Spire Motorsports and crew chief Rodney Childers separate, the team announced on Wednesday, a shocking decision that suddenly ends a short term for the team leader of the championship series series who joined the Nascar team right this season.
Childers was team leader of Pilot Justin Haley and team n ° 7. Haley is 23rd in points through nine races, with a top 10.
“The break in the calendar of the CUP series (last week) allowed us to assess where we are as a program,” said the co -owner of Spire, Jeff Dickerson, in a press release. We took the opportunity to discuss the best ways for all the people involved and the team and Rodney agreed that it would be preferable for us to separate us.
“… We have collectively recognized the challenges with the dynamics of the team. Having the right combination of talents is just as important as the results on the right track. While we move in a new direction, it is not lost to us that Rodney was an invaluable asset for our organization. ”
Childers is one of the successive active team leaders of the garage, winning 40 races and the 2014 Cup championship with driver Kevin Harvick. The Childers-Harvick combination dominated Nascar during their 10-year race (2014-2023) in Stewart-Haas Racing, winning 37 times in series and qualifying for the 4 championship final in the playoffs.
Childers posted His own declaration Later Wednesday.
– Rodney Childers (@ Rodneychilders4) April 23, 2025
When SHR announced last spring that he would stop his operations after the 2024 season, Childers was sought by several teams before signing with Spire to lead his team n ° 7. His hiring was one of the many large -scale movements, Spire has done in recent years to become a more competitive organization.
Kevin Harvick, on the left, and Rodney Childers speak during a training session in Fontana, California, in 2018. The duo won the title of the 2014 Cup series together. (Images Jonathan Moore / Getty)
Combining the veteran Childers with Haley, considered a promising talent, was considered a promising combination with the potential to compete for a place in the playoffs this season. And although they have not yet found coherence, there were signs of improvement. During the last race at Bristol Motor Speedway, Haley had an average seventh race position and points won in the two stages before backing up to finish 13th.
Spire has several candidates within the organization to replace Childers on a provisional basis. The two main candidates are Ryan Sparks, who have previously been team leader of team n ° 7 before giving way to Childers to focus on his role as director of the Spire competition, and Matt McCall, who previously worked as a team leader for the RFK race and the Ganassi Racing, before joining Spire in the Intersery season.
A surprising and fast end
Childers is the second most winning active team leader in Nascar, a man whose 40 -cut victories came with three different pilots. So, Spire seemed to be a good adjustment for Childers to continue adding to his total career, in particular given the team’s close relationship with Hendrick Motorsports – an alliance that Childers appreciated at the start of his years Stewart -Haas before the team was far from Chevrolet.
For reasons that remain vague, it did not prove to be the match that everyone hoped. Hopefully these responses will be revealed soon, because it will otherwise look like a quick decision at only nine races in Childers’ mandate with Spire and its new pilot, Haley.
Childers is considered one of the brightest minds in the garage, but the next generation car may have stifled its creativity. He and Harvick have only won twice in the next generation, which has been used in the last two Harvick seasons, and the last children’s victory took place in 2022. The Harvick team also had its own way of working at Stewart-Haas, so it may be an adjustment to work in the existing SPIRE system.
Whatever reason, it certainly comes as a shocking end to a new much discussed relationship. – Jeff Gluck
(Photo by Rodney Childers: Jeffrey Vest / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
