Childers, former Cup champion, new crew chief in Xfinity for JR Motorsports

Rodney Childers, the experienced engineer who led Kevin Harvick to victory in the 2014 Cup Series championship, has found a new position after leaving Spire Motorsports in April. Childers will assume the crew chief role at JR Motorsports in the Xfinity Series, leading 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 Childers’ addition to the team. “Rodney and I grew up together and have known each other since we were kids. That relationship has always been close and remains so to this day. We have always been interested in working together in motorsports, and I am grateful that this opportunity has come up and we have been able to bring him into the JRM family,” he commented. Childers worked with Justin Haley at Spire, but the relationship came to an end when both the driver and the crew chief felt it 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. In addition, NASCAR confirmed the departure of 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 began his career in NASCAR as an intern in 2012 and returned in 2016, performing various roles. He oversaw NASCAR’s Drive for Diversity program, the development of pit crews, and the NASCAR iRacing divisions, in addition to serving as a race director. Hamilton played a fundamental role in defining 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 African-American race director to officiate the Daytona 500.