Childers, Cup champion, will lead JR Motorsports Xfinity team

Rodney Childers Finds New Home at JR Motorsports

Rodney Childers, known for guiding Kevin Harvick to the 2014 Cup Series championship, has secured a new position after leaving his role as crew chief at Spire Motorsports in April. Childers will assume the crew chief role at JR Motorsports in the Xfinity Series 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 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 collaborated with Justin Haley at Spire, but the team parted ways with him when both the driver and the crew chief indicated that the relationship wasn’t working. Childers accumulated 40 victories and a Cup title at Stewart-Haas Racing with Harvick, and 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

On Saturday, NASCAR confirmed its separation from 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 pro iRacing 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.