Childers, Cup Champion, New Crew Chief in Xfinity Series

Rodney Childers Finds New Direction at JR Motorsports

Renowned race engineer Rodney Childers, known for leading Kevin Harvick to the 2014 Cup Series championship, has secured a new position following his departure from Spire Motorsports in April. Childers will join JR Motorsports in the Xfinity Series as crew chief for the No. 1 Chevrolet, which will be shared by Carson Kvapil and Connor Zilisch. This will be the first time Childers takes on the crew chief role 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 remains so to this day. We’ve always had an interest in working together in motorsports, and I’m grateful that this opportunity came along 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 and he parted ways when both the driver and the crew chief felt the relationship wasn’t working. During his time at Stewart-Haas Racing, Childers achieved 40 victories and a Cup title with Harvick. Subsequently, he worked with Josh Berry in 2024, the last year of Stewart-Haas Racing’s existence.

NASCAR and Jusan Hamilton Parting Ways

NASCAR confirmed on Saturday that it has ended its working relationship with Jusan Hamilton, race director, with six races remaining to finish the season. Hamilton 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 functions. He oversaw NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program, pit crew development, and NASCAR’s iRacing pro divisions, in addition to serving as a race director. Hamilton played a fundamental role in defining 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.