Rodney Childers has signed a multiyear deal to be Corey LaJoie’s crew chief at Spire Motorsports from next season.
The deal was finalized on Monday night, with Childers joining the organization from Stewart-Haas Racing where he won the 2014 championship with Kevin Harvick.
“We are beyond excited to announce Rodney Childers as the crew chief for Corey LaJoie and Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 team beginning in 2025,” said Spire Motorsports co-owner Jeff Dickerson. “There are decisions that professional racing teams make daily that take courage, require deep thought, and have some element of rolling the dice. To be clear, this wasn’t one of them. Rodney is a hall-of-fame-worthy, championship-winning crew chief with 40 wins.
“He is one of the best in the garage and when a guy like Rodney is available, it would be malpractice if we did anything but our absolute best to bring him into our growing organization. He will make us better the moment he walks into our shop, and we look forward to his contributions to our collective success.”
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Childers has been a Cup Series crew chief since 2005 and has more wins than any other active crew chief in the NASCAR Cup series. He has won races with three different drivers (Harvick; Brian Vickers; David Reutimann). In addition to his victories, Childers has 34 poles as a crew chief.
LaJoie goes into his ninth full season as a Cup Series driver next year. He has nine top-10 finishes in 256 starts and is still looking for his first career victory.
“I think the biggest thing is seeing how Spire Motorsports has grown over the last couple of years,” said Childers. “They are investing in people, and that’s what makes a difference these days. We all buy the same chassis, bodies and parts. What makes a difference is the people. Spire continues to invest in the people within the team and they seek out good people to add depth to an already strong group. Corey is a veteran of the sport and I think we have a tremendous opportunity in front of us.
“Spire has been on my radar for the past year. I had quite a few guys from the No. 4 team go over there and they keep telling me how much they enjoy it, what the culture is like and how well everybody gets along. That started it from my side. The rest was the way Jeff (Dickerson) and Doug Duchardt (Spire Motorsports President) handled my situation. They told me how much I was wanted and how I could make a difference.
“For anybody in this world, all you want is to feel wanted and loved, and I felt that through them. I also see it as a place that can be good for my family, long term. My kids are three years from graduating high school. With the truck teams there, it’s somewhere they can grow, learn and possibly work one day.”
Ryan Sparks, LaJoie’s current crew chief, will transition to full-time competition director for Spire Motorsports next season. He has been with LaJoie since 2020.
“Ryan Sparks is an amazing leader and has been a huge part of our organization since the first moment he clocked in,” Dickerson said. “As he transitions from managing two roles to focusing on Spire Motorsports as a whole, it’s important to point out that he was one of the first guys who talked to me about bringing Rodney in.
“Lots of guys say they’ll put the team first but there aren’t a lot of guys who follow through and that speaks to the type of competitor and human Ryan is. He has been balancing being a crew chief and the competition director the last couple seasons. This move will allow him to focus solely on the competition director role. As we continue to grow, his knowledge and leadership will become even more instrumental to our success.”