NASCAR Cup Series driver Justin Haley is set to return to Spire Motorsports as a full-time driver for the 2025 season. He will drive the #7 Chevy Camaro ZL1, and former championship-winning crew chief Rodney Childers will call the shots for Haley's car. The 25-year-old recently expressed his confidence in Childers.
Stewart-Haas Racing announced the shutdown of its operations after wrapping up the 2024 season which meant that crew chief Rodney Childers had to end his decade-long partnership with the team. He eventually joined Spire Motorsports for the 2025 season. With 40 wins in the Cup Series and a Cup Series title to his credit, he is ready to lend his expertise to Justin Haley in the upcoming season.
Recently, the #7 Chevy driver was featured in an interview with NASCAR and expressed his confidence in Childers' years of experience in the series.
“So yeah, Rodney obviously is a huge plus to us — having him and having that confidence, knowing that he’s going to take care of it. I think that’s what’s given me a lot of confidence, too, is there’s nothing that I can ask that’s too much for them that they aren’t going to take care of. It’s just been refreshing it’s honestly. Just been a whole change of lifestyle,” stated Justin Haley.
Notably, Childers recently mentioned that Haley never had a customized ride in his career, and he has worked on giving him the best one possible for the 2025 season.
“He’s gonna be like, ‘Holy crap!’”: Rodney Childers on giving Justin Haley the perfect opportunity
Earlier this month, former Stewart-Haas Racing crew chief Rodney Childers began the preparation of Justin Haley's ride for the 2025 season. He has been specifically working on Haley's seating position to make the ride comfortable.
According to NASCAR's report, the #7 Chevy driver's seat in the last season was set in a way that affected his core and spine negatively. This left his tailbone incredibly uncomfortable after races. However, for the 2025 season, Childers primarily recalibrated the seating position as per Haley's preference to make the ride enjoyable for him.
In an interview with NASCAR journalist Kelly Crandall, the former SHR crew chief stated:
“We've had to have his seats redone at Hendrick; we've had to have his belts moved. We've had to make all new seat rails, new headrests, new headrest supports, new seat mounts, new leg boards, new floorboards, new pedal faces, new steering column mounts. We have redone everything to make it absolutely perfect for him, and I think when he gets in there at the Clash, he's gonna be like, ‘Holy crap!’ I've never had anything like this before, and that's the first step, right?”
Additionally, Justin Haley and his teammate Michael McDowell will compete in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series opening race at Daytona International Speedway on February 14, 2025.