“It just wasn’t clicking,” said Rodney Childers, revealing why his time at Spire Motorsports ended after just nine races. Jeff Dickerson’s decision to let go of Justin Haley’s championship-winning crew chief raised plenty of eyebrows in the NASCAR garage, given his pedigree and vast experience. The decision to release the 48-year-old came after NASCAR’s only off weekend, and Ryan Sparks will be replacing him until the end of the season.
Is the time for old-school crew chiefs like Childers coming to an end? It certainly seems like it, especially because NASCAR is constantly evolving, with more focus on data, technology, and innovative strategies. The veteran may have his work cut out for him to remain relevant in the sport he loves.
Rodney Childers struggled to adapt at Spire Motorsports
It was a bold move. Parting ways with a crew chief who has the second-highest race wins in the NASCAR Cup Series must not have been an easy decision. Partnering Rodney Childers with Justin Haley before the start of the season was an exciting move, especially because many felt that his experience would propel a young team like Spire Motorsports to the next level. However, the decision backfired, and instead of prolonging the inevitable, Jeff Dickerson opted to take swift action.
Reflecting on what went wrong for Childers at Spire Motorsports, Rick Ware Racing’s Competition Director Tommy Baldwin said on the Door Bumper Clear podcast, “Yeah, I mean, the atmosphere is set, probably a little differently than what Rodney was used to, right? I mean, Rodney was always a hands-on guy, right? And called what needed to be on the cars and stuff. When you got an engineering based group, it changes a little bit. And unfortunately, guys like us, old school guys, that worked very, 8, 10 years old on our own race cars, and building our own stuff, it’s kind of hard sometimes to adapt to that.”
In many ways, Rodney Childers is as old-school as it gets. Meanwhile, Justin Haley is also a quiet personality, a combination that didn’t really work for the No. 7 Chevy team. Jeff Dickerson described their dynamics as a “spark plug” missing, a sentiment that was echoed by the crew chief as well. He said, “It just wasn’t working, and you know, I wasn’t really feeling it, and they weren’t really feeling it. And I’m just a hard-nosed racer, you know, and I don’t go around talking and all that. It’s just racing for me, and it just wasn’t working.”
Rodney Childers on leaving Spire, what’s next & how tough the crew chief job can be. @RodneyChilders4 | @FreddieKraft | @TBR7NY | @KarsynElledge3 pic.twitter.com/JzauWujy4f
— Dirty Mo Media (@DirtyMoMedia) May 6, 2025
After the first nine races, Haley was 23rd in the Cup Series standings. His best finish was 10th place at Homestead-Miami, while he also secured a season-high 13 stage points at Bristol Motor Speedway. Childers’ results with the No. 7 team were not the worst, but clearly not good enough for Spire Motorsports, who are aiming to become regular title contenders. What followed was news that sent shockwaves through the NASCAR world, as nobody would have predicted this outcome so early in the season.
Even though Childers might be out of a job right now, his time in NASCAR is far from over. Given his experience and accomplishments, it’s well within the realm of possibility that another crew chief gig might be on the cards sooner rather than later. Perhaps this time around, the driver and team will be better suited to his personality. The sport may be evolving, but the veteran is more than capable of stepping up under the right circumstances.
Spire co-owner reveals his decision to part ways with Childers
The decision was always going to come with some backlash. After all, a young team like Spire Motorsports parting ways with a crew chief with 40 Cup wins after just nine races is unheard of, yet it’s a choice Jeff Dickerson had to make. As it turns out, Rodney Childers and Spire were just not the right fit for each other, and with the Cup Series having its only off week of the season, the co-owner felt like the right time to cut the cord.
Revealing his reasons, Dickerson said, “In this sport, you don’t get to date before you get married and move into the house together, and this is just one of those examples where things look good on paper but maybe don’t translate. This wasn’t about results. This wasn’t about speed. You notice the energy is off, the communication is off. It just got to a point where it was like, ‘I’ll just deal with the consequences of this because it’s best for all parties involved.’”
Sometimes things just don’t work out, and perhaps the decision is for the best. Rodney Childers may have been the victim of NASCAR’s modern demands this time around, but the North Carolina native has enough experience to get back atop the pit box with another team soon. It’s been a wild ride for the crew chief so far, and it’s only going to get more interesting in the next chapter of his career.
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