Rodney Childers admits Spire wasn’t his first choice amid Corey LaJoie's departure

Stewart Haas Racing team #4's crew chief Rodney Childers is set to join Spire Motorsports in the 2025 season. However, on a podcast with Kevin Harvick, the Childers admitted that the #7 team was not his first choice.

Tony Stewart and Gene Haas's decision to shut down SHR at the end of the 2024 season caused a massive stir in NASCAR as the news opened up the driver's market. It also meant that both crew members and crew chiefs would be up for grabs by rival teams in the Cup Series as well as Xfinity Series.

After several negotiations, Rodney Childers bagged a deal as a Crew Chief for Spire Motorsports. What helped the racer-turned-team leader during the negotiations was his vast experience of around two decades as a chief.

Childers spoke about the entire experience in episode 46 of "Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour" at Harvick's request.

"Right after Stewart Haas made their announcement, I felt so fortunate those next seven days. I mean, I talked to everybody in the garage, like every team reached out and I just felt so blessed and fortunate that these people reaching out," he said, expressing his gratitude (14:30 onwards)"

After connecting with almost every team post the announcement, Rodney Childers was expecting to make a move to the top teams like Hendrick Motorsports or Joe Gibbs Racing. However, a deal from Spire Motorsports felt right for the SHR crew chief.

"I talked to a lot of different people and the deal with Spire came about and right off the get-go they looked across the table, and looked me in the eyes, and said, you know we really want you to be here.

"We know how much difference that you can make. We want you to help build this thing into something special." Childers explained, elaborating his discussion with Spire Motorsports. (15:27 onwards).

Here's a look at the clip from the podcast on YouTube:

Apart from Rodney Childers, Spire Motorsports made an important announcement regarding their #7 race driver, Corey LaJoie. Despite Lajoie being critical in the team's growth, the management decided against continuing the North Carolina-based driver in 2025.

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Rodney Childers' arrival could lead to Corey Lajoie and Spire Motorsports split

Corey LaJoie joined Spire Motorsports's #7 team in 2021 to compete with the front-runners in the NASCAR Cup Series.

However, after three back-to-back disappointing seasons (with six top-10s and four top-five finished), the team and the 33-year-old racer decided to part ways at the end of 2024. Spire Motorsports announced via an X post:

“Corey LaJoie has been a cornerstone of Spire Motorsports since 2021 and it would be impossible to overstate what he’s meant to this organization.” - Jeff Dickerson, Co-Owner, Spire Motorsports

However, this decision could likely be the result of signing Rodney Childers as the new crew chief for the #7 team from next year. With expectations set higher than ever and Lajoie unable to deliver, Jeff Dickerson is likely looking at starting afresh next year.

“With Ryan (Sparks) moving upstairs, and Rodney (Childers) coming in next season, the best thing for Spire Motorsports is a clean slate for the #7 car in 2025,” he explained in the team's press release.