The new relationship between championship-winning NASCAR Cup Series crew chief Rodney Childers and Spire Motorsports has ended after just nine races.
The Mooresville, N.C.-based team announced Wednesday that it has mutually parted ways with Childers, following a lackluster start to the season with driver Justin Haley.
As the Cup Series resumes this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway, kicking off 27 weeks to the season finale at Phoenix Raceway in November, Haley will have a new crew chief atop the No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro’s pit box.
Childers and Haley struggled to find chemistry early on, managing only one top-10 finish in the season’s first two months — a 10th-place result after starting 21st.
Haley, who took over the No. 7 ride from Corey LaJoie at the end of the 2024 season, currently sits 23rd in the standings with an average finish of 20.2.
“NASCAR is an ever-evolving sport, and the path to improvement isn’t always comfortable,” co-owner Jeff Dickerson said 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.”
Dickerson cited publicly challenges within the team dynamic as one of the reasons for the split.
“Rodney has worked at the highest level of our sport for 20 years, and he knows what it takes to win championships,” said Dickerson. “With that in mind, we collectively acknowledged 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, a crew chief in the Cup Series since 2005, has earned 40 wins, 178 top-five and 299 top-10 finishes in that role.
In 2014, he led Kevin Harvick to his first and only Cup Series championship at Stewart-Haas Racing, in a season that featured five wins and eight poles.
He joined Spire Motorsports, a three-car organization, during the offseason after 11 seasons at Stewart-Haas Racing, which folded at the end of 2024. Of his 40 career wins, 37 came during his time at SHR, where he spent 10 of those 11 years with Kevin Harvick before working with Josh Berry in 2024.
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— Rodney Childers (@RodneyChilders4) April 23, 2025
A statement from Spire Motorsports co-owner, Jeff Dickerson. pic.twitter.com/RjKxDo3pLR
— Spire Motorsports (@SpireMotorsport) April 23, 2025
