Why Rodney Childers Chose Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Team Over a NASCAR Cup Future With Kyle Busch: “Couldn’t Say Yes Fast Enough”

When veteran Cup-winning crew chief Rodney Childers announced his exit from Spire Motorsports in April, many hoped he would land with Kyle Busch and help turn the tide for the Richard Childress Racing driver. However, Childers has decided to take a completely different direction.

Fans may be disappointed that Childers won’t be joining forces with Busch even though his current crew chief, Randal Burnett, will leave the No. 8 pit box. Burnett is taking over at Connor Zilisch’s Trackhouse entry in 2026.

Instead, JR Motorsports confirmed that Childers will join them in 2026 to call the shots for the No. 1 Chevrolet in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. That’s a ride shared by Carson Kvapil and Zilisch. A 40-time Cup race winner, Childers will take his first step into NASCAR’s second-highest division as a crew chief.

Childers’ last stint at the Cup Series was with the No. 7 Chevrolet team for Spire. But his most decorated years came with Kevin Harvick and Josh Berry at Stewart-Haas Racing.

The Childers-Harvick partnership is often celebrated as one of the most dominant the sport has seen. From 2014 until Harvick’s retirement in 2023, the duo racked up 37 wins, 148 top-fives, 230 top-10s, and five Championship 4 appearances. The highlight, of course, was the 2014 title.

Childers pulled no punches while detailing why he chose JR Motorsports instead of chasing another Cup ride. “For me, the last couple of months, I just started to look at things differently. I always felt like I needed to prove something and needed to win more Cup championships or the Daytona 500, but then I realized there is more to life than that,” he said.

“I will learn a lot more about myself next year as we go along. Maybe I really love having Sundays at home. Maybe it’s really going to bother me that I’m not out there when I get home and they’re still racing on Sundays,” continued Childers.

“Maybe that will make me want to go add a Truck Series championship before I’m dead… The Cup garage is just in a different place right now, with a lot of teams either set or wanting to try something else,” he added.

That desire to take on different challenges, paired with limited opportunities from Cup organizations, including RCR, explains why Childers did not opt to partner with Busch.

Rodney Childers spoke with @Motorsport about the decision to join JRM, and how his perspective has changed in recent months.

️ “I always felt like I needed to prove something (in Cup) … but then I realized there is more to life than that.”https://t.co/9jDEDiz4ZZ

— Motorsport (@Motorsport) September 24, 2025

JRM owner, Dale Earnhardt Jr., was quite excited to have Childers on board. Junior said the crew chief’s resume and career spoke for themselves.

“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 an interest in working together in motorsports, and I’m thankful that this opportunity came about and we could bring him into the JRM family,” added Dale Jr.

Childers wants to explore other sides to racing life than Cup Sundays, especially when the right door doesn’t swing open. Also, he has explored the landscape thoroughly, making multiple trips to North Wilkesboro, Richmond, and Darlington before charting this course.

About the author

Neha Dwivedi

Neha Dwivedi is an experienced NASCAR Journalist at The SportsRush, having penned over 5500 articles on the sport to date. She was a seasoned writer long before she got into the world of NASCAR. Although she loves to see Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch win the races, she equally supports the emerging talents in the CARS Late Model and ARCA Menards Series.. For her work in NASCAR she has earned accolades from journalists like Susan Wade of The Athletic, as well as NASCAR drivers including Thad Moffit and Corey Lajoie. Her favorite moment from NASCAR was witnessing Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. win the championship trophies. Outside the racetrack world, Neha immerses herself in the literary world, exploring both fiction and non-fiction.

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