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Fans were outraged after Rodney Childers was announced as Corey LaJoie's crew chief at Spire Motorsports for the 2025 NASCAR season and beyond. Childers will be replacing Ryan Sparks.
Childers, who has served as the crew chief at Stewart-Haas Racing since the 2014 season, will move to Spire Motorsports in 2025. This comes after SHS announced the closure of their Cup Series operations at the end of this season.
The 48-year-old Childers has a vast amount of experience in motorsports, as he has been in NASCAR for over two decades. After partnering with Kevin Harvick at SHR in 2014, they were able to bring the driver's only championship win. Further, the duo remained very competitive until the end of Harvick's career.
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Childers' latest move to Spire Motorsports to become crew chief for #7 driver Corey LaJoie raised eyebrows on social media, with many questioning the decision. Social media users made the point that it was not worth it to pair such a seasoned crew chief with Corey LaJoie, whose driving is sometimes questioned by fans.
"Wasting his talent to give him to Lajoie," a fan wrote.
"Is this a joke? One of the best in the racing going to a joke of a team with a guy who should be driving in the truck series," a user critiqued.
Another fan mockingly brought up LaJoie's aggressive driving style.
"Lol if the driver can not wreck the car every other race then this might be a good move," a user wrote.
Rodney Childers talks about moving to Spire and working with Corey LaJoie
Childers will make the next move of his exemplary career with Spire Motorsports. LaJoie, who will be his main focus within the team, has been racing for Spire since the 2021 season. In 2020, he was announced as their #7 driver in a multi-year deal.
Speaking about the team's efforts over the previous two seasons, Childers stated that they have managed to create an impact.
"I think the biggest thing is seeing how Spire Motorsports has grown over the last couple of years," Childers said in a team release. "They are investing in people, and that’s what makes a difference these days. We all buy the same chassis, bodies and parts. What makes a difference is the people."
He went on to refer to Corey LaJoie as a "veteran" of NASCAR and stated how excited he was to have a "tremendous opportunity."
"Spire continues to invest in the people within the team, and they seek out good people to add dem.pth to an already strong group. Corey is a veteran of the sport, and I think we have a tremendous opportunity in front of us."
