Spire Motorsports, the NASCAR Chevy team that fields the No. 7 Chevy Camaro ZL1 of Corey Lajoie in the Cup Series among other Cup and Truck Series entries, has landed legendary crew chief Rodney Childers for the 2025 season and beyond.
Childers has been a part of the Ford camp for quite some time, sitting atop Kevin Harvick’s pit box throughout his tenure with Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR). More recently, Childers assumed duties as crew chief for Josh Berry, who took over the No. 4 Ford Mustang Dark Horse when Harvick retired at the end of the 2023 Cup Series season. Childers has 40 Cup Series wins as crew chief and one Cup Series championship earned with Harvick in 2014.
As reported by our sister publication, Ford Authority, SHR will shutter at the end of the 2024 racing season, making Childers a free agent. He will be an incredible asset for Lajoie atop the No. 7 NASCAR Chevy pit box when he joins the team next year.
“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 in a statement. “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 added, “[Childers] 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.”
Ryan Sparks, current crew chief for the No. 7 Chevy team and Spire Motorsports director of competition, will transition to a single role as Competition Director upon conclusion of the 2024 season.
“Spire has been on my radar for the past year,” said Childers. “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 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.”
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what is Chevy going campaign for 2025………../no Camaro, no SS, no Impala, perhaps a Malibu or an Equinox or better yet the EV Blazer