The Xfinity race at Martinsville Speedway can only be classified as pure chaos. Two of Richard Childress Racing‘s drivers wrecked on the last lap and simultaneously destroyed their championship hopes. However, the response from the team management truly stunned the racing community.

Team owner Richard Childress and vice president of competition Andy Petree publicly rebuked their playoff driver for the incident. But NASCAR fans refused to stand by Kyle Busch’s Cup Series team, justifiably calling them out for that behavior.

Andy Petree joins Richard Childress in chastising the eliminated playoff driver

When Kyle Busch decided to leave behind his alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing, the #8 driver had hoped for a more promising Cup Series future. But we all saw how that went! Though the driver and his team seem to be on amicable terms, nobody knows what goes on behind closed doors. Talking about RCR’s relationship with its drivers, the treatment meted out to its outgoing driver, Tyler Reddick, also drew concerns over the workings of the team.

The concerns first materialized when RCR made the contentious decision to announce Sheldon Creed’s departure prior to the end of the season. But the social media post was nothing in comparison to the ire drawn after lashing out at Creed due to the last lap crash. 

The #2 driver started behind teammate and race leader Austin Hill in the last caution-filled laps of the Dead On Tools 250 race this weekend. RCR’s #21 did not get his desired restart, and the duo were soon racing side by side toward the checkered flag. At that stage, Austin Hill was in a position to advance based on points, whereas Sheldon Creed was battling hard in a must-win circumstance. Moments before the victory, smoke was seen coming out of their cars. 

As the two RCR playoff drivers crashed in their altercation, JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier swept past them, clinching his Championship 4 spot next to teammate Sam Mayer. The racing community was still reeling from the outburst of Childress when he furiously commented to NBC Sports, “I’ve had drivers drive for me before but nobody as stupid as Sheldon Creed”. Soon after, Andy Petree stormed over to a dejected Creed and exchanged heated words. 

Watch this story: Rising Star Jesse Love: The New Face of Richard Childress Racing

NASCAR’s Reddit community banded together to call out Childress for the toxic work environment propagated by his team, and Busch was engulfed in their fold.

Kyle Busch redeems RCR in the eyes of disgruntled fans

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The sight of team leaders throwing their young drivers under the bus and using derogatory words riled up the fanbase. Fans refused to tolerate Richard Childress and Andy Petree’s unprofessional conduct.

“Bad look for RCR and Petree. He’s supposed to be a leader and set an example. He shouldn’t be yelling at his drivers after the race”

“Creed had just as much to race for as Hill did. RCR must be a toxic place.”

Transcribing Creed’s betrayed response to Petree, one Reddit user felt Kyle Busch was the only saving grace of Richard Childress Racing.

“if he touched me, you guys wouldn’t have said sh*”

Sounds on par. So glad he’s leaving that team. Kyle Busch is about the only thing redeeming about RCR”

“Never in a million years would I have thought the person I’d like the most at RCR would be KYLE BUSCH of all people”

“[Laughing emoji] I feel the same”

One fan pertinently observed that Busch’s winning streak temporarily covered up the fundamental issues with the team.

“RCR is a godd*mn clown show from top to bottom. lol.

And don’t get me wrong, I like KFB – he was the driver I rooted for at Gibbs – but his wins have masked a huge problem going on at RCR. At quite frankly, at least one – maybe 2 wins from KFB were… fortunate, to put it politely.”

Read More: Austin Hill Publicly Exposes Sheldon Creed’s JGR Move Amidst Brutal Rant: “Cannot Wait for Him to Get Out of RCR

When the dust clears and emotions settle down, Sheldon Creed will be on his way to Joe Gibbs Racing. But for the sake of the remaining drivers and the newcomer, Jesse Love, perhaps Richard Childress needs to pay heed to their fandom and treat all their racers on par with their star driver, Kyle Busch.