Childers, Cup Champion, New Crew Chief in Xfinity

Rodney Childers Finds New Home at JR Motorsports

Rodney Childers, known for guiding Kevin Harvick to the Cup Series championship in 2014, has secured a new position following his departure from Spire Motorsports in April. Childers will assume the crew chief role at JR Motorsports in the Xfinity Series, leading the No. 1 Chevrolet, which will be driven by Carson Kvapil and Connor Zilisch. This will be the first time Childers will serve as 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 relationship came to an end when both the driver and crew chief agreed that it wasn’t working. During his time at Stewart-Haas Racing, Childers achieved 40 victories and the Cup title with Harvick. Subsequently, he worked with Josh Berry in 2024, the last year of Stewart-Haas Racing.

NASCAR and Jusan Hamilton: End of an Era

On Saturday, NASCAR confirmed the departure of Jusan Hamilton, who served as race director, 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 began his NASCAR career as an intern in 2012 and returned in 2016, performing various functions. He oversaw NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program, pit crew development, and NASCAR iRacing racing divisions, in addition to serving as a race director. Hamilton played a fundamental role in shaping both the annual calendar and the calendar for 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.