Childers, former Cup champion, new crew chief in Xfinity

Rodney Childers Finds New Home at JR Motorsports

After his time at Spire Motorsports, Rodney Childers, known for leading Kevin Harvick to the 2014 Cup Series championship, has found a new challenge at JR Motorsports. Childers will assume the crew chief role 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 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 remains 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 worked with Justin Haley at Spire, but the team and he parted ways when both, driver and crew chief, considered that the relationship wasn’t working. Childers achieved 40 victories and a Cup title with Harvick at Stewart-Haas Racing, and then worked with Josh Berry in 2024, the last year of Stewart-Haas Racing.

NASCAR and Jusan Hamilton: End of an Era

NASCAR has 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 managing director 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 NASCAR’s iRacing professional 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 Black race director to officiate the Daytona 500.