Childers, former champion with Harvick, new Xfinity team boss for JR Motorsports

Rodney Childers Finds New Home at JR Motorsports

Rodney Childers, known for leading Kevin Harvick to the 2014 Cup Series championship, has secured a new position after leaving his crew chief role at Spire Motorsports in April. Childers will assume the crew chief role at JR Motorsports in the Xfinity Series, specifically for the No. 1 Chevrolet, which will be shared by Carson Kvapil and Connor Zilisch. This will be the first time Childers serves as a crew chief in the Xfinity Series.

Rodney’s resume and track record speak for themselves. Rodney and I grew up together and have known each other since we were kids. That’s a relationship that has always been close and has remained so to this day. We have always been interested in working together in motorsports, and I am grateful that this opportunity came up and we were able to bring him into the JRM family.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., co-owner of JR Motorsports

Childers worked with Justin Haley at Spire, but the team parted ways with him when both the driver and crew chief indicated that the relationship wasn’t working. Childers achieved 40 victories and a Cup title at Stewart-Haas Racing with Harvick, and then worked with Josh Berry in 2024, the final year of Stewart-Haas Racing.

NASCAR Splits with Jusan Hamilton

NASCAR confirmed that it has parted ways with race director Jusan Hamilton, with six races remaining to finish the season. He is no longer listed as a NASCAR employee, where his official title was general manager of competition operations. Hamilton joined NASCAR as an intern in 2012 and returned in 2016, performing various roles. He oversaw NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program, pit crew development, and the NASCAR iRacing professional divisions, in addition to serving as a race director. Hamilton was fundamental in setting up both the annual calendar and that of each race weekend. His first event as race director was in 2018 at Pocono Raceway. In 2022, Hamilton became the first Black race director to officiate the Daytona 500.