Richard Childress Racing has faced a rough 2025 season, with both its drivers missing the playoffs. Austin Dillon grabbed one win but got knocked out in the first round and sits at 15th in points now. Kyle Busch, stuck in a 90-race win drought, is down in 22nd, struggling for his own long-awaited comeback. And just when it felt like nothing more could go wrong, it did.

This time, it involves Austin Dillon, Richard Childress’s grandson. And with Dillon involved, fans don’t hold back, as he’s always been an easy mark for quick judgments because of his family ties and mediocre track results.

The unexpected accident turned out to be Dillon‘s No. 3 hauler smashing straight into a gate while pulling into Talladega Superspeedway on Thursday. Video captured the whole thing, tires churning as the gate got yanked right under the wheels, just ahead of this weekend’s YellaWood 500. It’s a small blunder off the track, but for a team already scraping by, it stung like another gut punch in a year full of them.

.@austindillon3’s hauler hit a gate on the way in to Talladega (via u/CringeProfessional) https://t.co/06tGS5ZJ39 https://t.co/T0MqnkEqNw #NASCAR

— r/NASCAR on Reddit (@NASCARonReddit) October 16, 2025

RCR is scrambling behind the scenes, too, announcing Jim Pohlman as Kyle Busch’s crew chief for 2026. Pohlman, who guided Justin Allgaier to the 2024 Xfinity title at JR Motorsports, brings fresh eyes to a squad that’s short on engineering depth.

Austin Dillon broke it down on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, saying, “We interviewed some of the guys here at RCR, and Jim’s name came to the front because mostly the guys that are there, we needed them in the positions they were in. We got thin at certain areas at RCR, and we’re trying to build those areas back up.”

He added, “We’ve got strong guys, but we have to build those up and get our engineering a little bit better before we can really look inside to make a crew chief hire. And Jim’s experience and his familiarity, I feel like, with RCR probably gave him an inside track, and then his success with Justin (Allgaier) and everything they’ve done at JR Motorsports.”

Those words hit hard after a season where Dillon’s lone Richmond victory was his second since 2024. And last year Richmond won, which also came with heavy fan backlash for spinning out Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin on the last lap. That move got him the win, but NASCAR took away his playoff berth and left him waving off boos at the track, a nod to the scrutiny he’s faced as Childress’s grandson since reviving the No. 3 car in 2014.

Fans piling on Dillon isn’t new, especially after moments like that 2024 Richmond chaos, where crowds derided his family-fueled ride. With the hauler fiasco fresh, online chatter exploded, mixing sympathy for Busch with jabs at the whole operation.

Social media lights up over RCR’s latest blunder

One fan nailed the frustration right away: “RCR can’t even keep their haulers from wrecking smh.” It captures how small slips like this gate-crash feel massive for a team that’s won just once all year. Three seasons in, and with only three wins plus wrecks piling up, supporters see these off-track oops as signs of deeper disarray.

“Crazy to think that Austin Dillon may not be the worst driver associated with this team.” That’s a tough take, given Dillon’s six Cup victories since 2014, including the 2018 Daytona 500 upset. Yet fans point to his inconsistent finishes—only one top-5 this year—and contrast it with Busch’s heritage, who is also now stuck in a long drought.

One fan expressed sympathy for Kyle Busch’s situation, writing, “Someone please save Kyle Busch from this dumpster fire of a team.” Busch, a two-time champ, has voiced his own gripes this season, like after Charlotte, when he radioed frustration over the No. 8 Chevy’s handling before that lap-1 wall tap.

With Pohlman’s hire aiming to fix pit strategy woes, Busch’s average finish sits at 18th; fans worry he’s wasting prime years at 40, far from his Joe Gibbs glory days of 2008-2022.

Talk of Talladega chaos bubbled up too, with one saying, “I have a feeling this is the beginning of an unhinged Dega weekend.” The 2.66-mile beast has seen 14 different winners in Cup history, including Dillon’s 2022 Coke Zero 400 score. But RCR’s pack-racing luck has soured; Busch wrecked out in both 2023 stages here, fueling fears this hauler mess foreshadows more superspeedway mayhem.

Finally, a lightbulb moment hit some: “So THAT’S what happened. We saw that earlier going to the Hall of Fame. We thought it just broke down or blew a tire.” Turns out, early rumors swirled of mechanical failure en route to the NASCAR Hall of Fame event, but video clarified the gate smash.

For Dillon, who’s defended his spot amid nepotism whispers since his 2011 Truck title under Grandpa Richard‘s watch, it adds to the narrative of bad bounces in a career that’s blended promise.