Pedal-to -the-floor AMBITION

Among NASCAR personalities, Richard Childress has as much to look back on as anyone. He had some strong runs as an independent, journeyman driver.

Richard Childress has been a key figure in NASCAR for many years. NASCAR From 1969 to 1981, he ran 285 races in the Cup series, scoring six top-fives and 76 top-10 finishes. His best points finish was a fifth in 1975.

His greatest successes have come as a car owner. His drivers have won 88 races and six championships in the Cup series. In the Nationwide Series, he has 53 victories and four titles. And during his days in the Craftsman Truck Series, his drivers won 20 races and the inaugural championship.

Despite the trophies on the shelves at his museum and shops in Welcome, N.C., Childress, 62, continues to set new goals, short- and longterm, and work tirelessly to achieve them.

His immediate task is to get his three Sprint Cup drivers — Jeff Burton, Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer — into the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup and put them in cars capable of winning the championship.

NASCAR Richard Childress (center) announces that Casey Mears (right) will join RCR in 2009 and drive the No. 07 Jack Daniel's Chevrolet. Clint Bowyer (left) will move to a new fourth RCR team, the No. 33 Chevrolet. Burton is all but assured of securing his spot in the 12-driver, 10-race playoffs that begin after the Sept. 6 race at Richmond. He's fifth in the standings,

despite wrecking at Bristol. Harvick is eighth, and Bowyer moved into the top 12 at Bristol.

Childress points out that even though Harvick and Bowyer are right on the bubble in the battle for Chase berths, just being where they are is an accomplishment.

"Just to be a contender for the Chase is pretty impressive," he said. "There are only five cars looking pretty good, and we've got one of those. Beyond that, things are pretty tight."

He also said that even though his drivers have just two Cup victories this year, they're not that far off, speedwise.

"We've been in a position to win several races this year," he said. "We just haven't been able to put it all together."

In the Nationwide Series, Bowyer, driving Childress' No. 2 Chevy, is atop the points standings by 122 over secondplace Brad Keselowski.

Childress is putting a fourth Cup team in place and has hired Casey Mears to drive that entry. General Mills is coming on board as a sponsor, but there will be some switching around with Bowyer, who has driven a Jack Daniel'ssponsored car, moving over to the No. 33 General Mills entry while Mears will represent Jack Daniel's in the No. 07.

Childress, who has proven to have an eye for talent, said he sees plenty of potential in Mears, who has won just one Cup race, at Charlotte last year, and one in Nationwide at Chicagoland in 2006.

"He's got the right attitude when it comes to racing," Childress said. "He's a racer. That's what I like about him."

And he's not overly concerned that Mears hasn't won many races.

"There are a lot of guys who haven't won," he said.

Childress also is confident that he can get four drivers running well at the same time, something other multi-car team owners have struggled to do.

"We wouldn't do it until we felt like we could give everybody equal equipment," he said. "That's what we're going to be able to do."

But the long-term project that Childress seems most passionate about is steering the careers of his teenage grandsons, Austin and Ty Dillon.

Ty, 16, won two dirt-track features last week, and Austin, 18, is working toward making his Nationwide Series debut at Richmond next month.

"It's fun to work with them," he said with a broad smile.