Spire Motorsports and crew chief Rodney Childers are parting ways effective immediately, sources with knowledge of the development behind the scenes in the NASCAR Cup Series organization confirmed to The Sporting News on Wednesday.
No reason was provided, and neither the team nor the veteran crew chief have explained the decisions. The Sporting News has been told to expect an official announcement at some point on Wednesday.
This marks a quick end to a partnership that began this season at the No. 7 team that paired driver Justin Haley with one of the most successful team leaders in the modern history of the sport. Haley is currently 23rd in the championship standings with just one top-10 finish.
Childers has 40 Cup Series wins as a crew chief and enjoyed his most success alongside Kevin Harvick at Stewart-Haas Racing, where they claimed the 2014 championship and won 37 races together. Harvick retired after the 2023 season and Childers had one more season at SHR with Josh Berry before that team shut down at the end of last season.
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.
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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. Childers has previous stops at Michael Waltrip Racing, Evernham Motorsports and Penske Jasper Racing. He was a Late Model and Xfinity Series driver before moving to the engineering side that has made him most successful. His longtime right-hand man and car chief Cheddar Smith left the team last month to take on a similar role at Joe Gibbs Racing with Ty Gibbs and the No. 54 team.
For Haley, longtime crew chief turned Ryan Sparks could fill in with the No. 7 team that he was crew chief over in the interim. Matt McCall is also the team director of vehicle performance and is fresh off a high-profile crew chief stint with Brad Keselowski at RFK Racing.
UPDATE: Spire Racing co-owner Jeff Dickerson has provided the following statement.
“NASCAR is an ever evolving sport and the path to improvement isn’t always comfortable. 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.
“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 s 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.”
UPDATE: Rodney Childers adds his own 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.”
