Back in 2014, Kevin Harvick and Rodney Childers formed one of NASCAR’s most dangerous combinations. That year, Harvick was new to Stewart-Haas Racing. Childers, calm and calculated, joined him as crew chief. In just their first season together, they won the NASCAR Cup Series championship. It was no fluke. One of the most telling moments came in the final moments of the championship race. With 17 laps to go, Childers made the call for four fresh tires. It was a risk. The safer play was two. But Childers stuck to his guns. Harvick delivered.
They took the win and the title. Tony Stewart later praised the move as one of the smartest strategic calls he’d ever seen. “It was a gutsy call by Rodney. But it shows how good Kevin is at digging his heels in during those moments,” Stewart said.
Fast-forward to today, and Childers is once again in the center of attention. But this time, it’s not for a title-winning call. It’s for an abrupt and unexpected exit from Spire Motorsports—just nine races into the season. After signing a multi-year deal to lead the No. 7 team, Childers is out. The news, leaked by sources familiar with the situation, has left the NASCAR garage stunned.
Rodney Childers joined Spire Motorsports before the 2025 season. The move came after Stewart-Haas Racing announced it would shut down at the end of 2024. Childers quickly became the top name on every team’s radar. Spire landed him in the No. 7 car. The combination of Justin Haley, a young talent, and Childers, the second-winningest active crew chief, was seen as a smart pairing. Expectations were high.
But just after less than 1/3rd the races in the season, it’s all over. Spire hasn’t said why. Childers hasn’t commented either. The only thing clear is that the partnership did not work. Haley currently sits 23rd in the standings with just one top-10 finish. The team showed promise in flashes—like Haley’s solid showing at Bristol—but nothing consistent. What makes this even more shocking is that the No. 7 car has been in a whirlwind all season.
NEWS: Rodney Childers and Spire Motorsports have parted ways effective immediately.
— BrakeHard (@BrakeHardBlog) April 23, 2025
Earlier, Spire also parted ways with driver Corey LaJoie. He had been with the team for years but failed to deliver results. LaJoie later hinted on a podcast that internal politics and underperformance led to his exit. “If you’re not hitting expectations, you get shuffled out. That’s just how it goes,” he told on the Stacking Pennies podcast. Spire’s statement at the time made it clear—they wanted a “clean slate” for 2025.
But that clean slate seems to have crumbled quickly. The plan was for Childers to lead the rebuild. Instead, the project fell apart before it even started. After LaJoie’s departure, multiple people from the crew also left the project. And that raises more questions than answers. Was there a clash in vision? Did Childers grow frustrated with how Spire operated? Or did the team decide it wasn’t the right fit after all?
This is a developing story.
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