Report: Rodney Childers, Spire Motorsports part ways after just nine races

In a big midseason shift, crew chief Rodney Childers and Spire Motorsports have parted ways, according to a report by The Athletic. Childers had served as the crew chief on the No. 7 car for Justin Haley.

Childers joined Haley’s team ahead of the season, giving the driver of the No. 7 some serious muscle behind him. Childers is widely regarded as one of the top crew chiefs in the sport.

The Athletic reported on the split but didn’t elaborate on possible motivations. “No reason was given,” the publication noted.

In any case, Haley had not fared well early in the season with Rodney Childers running point. The driver is currently sitting at No. 23 in the NASCAR Cup Series point standings. His best finish of the season came at Homestead, where he notched a 10th place finish.

However, Haley’s averaged finishing position this season is just 20.2. That’s not quite what the crew had hoped for when the year began.

Rodney Childers agreed to a multi-year deal with Spire last June. At the time, he hailed the move as something that “happens for a reason.”

“Everything kind of happens for a reason. And those guys were great to me right off the get go,” Childers said. “I was kind of fortunate that quite a few of my guys left at the end of the last year when Kevin [Harvick] was leaving. And they went to Spire. I was able to stay in contact with them throughout the year. There’s some of them that are my best friends honestly. And to hear what their thoughts were day in and day out, how it operates. The lunches they have every single Wednesday and Friday. All the employees, the culture that they have there.

“Everybody that left the 4 car that was one of the top teams in the whole sport absolutely loved it there. And that meant a lot to me. That’s people that I can trust, and I can lean on. And for me to go over there and be able to see the shop. Immediately I picked up on those five or six guys that left the 4 car.”

For the first nine years of his tenure at Stewart Haas Racing, Rodney Childers worked with Harvick. The pair won a Cup Series championship and 37 races. After Harvick retired, Childers transitioned to working with Josh Berry. Berry joined Wood Brothers Racing in 2025 with SHR closing up shop at the end of the 2024 season.

On3’s Jonathan Howard also contributed to this report.