Rodney Scott Childers (born June 7, 1976) is an American professional

stock car racing Stock car racing is a form of Auto racing, automobile racing run on oval track racing, oval tracks and road courses. It originally used Production vehicle, production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifical ...

crew chief and former driver. He last worked for

Spire Motorsports Spire Motorsports is an American professional stock car racing team competing in the NASCAR Cup Series, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, the ARCA Menards Series, and the ARCA Menards Series West. The teams ownership group consists of co-founder ...

as the crew chief for their No. 7 Chevrolet ZL1 in the

NASCAR Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...

driven by Justin Haley. He most notably worked for Stewart-Haas Racing as the crew chief of their No. 4

Ford Mustang The Ford Mustang is a series of American Car, automobiles manufactured by Ford Motor Company, Ford. In continuous production since 1964, the Mustang is currently the longest-produced Ford car nameplate. Currently in its Ford Mustang (seventh ...

in the

driven by

Kevin Harvick Kevin Michael Harvick (born December 8, 1975) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver and commentator for '' NASCAR on Fox''. He last competed full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 4 Ford Mustang for Stewa ...

. Harvick and Childers won the

2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Kyle Larson, the 2014 NASCAR Rookie of the Year. file:Jimmie Johnson Dale Earnhardt Jr. cars at Hendrick Engines 2014.jpg"> List_of_NASCAR_Manufacturers%27_champions">Manufacturer's championship with 20 wins & 1572 points, their 13th champi ...

championship together.

Racing career

Rodney Childers was born in

Mooresville, North Carolina Mooresville is a town located in the southwestern section of Iredell County, North Carolina, United States, and is a part of the fast-growing Charlotte metropolitan area. The population was 50,193 at the 2020 census, making it the most populo ...

. Before becoming crew chief, Childers himself was a racer, competing in the

World Karting Association The World Karting Association, or WKA, is the largest sanctioning body for kart racing in North America. The WKA was founded in 1971 and is located directly behind Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. The WKA is believed to curren ...

when he was 12 years old. He won seven championships in the state of

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

and five championships at the national level before moving to the Late Model Stock Car division in 1997. From 1999 to 2002 he competed in the NASCAR Slim Jim All Pro Series and the Hooters Pro Cup Series. In 2000, Childers made his

Busch Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...

debut at

Myrtle Beach Speedway Myrtle Beach Speedway (originally named Rambi Raceway) was a Short track motor racing, short track located on U.S. Route 501 near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The track was built in 1958. The speedway was a semi-banked Asphalt concrete, asphalt ...

, driving the No. 49

Chevrolet Monte Carlo The Chevrolet Monte Carlo is a two-door coupe that was manufactured and marketed by the Chevrolet division of General Motors. Deriving its name from the Monte Carlo, city in Monaco, the Monte Carlo was marketed as the first personal luxury car ...

for

Jay Robinson Racing Premium Motorsports (formerly Jay Robinson Racing) was an American professional stock car racing team that competed in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team last fielded the No. 15 Chevrolet Camaro (sixth generation)#ZL1, Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 LE full-ti ...

. Childers retired from driving in 2003 to concentrate on becoming a mechanic. He first worked with

Penske-Jasper Racing Jasper Motorsports was a NASCAR Nextel Cup team. It was owned by a variety of owners including D.K. Ulrich and Doug Bawel. 1970s–1980s The car started in 1971 Maryville 200, 1971 at what turned out to be the only Winston Cup race at Smoky Mo ...

as a mechanic for the No. 77 Dodge, before becoming car chief. In June 2005, Childers was named

Scott Riggs Russell Scott Riggs (born January 1, 1971) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed in the 92 for RBR Enterprises in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Racing career Early career Riggs was born in Bahama ...

' crew chief at MB2/MBV Motorsports for the rest of the season, where Riggs scored two top-fives and four top-10 finishes. He moved with Riggs to

Evernham Motorsports Evernham Motorsports was an American professional stock car racing organization that competed in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded in 2000 by former Hendrick Motorsports crew chief Ray Evernham, entering full-time competition as a two-c ...

at the start of the 2006 season, and stayed with him until October 2007, when he became

Elliott Sadler Elliott William Barnes Sadler (born April 30, 1975) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 10 Chevrolet Camaro for Kaulig Racing. Sadler is one of 36 dr ...

's crew chief at Evernham. He stayed with Sadler until the end of 2008, when he moved to

Michael Waltrip Racing Michael Waltrip Racing Holdings LLC, doing business as Michael Waltrip Racing ("MWR"), was an American professional stock car racing team that last competed full-time in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The company was as a 50–50 partnership betwe ...

. Childers used to own a 1967 Shelby Mustang GT500. It was given to him by MWR co-owner Robert "Rob" Kauffman after he and driver

David Reutimann Emil David Reutimann (born March 2, 1970) is an American professional stock car racing crew chief and former driver. A native of Zephyrhills, Florida, he has competed in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series, and Camping World ...

won the 2009 Coca-Cola 600. Reutimann also received a Mustang from Kauffman. Childers repeated the talents they used to win the Coca-Cola 600 to win Reutimann an upset Cup victory at Chicago. After Reutimann went winless in 2011, he was replaced by

Mark Martin Mark Anthony Martin (born January 9, 1959), nicknamed "the Kid", is an American former stock car racing driver. He most notably drove the No. 6 Ford Motor Company, Ford for Roush Racing for the majority of his career. From 1989 to 2009, Martin wo ...

and one of Childers' lifelong friends,

Brian Vickers Brian Lee Vickers (born October 24, 1983) is an American former professional stock car and sports car racing driver. He last drove the No. 14 Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing as an interim driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for the i ...

. Childers and the team was renumbered to 55. Vickers won the No. 55 team a victory at Loudon. On August 23, 2013, despite the Loudon win, Childers announced that he was leaving MWR to become

's crew chief at Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014. Childers was released from his crew chief duties by MWR following the 2013 Irwin Tools Night Race, but remained under contract for the remainder of the season. Harvick and Childers combined to win the

title. Since the title reign, the duo have been consistent in finishing within the

NASCAR playoffs The NASCAR playoffs, formerly officially known as the Chase for the Nextel/Sprint Cup (Nextel from 2004–2007, Sprint from 2008–2016), is a championship playoff system used in NASCAR's three national series. The system was founded as The Ch ...

. The two have combined to win 36 points races, 25 poles and one All-Star race win since the start of the No. 4 team. On October 5, 2022, Childers was suspended for four races and fined 100,000 for an L2 Penalty during post-race inspection after the Talladega playoff race. The penalty came under Sections 14.1 (vehicle assembly) and 14.5 (body) in the NASCAR Rule Book, both of which pertain to the body and overall vehicle assembly rules surrounding modification of a single-source supplied part. In addition, the No. 4 team was docked 100 driver and owner points. On June 21, 2023, SHR announced that Childers would stay as crew chief of the No. 4 car in 2024 season with new driver

Josh Berry Joshua William Berry (born October 22, 1990) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 21 Ford Mustang (seventh generation), Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Wood Brothers Raci ...

after the retirement of Harvick. On July 9, 2024,

announced that Childers would replace Ryan Sparks as the crew chief of the No. 7 car, driven by Justin Haley, for the 2025 season. However, on April 23, 2025, Spire announced that Childers had left the team effective immediately.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

( key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Busch Series

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Childers, Rodney 1976 births Living people People from Mooresville, North Carolina Racing drivers from North Carolina American Speed Association drivers NASCAR crew chiefs NASCAR drivers CARS Tour drivers