Childers, Ex-NASCAR Champion, New Xfinity Team Boss

Rodney Childers Finds New Home at JR Motorsports

The renowned engineer Rodney Childers, known for leading 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 for the No. 1 Chevrolet, which will be shared by Carson Kvapil and Connor Zilisch. This will be the first time Childers serves as 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’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 previously 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. During his time at Stewart-Haas Racing, Childers achieved 40 victories and a Cup title with Harvick, and then worked with Josh Berry in 2024, the last year of Stewart-Haas Racing’s existence.

NASCAR and Jusan Hamilton End Work Relationship

NASCAR confirmed that it has ended its relationship with race director Jusan Hamilton, with six races remaining in the season. Hamilton, whose official title was general manager of competition operations, is no longer listed as a NASCAR employee. Hamilton entered 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 iRacing racing divisions, in addition to serving as a race director. Hamilton played a key role in setting the annual calendar and the weekend of each race. 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.