Make no mistake: When three men with stolen military-style guns attempted to break into Richard Childress’ Davidson County home in December, the NASCAR Hall of Famer and team owner was worried.

But Childress, who spoke about the incident to Motorsport.com at Friday’s NASCAR Hall of Fame induction ceremony, also said he was more nervous for his wife Judy than he was for himself.

“I’m not taking anything away from it,” Childress said. “It got very intense. I was more concerned about my wife than myself.”

The incident, which took place Dec. 17, began about 10:30 p.m. when Childress (upstairs at the time) heard glass breaking downstairs. He then grabbed a handgun and went downstairs, firing shots at the would-be intruders and scaring them off.

When asked Friday what caliber of gun he used, Childress said, “I can’t talk about it right now because it’s in the courts ... but catch me a little later.”

On Jan. 2, the three intruders – identified as Niquan Victorin, 20, Chantz Hines, 18, and Armeka Spinks, 18 – were arrested and charged with trespassing and attempted burglary. Days later, they were also charged with conspiracy to commit burglary and possession of stolen weapons.

The trio has been held on $250,000 bond at the Davidson County Detention Center.

“The only reason (Childress) and his wife were here today was because of God and the Second Amendment,” Davidson County Sheriff David Grice said at the time of the break-in.

Childress is a second vice president of the National Rifle Association.

Under North Carolina law, namely the new “castle doctrine,” homeowners are permitted to use deadly force if they have reason to believe unlawful and forced entry occurred.