Childers, Former Cup Champion, New Crew Chief in Xfinity Series

Rodney Childers, the experienced engineer who led Kevin Harvick to the Cup Series championship in 2014, has found a new professional destination after leaving Spire Motorsports in April. Childers will assume the crew chief role at JR Motorsports in the Xfinity Series, specifically 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 trajectory speak for themselves. Rodney and I grew up together and have known each other since we were children. That is 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 arose and we could bring him into the JRM family.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., co-owner of JR Motorsports

Childers collaborated with Justin Haley at Spire, but the relationship came to an end when both the driver and the crew chief expressed that the dynamic wasn’t working. During his time at Stewart-Haas Racing, Childers achieved 40 victories and a Cup championship with Harvick. Subsequently, he worked with Josh Berry in 2024, the last year of Stewart-Haas Racing’s existence, following Harvick’s retirement. Additionally, NASCAR announced on Saturday the departure of Jusan Hamilton, race director, with six races remaining to conclude the season. Currently, Hamilton 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, the development of pit crews, and the NASCAR 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 African-American race director to officiate the Daytona 500.