Childers, former Cup champion, new crew chief in Xfinity Series

Rodney Childers Finds New Direction at JR Motorsports

Rodney Childers, known for leading Kevin Harvick to the 2014 Cup Series championship, has secured a new position. After his departure from Spire Motorsports in April, Childers joins JR Motorsports. Childers will assume the crew chief role in the Xfinity Series for the No. 1 Chevrolet, which will be shared between 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. 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 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 previously worked with Justin Haley at Spire, but the relationship came to an end when both the driver and crew chief agreed that it wasn’t working. During his time at Stewart-Haas Racing with Harvick, Childers achieved 40 victories and a Cup title. In 2024, after Harvick’s retirement, he worked with Josh Berry. That was the last year of Stewart-Haas Racing’s existence.

Jusan Hamilton Leaves NASCAR

NASCAR confirmed the departure of Jusan Hamilton, race director, with six races remaining to finish the season. He is no longer listed as a NASCAR employee, where his official title was managing director of competition operations. Hamilton started in 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 was fundamental in setting up the annual calendar and the calendar for 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.