In their first season together at Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014, Kevin Harvick and Rodney Childers hit the ground running, winning the NASCAR Cup Series championship with five wins.
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But the landscape shifted in 2023 following Harvick’s retirement. While Harvick transitioned into broadcasting, Childers took over as crew chief for Josh Berry. However, after SHR announced its closure and Childers briefly joined Spire Motorsports, he parted ways with the team just ten races into the season.
Childers surfaced at North Wilkesboro this weekend, signaling his availability for a new Cup Series role. In the meantime, he has stayed close to the racing world by working with Harvick on the CARS Tour effort.
Since Childers’ joining the program, their full-time driver, Landen Lewis, has won at Ace Speedway and secured the pole at Wilkesboro’s nationally televised event on Friday.
Childers currently works alongside crew chief Miles Copenhaver, who previously collaborated with him and Harvick in the Cup Series. With a background in Late Model Stock racing before stepping onto the pit box, Childers brings a full-circle understanding of the sport.
But more than experience, it was Harvick who pulled him into the CARS Tour fold. As Childers put it, “I mean, the biggest thing is just when Kevin asks me to do something, I do it.”
He added, “Everyone knows how much he’s done for me over all the year, and he changed my whole life. You think about the Cup races we won, and our relationship is just something that people don’t come across often in this sport. He asked me to help them out, and it’s just been really great working on some things over there.”
Harvick called him on a Monday afternoon, asked about his weekend plans, and invited him to the shop to lend a hand after a tough stretch for the team. Childers admitted he has been enjoying working with the late model program again.
Still, he made it clear that his long-term goal remains unchanged — he wants to return to crew chiefing in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Childers admits his relationship with Harvick has made it hard for him to move ahead
When Childers first spoke with Harvick before joining the SHR team, he struggled to imagine them working together, let alone hitting it off. But the pair defied expectations — not only did they find common ground, they built one of the most prolific driver-crew chief partnerships in modern NASCAR, clinching the 2014 Cup Series title and tallying 37 of Harvick’s 60 career Cup victories.
Reflecting on their dynamic, Childers acknowledged the contrast between his initial impression and what unfolded, saying, “It was the easiest relationship that I’ve had in my life.”
The two communicated daily, exchanging upward of a hundred messages, constantly checking in and aligning on every detail that mattered. Childers admitted that after experiencing a working relationship so seamless and natural, it becomes difficult to turn the page.
Though their full-time collaboration ended with Harvick’s retirement, they are back in the trenches for now. The question for now is which Cup team will step forward and tap Childers to return to the pit box.
