Childers, former champion with Harvick, new Xfinity team boss for JR Motorsports

Rodney Childers, known for leading Kevin Harvick to the Cup Series championship in 2014, has found 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 track record speak for themselves.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., co-owner of JR Motorsports

Dale Earnhardt Jr., co-owner of JR Motorsports, expressed his enthusiasm for this addition. “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 have always had an interest in working together in motorsports, and I am grateful that this opportunity has presented itself and we have been able to bring him into the JRM family,” he commented. 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, when Harvick retired. That was the last year of Stewart-Haas Racing’s existence. In addition, on Saturday, NASCAR confirmed that it had 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 a fellow in 2012 and returned in 2016, performing various roles. He oversaw NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program, pit crew development, and the NASCAR divisions of professional iRacing, 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.