Stewart-Haas Racing faced massive upheavals this year. The most shocking of them was the news that Tony Stewart decided to drop as the 2024 season ended. The 69-time Cup-winning team would shutter at the end of the season, leaving behind a trailblazer legacy of two championships. However, this was not the only change 2024 offered to SHR; Kevin Harvick’s departure also robbed some winning charm.

Throughout his 10-year-long tenure at Stewart’s fold, Harvick oozed gold. The stellar Cup Series driver never missed the playoffs due to consistently good finishes. So when he finally hung up his firesuit, the No. 4 Ford team also lost its glory. And crew chief Rodney Childers misses that rush.

What worked for Kevin Harvick, according to Rodney Childers?

After 13 years at Richard Childress Racing, Kevin Harvick looked for a breath of fresh air. So in 2014, he shifted sides to join Tony Stewart’s fold. Along with him joined Rodney Childers to serve as the crew chief of the No. 4 Ford. Childers had stints at MB2 Motorsports, Evernham Racing, and Michael Waltrip Racing before SHR. But his rapport with Harvick was unlike anything else. Both of them won five races with 14 top-five and 20 top-10 finishes. They capped off the season by winning at Homestead and clinching the Cup championship trophy.

After 2014’s success, the duo kept up their playoff runs till Harvick’s retirement year in 2023. After that, Josh Berry took the wheel of the No. 4 car. And sure enough, for the first time in 10 years, Rodney Childers missed the playoffs. So Tony Stewart’s confidant admitted to Racer that “it really is” weird.

“It seems like it’s been forever since we weren’t in the playoffs. But maybe we took that for granted.” Berry could achieve only 4 top-tens and 2 top-fives, along with long streaks of poor finishes and DNFs, as Denny Hamlin accused Berry of wrecking at Darlington. This counters Childers leading his team to a top-five championship point finish seven times in the past.

Childers led Harvick to eight postseason appearances in their decade together. That included five Championship 4 appearances between 2014-19. But all that glory was due to a drive to win; Childers is yet to lose. “I said it in our meeting (at Atlanta), ‘We need to concentrate on winning races. With Kevin, that’s how we always got through the playoffs. But it was nice (last) week to not deal with the drama. I’m not much for drama; I just want to go race and win races.”

Yet Tony Stewart’s fold shone through another driver this time, Chase Briscoe. The No. 14 Ford is still keeping that winning drive alive in Childers.

One final act of glory for SHR

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Even after the earth-shattering news dropped in May, SHR employees kept a steady head. Chase Briscoe focused on his performance, keeping up the best finishes among Tony Stewart’s drivers. And when the flame seemed about to go out at the cusp of the playoffs, Briscoe made some jaws drop. He won the Darlington race and instilled renewed purpose in his team. Although most of the SHR employees do not know where to work after 2024, for now, their goal is set—to guide Briscoe to a championship.

Rodney Childers is also focused on that goal, despite acting as the crew chief for a different driver. As he continued his interview with Racer, he said, “To have Chase Briscoe in it, you kind of get that same sense around the shop. At least you still have those same conversations.”

He also mentioned that he still hoped for a breakthrough win in the No. 4 Ford, as winning races was his only wish. “For us, I still feel like we’re in that same mode because we want to win a race so bad with Josh, and we’ve had really good cars lately.”

Evidently, Tony Stewart’s team is united at present to help Chase Briscoe carve out a winning path. Although Childers looks back at his days with Harvick, he also knows the need of the hour.