“It’s Desperation”: SHR Insider Delivers a Bitter Reality Check About Rivals ‘Poaching’ From Tony Stewart

Stewart-Haas Racing’s departure from NASCAR racing might just result in a big migration of people within different teams. With the four SHR charters available on the market, four drivers are also looking for a new team. But there’s more to just drivers switching teams, as teams are on a hunt for team members who play an integral part in running a successful team.

Veteran crew chief Rodney Childers, who spearheads the operation for the #4 team, highlighted the harsh realities of how the NASCAR world operates. Poaching is the term we often associate with different sporting leagues, but according to Childers, rival teams have adopted this practice in NASCAR as well.

Tony Stewart could lose out on key team members before the end of the season

It takes more than just a good driver and crew chief to run a race team. You have pit crews, mechanics, engineers, and road crew, and all their contributions directly correlate to the results on the race track on the weekend. While NASCAR teams are not known to poach team members, given the circumstances, rival teams would not miss out on such a good opportunity.

Crew Chief Childers explained how good people are hard to come by as the sport heads into a new era of racing. “Right now, you can’t get anybody to come work for Cup teams anymore … You’re not trying to poach people, but in reality, that’s kind of what it has turned into. You’re not trying to steal people, but it’s desperation right now to get the right people on your teams that are strong, that are committed. Have the right mindset and the right things going on in life.”

Amidst the chaos and uncertain times, it’s hard for a team to keep hold of their members. And this concerns Childers, who is hoping to keep his team intact. “Even without this, it’s hard to keep good people. You know, I feel like everybody on the 4 team in general is really strong. We need to keep that core group together as long as we can, and then it still takes all the guys at the shop. It takes the guys putting the bodies … I mean, you have to have all those people to make this thing go round and that’s going to be extremely hard.”

It has been a rough few weeks for the veteran crew chief, who has been key to the success of the #4 team, SHR. However, despite the sad news of partying ways with Tony Stewart and Gene Haas, Childers will always cherish his fond memories of working with the people at SHR during his stint.

Childers’ favorite memories from his time at SHR

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When Tony Stewart offered Childers a job back in 2014, the #4 team was seen as a development project. It had only four wins that came during the time of Ryan Newman. But, a project that started from scratch soon became one of the most successful teams in NASCAR during the last decade. Kevin Harvick and Childers’s partnership went on to win 36 Cup races, a championship win in 2014, and 25 pole positions.

Despite the success and decorated trophy cabinet, the veteran crew chief still cherishes the time he first took on the job at SHR. “I mean, for me, it has went back to the beginning of walking in here, the 4 car. We didn’t even have cabinets in the shop, we didn’t have a lot box, a hauler; we didn’t have jack stands; we didn’t have tools. They hired me to come in here and start a fourth car, which is now called a fourth charter. We started it from nothing, and we hired all the right people and done all the right things.” Rodney Childers said this in an interview with Dirty Mo Media via YouTube.

Not only the SHR driver, but a decorated and experienced campaigner like Rodney Childers will be in demand by the rival Cup teams. It remains to be seen whether he decides to stick with his current driver, Josh Berry, or embark on a new challenge with a new group.