Childers, Cup champion, new crew chief in Xfinity 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 found a new position after leaving his crew chief role at Spire Motorsports in April. Childers will assume the role of crew chief in the Xfinity Series for JR Motorsports, specifically for the No. 1 Chevrolet, which will be shared by Carson Kvapil and Connor Zilisch. This will be the first time Childers has served as a crew chief in the Xfinity Series.

Rodney’s resume and career 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 stated that the relationship wasn’t working. Childers achieved 40 victories and a Cup title at Stewart-Haas Racing with Harvick, then worked with Josh Berry in 2024, the year Harvick retired. That was the last year of Stewart-Haas Racing’s existence.

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 NASCAR’s iRacing professional divisions, in addition to serving as a race director. Hamilton was fundamental in setting up 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.