After the Stewart-Haas Racing team announced its exit from NASCAR, crew chief Rodney Childers became like the candy everyone wanted. Childers is probably one of the most successful crew chiefs in NASCAR. He was with Kevin Harvick when he won the 2004 NASCAR championship.

Childers who has 40 wins under his belt, was eventually bagged by Spire Motorsports. Recently, Spire Motorsports has been going through a lot of changes, one being Childers and the other sacking #7 driver, Corey LaJoie. Did Rodney Childers not want to be LaJoie’s crew chief? On a recent podcast episode of Stacking Pennies, LaJoie opened up about his departure.

Rodney Childers in, Corey LaJoie out

To make their 2025 season successful, Spire Motorsports is making several changes on the managerial level and the ground. In their press release, they said, “In racing, there are always variables but one thing we all know, is this is a performance-based business, and it just hasn’t been there for several reasons. All those reasons are factored in when it comes to making a decision of this magnitude. With Ryan (Sparks) moving upstairs, and Rodney (Childers) coming in next season, the best thing for Spire Motorsports is a clean slate for the No. 7 car in 2025.”

Corey LaJoie hasn’t had the best career in the Cup Series. In the 7 years, he’s only managed 4 top-5 finishes and his best finish was 4th, which came with Spire Motorsports. The 2024 season for Corey wasn’t any different. In his winless season, he sits in the 28th position with only one top-5 finish. Playoff chances for him and Spire Motorsport are extremely slim. Going into 2025, the team is looking for a revamp. They have gotten decorated crew chief Childers, but that’s only 50% of the work done. Who will be driving for Childers is the big question.

The person who won’t be is LaJoie. Is it possible that Childers asked for a new driver as LaJoie hasn’t been successful? In the podcast episode of Stacking Pennies, the host, Ryan Flores, talked about Rodney’s entry and asked Corey if that caught him off guard. Corey’s response seemed like he had the feeling of his departure. After all, he had the first-row ticket to his career. On Rodney’s arrival, Lajoie said, “Nothing catches me off guard um because if you are not running the towards the level of the expectations of your team you will get shuffled out because contractually it doesn’t matter now it matters if you can make a little bit of money the following year or you get bought out but there are so many different variables and there’s so many politics behind the scenes.”

As for the question of who will drive for the new crew chief, it still remains. However, LaJoie had an interesting insight on his replacement. According to him, the seat might be available to the highest bidder. On the same lines, he said, “There’s so many guys with legitimately checkbooks that can just be stroked to fill any seat like you’re buying tokens at Frank East fun park to drive race cars so that’s what you’re up against as well and not saying that whoever goes in the seven is that situation but it is wild uh the amount of flexibility in finances that these people who are kind of looking at situations to place them in.”

Only time will tell the next suitor of #7 of Spire Motorsports. There are a lot of unknowns. Will he be handpicked by Childers or will someone buy their way in? Did Rodney cause LaJoie’s exit? Hopefully, we will get the answers soon. For now, Lajoie is out and Rodney is in. However, did you know that Rodney Childers did not always want to be a crew chief?

What caused Childers to become a crew chief?

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Rodney’s initial career plan was to become a NASCAR racer. In 2000, Childers made his Xfinity Series debut for Jay Robinson Racing. However, his racing career had a tragic end. Childers was on the recent episode of Kevin Harvick’s podcast ‘Happy Hour.’ The era in which Childers raced witnessed a lot of deaths, including the death of the legendary Dale Earnhardt. However, what led him to take a step back was the tragic death of his racing pal and Richard Petty’s grandson, Adam Petty.

Childers said, “I remember screaming at home one day. I’m like, ‘I’m done.’ But it was hard for me to accept. You know how emotional I am. I raced every week against Adam Petty and I think that one hit me the most.” What made matters worse for Childers was the death of Kenny Irwin Jr. Which came not long after Petty’s death. These events deeply affected Childers, forcing him to take a different route into the world of racing.

In 2003, he decided to become a mechanic for a racing team. He started as a technician for Team Penske. Slowly and steadily moving through the ranks, Childers joined Stewart-Haas Racing, where he and Harvick led the team to glory. Hopefully, he would do the same for Spire Motorsports. As for Corey Lajoie, his future hangs in the balance. Where do you think he will go? Perhaps to the lower leagues? Let us know in the comments below.