Championship-winning crew chief delivers his honest verdict on Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Carl Edwards’ ‘eye-opening’ podcast  

Rodney Childers, current NASCAR crew chief of Spire Motorsports, recently shared his honest thoughts after listening to Dirty Mo Media's podcast. In an episode of the Dale Jr. Download, Dale Earnhardt Jr. sat down with Carl Edwards, a 2025 Hall of Fame class inductee, and touched upon various aspects of the latter's professional and personal life. Moreover, the sudden exit of former Roush Fenway Racing driver Edwards and the silver lining to it seemingly caught the eye of the famed shot-caller Childers.

In a recent post on X, Childers, who won his maiden Cup Series championship title with now-retired NASCAR driver Kevin Harvick in 2014, delivered his verdict on the eventful insights from Dale Jr.'s podcast episode. He wrote:

"This one is amazing.. Very eye opening and puts things in perspective. There are days that all of us have some of the exact same thoughts. Also Carl was definitely a champion, even though he didn’t hoist the big trophy.. @Dalejr"

While Carl Edwards racked up 28 Cup wins in 13 years of his NASCAR career, a championship title eluded him. However, he came close twice by finishing runner-up in the final points standings, in 2008 and 2011.

Although Edwards couldn't win the coveted trophy in his storied career, the No. 7 crew chief, Childers, considers him a champion. Famous for his back-flip celebrations, the 45-year-old Edwards hung his racing helmet after the 2016 season, however, he is set to mark his return to NASCAR albeit from the booth for Amazon Prime Video in select races this season.

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Carl Edwards opens up on how his broadcasting gig came to fruition

Carl Edwards recently talked about how his deal with Amazon broadcasting booth was shaped. The Missouri native revealed how the number of races was a factor that influenced his decision to get in with the Prime team.

Speaking with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Edwards explained:

"I was in Hong Kong on this separate thing. And Randy Fuller said, 'Hey, Amazon's going to do some of these races. It's five races and they want to talk to you.' And it struck me at the time. I thought, man, five races, my kids are kind of getting into racing. My family is asking questions about what my career was like. Maybe this will be cool."

Furthermore, he added:

"It's not about, suits and ties and sitting there talking about numbers. They just say, 'Hey, we want to have some fun. We want to go to races, but the fans enjoy it.' And so that day getting to spend with them, it just felt right. And that's why I'm doing it."

Amazon Prime's NASCAR team includes Danielle Trotta and Corey LaJoie in the studio. Meanwhile, Dale Jr., Steve Letarte, Trevor Bayne, Adam Alexander, and Marty Snider are in the broadcasting booth.

The first race coverage will be at the Coca-Cola 600 race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 25.