Championship-winning crew chief Rodney Childers is off the market. He has found his home for the 2026 NASCAR season, one that puts him with a powerhouse team.
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According to a press release, Childers will join JR Motorsports for the 2026 O'Reilly Auto Parts Series season. He will take over the No. 1 team for Andrew Overstreet, who will remain with the organization as a "key player." This will mark Childers' first foray into the secondary series as a crew chief.
Childers, who won a Cup Series championship with Kevin Harvick in 2014, will work with two drivers while leading the No. 1 team. He will have Carson Kvapil and Connor Zilisch in control of the No. 1 Chevrolet as they share the entry.
JR Motorsports did not provide the number of races for each driver, but Zilisch will compete full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series with Trackhouse Racing.
"Rodney's resume and career speak for itself," said JRM team owner and NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. "Rodney and I grew up together and have known each other since we were kids.
"That's a relationship that has always been close and has remained close to this day. We've always had interest in working together in motorsports and I'm thankful that this opportunity came about and we could bring him into the JRM family."
The Mooresville native first took over a Cup Series pit box in 2005. He guided Scott Riggs for multiple seasons before joining forces with multiple other drivers. This included Patrick Carpentier, Elliott Sadler, David Reutimann, Scott Riggs, Michael Waltrip, Mark Martin, and Brian Vickers. He celebrated three wins — two with Reutimann and one with Vickers.
The turning point in Childers' career came in 2014. He joined forces with Kevin Harvick at Stewart-Haas Racing and kicked off a very successful partnership. This duo won five races and the championship in the first year of the Cup Series elimination format. They added three more wins in 2015 before finishing second in the standings.
Harvick and Childers spent 10 seasons together. They won 37 races and made the Championship 4 five times. They also led the series with nine wins in 2020.
The veteran crew chief spent one season with Josh Berry before Stewart-Haas Racing ceased to exist. He then moved to Spire Motorsports to join Justin Haley for the start of this season, but he and the No. 7 team mutually parted ways after nine races.
Childers has continued to head to the race track in the months since the departure from Spire Motorsports. He just has done so with his sons while experiencing a different side of the race weekend.
Once 2026 starts, however, he will be back in business mode as he tries to guide two young contenders.
"I'm so excited to be joining the JRM family," Childers said. "To see what Dale, Kelley Earnhardt Miller, and Mr. H (Rick Hendrick) have built here is quite amazing and their results show for themselves.
"Dale and Kelley have meant a lot to me for some 30 years and I can't wait to be part of this group. Plus, I get to be the lucky guy to lead two amazing young men that have a huge amount of talent and a big future in our sport."
