Rodney Childers and Spire Motorsports have parted ways following the first nine events of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season.
In July 2024, Spire Motorsports announced a multi-year deal beginning in 2025 with Rodney Childers, a championship-winning crew chief from Mooresville, North Carolina. The team named Childers as the crew chief for Justin Haley, driver of the No. 7 Chevrolet.
Haley is currently in 23rd place in the 2025 Cup Series driver’s standings. Through nine-scheduled starts, the duo of Childers and Haley recorded an average-finishing result of 20.2 and finished as high as 10th place at Homestead-Miami Speedway in mid-March. Their most recent event was at Bristol Motor Speedway on April 13, where Haley steered Spire’s No. 7 Chevrolet entry to a 13th-place result despite finishing third and sixth, respectively, during the event’s two stage periods.
Following the announcement of Childers’ departure from Spire Motorsports, Jeff Dickerson, co-owner of Spire, released a statement through social media that detailed the reasons for the departure while also acknowledging Childers’ contributions to the organization.
“NASCAR is an ever-evolving sport and the path to improvement isn’t always comfortable,” Dickerson stated. “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 our sport for 20 years, and he knows what it takes to win championships.
“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 then released a statement involving his departure from Spire Motorsports.
“I know this is a shock,” Childers stated. “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 JH 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 H and everyone at Hendrick Motorsports for my time working with them again,” Childers added. “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. Focus on the important things like my family and friends. And honestly just see what the racing world holds for me next. I know the man above will lead me in a direction that is best for me.”
Future plans for Childers and a new crew chief selection for Haley for the 2025 Cup Series season remain to be determined.
The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season for both Justin Haley and Spire Motorsports is scheduled to resume this upcoming Sunday, April 27, at Talladega for the Jack Link’s 500. The event’s start time is slated to commence at 3 p.m. ET on FOX.
The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season for both Justin Haley and Spire Motorsports is scheduled to resume this upcoming Sunday, April 27, at Talladega for the Jack Link’s 500. The event’s start time is slated to commence at 3 p.m. ET on FOX.
