Richard Childress makes long-awaited racing return in iconic No. 3 at Stafford Speedway

Richard Childress gets behind the wheel tonight for the New England 900 at Stafford Speedway. Childress, who raced at the track last in 1969, is returning in a familiar paint scheme for tonight’s race, which is a 90-lap race in nitrous-infused Crown Victorias. Childress’ Crown Vic is painted all black with the iconic No. 3 on the door. He’s fired up to get the racing underway with Cleetus McFarland and a star-studded field. “The race fans love racing and just enjoy it,” said Childress. “Look forward to coming. I’ve been talking to Cleetus. I said, ‘Yeah, I’ll go do it.’ He asked me to do it. I thought it’d just be fun to go up and do.” “We’ll have a lot of fun. I assure you.” In his first Stafford start since 1969, THE Richard Childress is set to drive the iconic black 3 in tonight's New England 900. pic.twitter.com/WepiOmCNds— Stafford Speedway 🏎️ (@StaffordSpeedwy) July 17, 2026 The RCR headman estimates he hasn’t raced competitively in more than 30 years, but he does remember the trip to Stafford Speedway back in ‘69. In the race, a NASCAR Grand America Series event, battled up front, but it was Pete Hamilton who took the checkered flag. “Yeah, the biggest thing I remember is getting up here. We didn’t have much money at all to get here and had an old 54 Ford truck. We hauled the car on and got up here and had a lot of fun. “It was just fun racing back then. We didn’t have any idea what we were doing other than just out having fun racing.” Ryan Preece trash-talking Childress RFK driver Ryan Preece is also fired up. He’s looking forward to racing against Childress at one of Preece’s home tracks, Stafford Speedway. Preece is already talking some trash to the 80-year-old RCR owner, referencing the iconic 2011 dustup between Childress and Kyle Busch, when the RCR owner told his grandson, Austin Dillon, to hold his watch before he put Busch in a headlock and delivered a punch. “Hell, yeah,” said Preece. “Yeah, so I already told him to hold my watch.” Jeff Gluck asked Preece if he was ready to rough up Childress. “Rough him up? Yeah, I don’t want to rough him up.” Gluck responded that Childress might rough Preece up. “Well, he can hold my watch then,” joked Preece. “But no, I mean he’s coming to my place. Actually, when I was talking to him a few weeks ago, because I was pretty pumped, I saw that he was gonna run it. I’m happy. He’s gonna enjoy that experience, but he told me he had actually gone there and raced there way back in the day. And so, that was interesting to find out.” Preece ready to defend New England 900 title Preece, the defending winner, loves the car, the race, and hopes his fellow competitors enjoy the area and race fans as much as the racing itself. “What I’ll say is that the Crown Vics are like big go-karts, like an adult version of a go-kart. So you know, I’m gonna enjoy the experience of racing with all those guys. “I hope they enjoy the New England experience of all the race fans up there, and yeah, we’re just gonna have a blast.” How to watch the star-studded field Preece and Childress aren’t the only marquee names set for tonight’s event. Also in the race are Jesse Love, Ty Dillon, Squirrel McNutt, Downforce Danny, Bobby Earnhardt, and Cleetus McFarland. You can watch the New England 900, which is sold out, by CLICKING HERE. The stream starts at 6:00 p.m. Qualifying for the 900 starts shortly after. The race is set to begin at 7:30 p.m. ET.