Spire Motorsports and legendary crew chief part ways after nine races

Rodney Childers is parting ways with Spire Motorsports and the No. 7 team with Justin Haley effective immediately as confirmed by the team on Wednesday.

“NASCAR is an ever-evolving sport and the path to improvement isn’t always comfortable,” said team co-owner Jeff Dickerson in a statement. “The break in the Cup Series schedule gave us a chance to evaluate where we are as a program. We took the opportunity to discuss the best paths forward for everyone involved and the team and Rodney agreed that it would be best for us to part ways.

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“Rodney has worked at the highest level of the sport for 20 years, and he knows what it takes to win championships. With that in mind, we collectively acknowledge challenges with the team dynamic. Having the right combination of talent is just as important as the results on track. As we move in a new direction, it is not lost on us that Rodney has been an invaluable asset to our organization as he will continue to be for others in this sport.”

Childers has 40 wins at the highest level, 37 of them coming with Kevin Harvick at Stewart-Haas Racing from 2014 to 2023, which included the 2014 Cup Series championship and five Final Four appearances. He previously served as a crew chief at Jasper Penske, Evernham Motorsports and Michael Waltrip Racing. Childers worked with Josh Berry last year in his final season at SHR before that team closed.

Spire made Childers one of its highest profile hires last season as articulated by The Sporting News.

“Spire made Childers one of its highest-profile hires last summer as part of a funding influx from private equity entity Group 1001, the parent company of Gainbridge Financial, and CEO Dan Towriss. … Despite a rocky start, Haley and Childers have shown flashes of improvement recently and consistently ran inside the top 10 at Bristol last week before finishing 13th.”

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Childers also issued a statement:

“I know this is a shock. But also know that not everything works out perfect all the time. That’s how life works. This was just one of those things that just wasn’t working for either of us. I appreciate my time at Spire, working with (Justin Haley) and the entire 7 team. We did a lot of good that is yet to be seen, and I wish them the best in the future. Also want to say thank you to everyone at Chevrolet, Mr(Rick Hendrick) and everyone at Hendrick Motorsports for my time working with them again.

“It was a pleasure. Thank you to NASCAR, the officials, and most importantly the fans for your support. For me, I’m going to take a little time (and) focus on the important things like my family and friends. And honestly just see what the racing world holds for me next. know the man above will lead me in a direction that is best for me.”

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