Kevin Harvick crew chief Rodney Childers explains why he won't attend Watkins Glen race Sunday

Kevin Harvick will be without longtime crew chief Rodney Childers for Sunday’s Go Bowling at the Glen at Watkins Glen International.

Childers, Harvick’s crew chief since 2014, will instead take in the race from Stewart-Haas Racing’s war room in Kannapolis, North Carolina. Engineer Stephan Doran will serve as the No. 4 team’s interim crew chief at Watkins Glen. Doran served as the crew chief during Childers’ four-race suspension last year.

Childers took to Twitter to explain his absence, citing a family emergency.

🙏🏼❤️ pic.twitter.com/xZvKafgUy6

— Rodney Childers (@RodneyChilders4) August 20, 2023

“I won’t be in Watkins Glen today,” Childers wrote. “But will headed to the war room at SHR for the race. It’s been an eventful 14 hours. Yesterday afternoon my dad felt something wasn’t right with my mom. He called 911, and when the medics were loading her in the ambulance her heart stopped. Thankfully the medics were there, and after 11 minutes got her going again. Currently she is in ICU on a ventilator. Doctors say she is stable and her vitals are doing ok. Right now we are just praying that things turn out ok over the coming days. I can’t thank Dale enough for getting me home last night. It means the world to me. Thank you all for the prayers.”

Kevin Harvick outlines chances to win at Watkins Glen

Without Childers, Harvick will look to pick up his first victory in his last season in the NASCAR Cup Series. He will have to go through 32 cars to get it done, however, after qualifying 33rd Saturday. With just two races remaining until the Cup Series playoffs begin in September, Harvick is very likely to get in the field of 16 vying for a championship on points alone. According to the projected standings, Harvick would be the No. 13 seed heading into the postseason.

“Watkins Glen is a place where we’ve been fortunate to have a lot of good runs,” Harvick said, via Sportskeeda. “I think going there and having a permanent road course and more of a traditional race, for me, is much easier to prepare for because I know the racetrack and I know the curbs and the bumps and the details of everything that goes on, so it makes me more comfortable prepping for the race.”