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Dale Earnhardt Jr. taps NASCAR Cup Series Champion Crew Chief For JR Motorsports

Jared Turner Written by Sports EditorJared Turner
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Dale Earnhardt Jr.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series organization founded and led by 15-time NASCAR most popular driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. will have a crew crew chief in the fold next year.

That crew chief, Rodney Childers, won the 2014 NASCAR Cup Series championship with Kevin Harvick at since disbanded Stewart-Haas Racing.

Beginning in 2026, Childers will bring his skills, experience and expertise to JR Motorsports (JRM) in what is now known as the NASCAR Xfinity Series but will become the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series next year.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Thrilled About Hiring Of Rodney Childers

JR Motorsports revealed Wednesday that Rodney Childers will be joining the organization next season to call the shots for its No. 1 Chevrolet. Current JRM drivers Carson Kvapil and Connor Zilisch will share time in the No. 1 seat as Zilisch transitions to a full-time ride in the NASCAR Cup Series with Trackhouse Racing.

Along with capturing the 2014 Cup Series title as a crew chief, Childers has been atop a race-winning pit box 40 times in NASCAR’s premier division. The drivers he’s worked with at the Cup level include, among others, Kevin Harvick, Josh Berry, Mark Martin, Michael Waltrip and Elliott Sadler.

Childers joined Spire Motorsports ahead of the 2025 season, after the closure of Stewart-Haas. But he parted ways with the organization after just nine races as crew chief for Justin Haley. He has never been a crew chief at the Xfinity Series level. His time as a Cup crew chief goes all the way back to 2005, though.

“Rodney’s resume and career speak for itself,” JR Motorsports owner and two-time NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Dale Earnhardt Jr. said in a team release formally announcing Childers’ hiring. “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 that we could bring him into the JRM family.”

Veteran Crew Chief Hopes To Continue Success Of JR Motorsports

Since Dale Earnhardt Jr. started JR Motorsports in 2002, the Mooresville, North Carolina-based company has celebrated four Xfinity Series championships. Along the way, the organization has also scored 104 wins in NASCAR’s No. 2 division.

The most recent of those championships came last season with veteran Justin Allgaier. In February of this year, Allgaier competed in the Daytona 500 for JRM. The event marked the organization’s milestone NASCAR Cup Series debut.

This season, JRM driver Connor Zilisch leads the Xfinity Series with nine victories and sits atop the series standings.

Rodney Childers is eager to get started with the company co-owned by Earnhardt Jr., his sister Kelley Earnhardt Miller and Rick Hendrick.

“I’m so excited to be joining the JRM family,” said Childers, who reached the Cup Series Championship 4 on five occasions with Kevin Harvick. “To see what Dale, Kelley 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.”

JRM says it will make additional crew chief and driver announcements for 2026 at a later date.

Jared Turner Written by Sports EditorJared Turner
Jared Turner is a motorsports writer who has covered NASCAR for 20 years. He has interviewed over 20 NASCAR Hall of Famers and around 100 drivers, crew chiefs, and team owners, both past and present. He has also covered the sport for FOX Sports (where he was a two-time recipient of the FOX “X” Award for “Xtraordinary” job performance), NASCAR.com, Sporting News, NASCAR Pole Position Magazine, the SPEED network, and plenty of other online and print-only publications throughout his career. Notably, Jared has penned dozens of articles for NASCAR souvenir programs, including several featured prominently in Daytona 500 keepsakes. A Virginia Press Association award winner and former member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA), Jared has racked up accolades both for his writing and his academic work. He studied both Communication and Psychology at Virginia Tech, where he was permanently enshrined in Phi Beta Kappa — the nation’s oldest and most prestigious academic honor society. Jared excels at feature writing and opinion writing, much of which stems from his dedication to all levels of racing.
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