only notched a single top-20, finishing 16th at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March. These tough results have left the driver of the No. 3 Chevrolet sitting 28th in points.
Rodden will remain with Richard Childress Racing, but will utilize his experience as a veteran crew chief and race engineer to take on a larger role across the team to maximize the capabilities of RCR’s Chevrolets and provide, leadership, coordination and support.
“The organizational changes were made to help Richard Childress Racing’s overall NASCAR Cup Series program as we prepare for the rest of the season and locking two teams into the NASCAR Playoffs,” said Andy Petree, executive vice president for RCR. “Justin Alexander and Austin Dillon share a unique chemistry that has proven effective in the past. We want to thank Keith Rodden for his leadership of the No. 3 team and know that the contributions he will continue to make to RCR in his new role will be valuable across the organization.”
Alexander has been with Richard Childress Racing for more than a decade, in which time he’s spent five seasons as a crew chief for Austin Dillon in the NASCAR Cup Series, which has produced four victories, 14 top-five and 39 top-10 finishes.
The pairing will reunite for the first time in Sunday’s Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway, where Dillon will look to score his first top-10 result of the season, at a facility that has been kind to the Lewisville, North Carolina-native in the past.
-- Photo Credit: Tyson Gifford, TobyChristie.com
