“Wait what the f***?”: Fans react amid major speculation over Rodney Childers’ NASCAR future

NASCAR fans were stunned by rumors surrounding veteran crew chief Rodney Childers' future with Spire Motorsports. Ahead of the race weekend at Talladega Superspeedway, speculation began circulating that the #7 Chevy crew chief had parted ways with the team just nine rounds into the 2025 season.

Rodney Childers, a former racing driver turned crew chief, announced his move to Spire Motorsports last year following the closure of Stewart-Haas Racing. Initially set to partner with Corey LaJoie, the team opted to swap LaJoie with Justin Haley in the #7 Chevy during the playoffs.

Rodney Childers has led Justin Haley's #7 Chevy team to a decent start in the 2025 season. Nine rounds in, Haley sits 23rd in the standings, two spots ahead of Carson Hocevar. However, the #77 Chevy driver has shown more flashes of speed, while veteran teammate Michael McDowell has delivered more consistent results, currently 19th in the standings.

NASCAR fans were shocked as rumors swirled about Rodney Childers parting ways with Spire Motorsports, despite a relatively promising start to his stint with the team, with a 10th-place best finish at Homestead.

"🚨 NEWS: Rodney Childers and Spire Motorsports have parted ways effective immediately." a NASCAR page speculated.

Fans were taken by surprise by the rumors, with an X (formerly Twitter )user reacting:

"Wait what the f**k???"

Reacting to the rumor, another X user suggested that Spire Motorsports lacked faith in its personnel, although the reason behind the rumored split is unclear.

"Spire doesn't have any faith in their people, first Lajoie, now Rodney," wrote the user.

Here are a few other reactions from NASCAR fans to the rumor:

"bruh literally EVERYONE is leaving the 7 car 😭"a comment read.

"Not surprised. 7 car hasn’t been spectacular this year." an X user wrote.

"Childers is an amazing crew chief with an amazing resume. 6 months ago you couldn’t say a single negative thing about the guy" a NASCAR fan praised the veteran crew chief.

"BRING ME RODNEY CHILDERS FOR KYLE BUSCH OR I RIOT" a 'Rowdy' fan wrote.

Childers is among the most successful Cup Series crew chiefs, having led Kevin Harvick's #4 SHR team for over a decade. The speculations are yet to be confirmed by a credible NASCAR source.

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Rodney Childers reacts to Kasey Kahne's NASCAR return

Childers during practice for the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway - Source: Imagn

Rodney Childers praised Kasey Kahne's performance in his one-off return to the Xfinity Series at Rockingham Speedway. Childers said Kahne had a legitimate shot at winning the race before getting caught in a wreck.

Making his first NASCAR start since 2018, Kahne showed impressive speed in practice and started the race from the second row. However, he was involved in a wreck with William Sawalich and Katherine Legge but recovered in time for a Top-15 finish.

Childers wrote on X that Kahne had always been fast and showed impressive speed, despite his six-year hiatus. He wrote on X:

"Not sure anyone thought @kaseykahne would show up, the fastest 10 lap avg in practice, qual top 5, and have a legitimate chance of winning before getting caught up in something not of his doing. Extremely hard to do after being out of a car for that long. He’s always been fast."

The NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series return to action this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway (Apr. 26-27).