“I raced every weekend against Adam Petty”: Legendary crew chief Rodney Childers credits NASCAR trajedies as factor behind changed career trajectory

Rodney Childers started his career as a race car driver before transitioning into a successful role as a NASCAR crew chief. NASCAR veteran and championship-winning crew chief recently revealed the reason behind changing his career path from being a race car driver to crew chief.

In a recent appearance on “Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour” podcast, Rodney Childers reflected on the mental toll that the deaths of NASCAR drivers in the early 2000s, including Dale Earnhardt Sr., Kenny Irwin, and Adam Petty, had on him personally and professionally.

Kevin Harvick’s longtime crew chief, Childers, stated that he had a personal connection with Petty and the impact of his death scared him, and that led him to end his career as a race car driver.

Recalling how these tragic incidents deeply affected him to change his career trajectory, Childers said:

“I think looking back on a lot of the turning points was when Dale Sr. got killed, Kenny Irwin got killed, and Adam Petty got killed. A lot of that stuff started stacking up on me there for a while, and I can remember it mentally. My goal was always to be a race car driver, then these people started getting killed.”

Childers continued:

“For me, I had a hard time with that. And finally, I was just like, I remember like screaming at home one day, I'm done, I'm done, I'm done. It was hard for me to accept how emotional I am. I raced every weekend against Adam Petty. I think that one probably hit me the most.”

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Rodney Childers career as a race car driver before becoming crew chief

The now 48-year-old Childers started his racing career at a young age in go-karts. By the time he was 12 years old, he had already secured his first World Karting Association championship, and in the next six years, he won seven WKA titles.

The North Carolina native transitioned into Late Models, where he continued to hone his skills and later raced in various NASCAR touring series, including the NASCAR Slim Jim All Pro Series and the Hooters Pro Cup Series between 1999 and 2002.

Childers then made his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut in 2000, driving for #48 Chevrolet for Jay Robinson Racing.

Rodney Childers is currently working as crew chief for Josh Berry’s #4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford team in 2024. The following season, he will be paired with Corey LaJoie and the #7 Spire Motorsports team.