BRISTOL, Tenn. — Rodney Childers' brief tenure with Spire Motorsports did not play out as either side hoped, yet it helped build a foundation for the championship-winning crew chief.
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He had the opportunity to get back into the Chevrolet ecosystem and re-learn the valuable tools that could help him achieve success once again after a few down years. He could get back to building race-winning cars.
But to reach this point, he just had to go through some less than pleasant times.
"Looking back on it, what was a nightmare last year actually helped me get ready," Childers said on Saturday night after making the strategy call that set up Connor Zilisch's Bristol win.
"I mean, I learned how to run the sim like the back of my hand at Spire. So when I walked in (JR Motorsports), it was like, 'Oh, it's the same as it was last year.' So everything happens for a reason, and that was part of it."
Looking back on it, it wasn’t a good idea to hide all my radios around my waist and wear a suit that was made for someone last year.. 🤦🏻♂️🤦🏻♂️😂😂
But I have a lot of superstition with fire suits! 🏁
What an incredible night @ItsBristolBaby ! https://t.co/GiZVyeRtcT— Rodney Childers (@RodneyChilders4) April 12, 2026
Childers, the man who guided Kevin Harvick to 37 wins and a championship, spent part of his career working with Chevrolet and Hendrick Motorsports by extension. This included Stewart-Haas Racing purchasing its chassis from HMS for a championship run and then copying the design as the years progressed.
However, the situation changed with the 2017 season. SHR switched to Ford, thus taking away Childers' connection to Hendrick Motorsports and the team's personnel. He remained away until the start of the 2025 season when he joined Spire Motorsports.
This opened up the pipeline to HMS once again, a prospect that excited the veteran crew chief. He could once again work with fellow champions while trying to help another team grow into a contender.
"I've done all my homework I can do, I have probably worn people out," Childers told this author in July 2024 after joining Spire. "'What does that technical alliance look like with Hendrick (Motorsports)? With the pit crews? What information do I get? What information do I not get?'
"I've had conversations with Cliff (Daniels), I've had conversations with Alan (Gustafson), and had plenty of conversations with Mr. (Hendrick). For me, that was a big key too, just having somebody to lean on."
However, Childers only spent nine races with Spire Motorsports, Justin Haley, and the No. 7 team before they mutually parted ways.
Spire Motorsports moved forward with Ryan Sparks taking over the team for the rest of the season. Childers focused on other pursuits before ultimately joining JR Motorsports to work with a group of drivers including Zilisch and Carson Kvapil.
Yet, he did not lose the connection to HMS. Rick Hendrick has deep ties to JR Motorsports as a co-owner of the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series team. The two teams work together, especially this season with HMS fielding its own full-time O'Reilly Series entry.
The HMS drivers suit up for JR Motorsports on a regular basis, including Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway as Larson finished second behind Zilisch and the No. 1 team.
"I still get messages from Mr. H, and I get messages from Scotty Maxim (HMS director of powertrain) and Jeff Andrews and all those people over there," Childers said. "And they're part of our DNA. They make us run. And it's one big team, really."
Make no mistake, the veteran crew chief is having a blast in his new role at JR Motorsports. He only has one win in nine races this season, but his No. 1 team has been in contention on a weekly basis.
It's just hard to beat this setup. He gets to work with very talented drivers each week of the season, and he gets to work with Hall of Fame team owners in Hendrick and Dale Earnhardt Jr. He and the team get to build cars instead of working within the limitations of the Gen 7 platform.
"It's felt like home from the day I walked in those doors, every single meeting," Childers said. "It just feels normal. It feels just like old Cup racing used to be."
