Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/801177
56 • S P O R T I N G C L A S S I C S "We've got to create that first opportunity for folks to get out and enjoy God's great creation," Richard emphasized, "and that's why I'm so involved in so many things to do with the outdoors, hunting, fishing, and shooting. We put on concealed- carry courses for our employees, and we've got a shooting range out at my farm where we invite both youngsters and adults to shoot. And through the NRA we're getting shooting programs in schools across the nation." O n my visit with Richard, we had the chance to shoot ducks in the morning and pheasants in the afternoon. We were joined by his grandsons, Austin and Ty, along with Taylor Pardue, associate and online editor for Sporting Classics. Grandad and grandsons are fine shots, and it was also clear to me how much they enjoyed being out together. "I took my grandsons hunting when they were kids, and over the years they've been fortunate to go with me to Africa, British Columbia, and many other great hunting spots. Now, as you watch them in the field, you can see that they're very conscientious about safety. They teach it to their friends, and they walk the walk when it comes to being outspoken about our hunting heritage." Over bacon and eggs at the Tar Heel Diner after our hunt, I asked Richard what he considers his greatest reward from time spent afield. "It's camaraderie. Today's hunt, getting to know our guides, getting to spend time with my grandsons, that's what hunting is all about. And hunting also builds character. On my first hunt in British Columbia, we got snowed in and we ended up having to spend 15 days '85 when I hunted the Cassiar Mountains in British Columbia for grizzly, moose, and caribou. Since then I've been fortunate to hunt close to all over the world, you know, just about every kind of hunt you can do." Enjoying a glass of wine with Richard and his family in his game room, I can attest to that. "You know," he continued, "I've gone through different phases. I love Africa, for example. I've hunted there I think 22 times, and I've shot the Big Five and the Dangerous Seven, almost everything except a bongo . . . and that's on my list. I also got into sheep hunting for quite a few years, and I'm glad I did it when I was younger! I'm like one sheep away from having two Grand Slams. I believe I still have one or two mountains left in me for that last desert sheep." The week before I met Richard at his home in Davidson County, North Carolina, he had just returned from a successful elk hunt at his ranch in Montana. As much as Richard still loves to scramble up the next mountain, he is equally active in defending what he loves. "One of my key goals is to let people know that, yeah, it's okay to hunt. You know that every human on this earth has a hunter in their blood . . . it's there in some past generation." Richard is also well aware that the future of hunting depends not only in standing up against anti-hunting groups, but also in encouraging new participation, especially among our nation's youth. NASCAR's touring series. RCR remains a major force in racing today and, in 2017, will have eight teams in various NASCAR series. Its facilities include 17 buildings on a 52-acre campus where more than 500 team members build race cars from the ground up. A subsidiary, Earnhardt Childress Racing Engines, builds high-performance motors for the team, as well as other Chevrolet teams in NASCAR's top three national series. Notably, both Richard's grandsons, Ty and Austin Dillon, are drivers for RCR; Austin becoming the 2011 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Champion and the 2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series Champion, and Ty the 2011 ARCA Racing Series Champion. Richard was recently inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. W ith the extraordinary success Richard Childress has had in racing, it would be easy to think he has had little time in his life for anything else. Quite the opposite is true. Over the past 30 years, he has been an avid worldwide hunter and has become one of our community's most active and passionate spokesmen in support of our hunting tradition and the Second Amendment. Like most rural youngsters, Richard started out hunting rabbits and squirrels before graduating to white-tailed deer, often hunting with Dale Earnhardt at a club near Chester, South Carolina. "My first big hunt," he recounted, "was in Doug Painter and Childress with a Fausti Class SL Upland, which the author f i e l d - t e s t e d o n t h e i r pheasant hunt. Both men came away impressed with the 20-gauge gun. photograph by taylor J. pardue