NASCAR
Spire Motorsports No. 7 Team Has Interim Crew Chief Starting at Talladega
TALLADEGA, Ala. – The lone off week for the NASCAR Cup Series saw a large change made with one of its most experienced talents. Rodney Childers and Spire Motorsports both announced a parting of ways, leaving a vacancy atop the No. 7 Chevrolet pit box for Justin Haley. Ahead of race weekend at Talladega Superspeedway, Haley gave further context into this departure.
I showed up on Tuesday,” Haley said. “We had our normal Tuesday, 8 a.m. meeting with the No. 7 team to see how we’d come here (Talladega) and try to win the race. And then after my meetings on Tuesday, I was notified. Yeah, it was unexpected, but to be honest with you, I don’t think anything in this sport surprises me anymore, so you have to deal with adversity and change. Last year, (I) came to Spire Motorsports midway through the year and somehow was a way crazier thing that happened to me than this week. My life has been full of craziness the last six months. Yeah, hopefully we can find some consistency here with (Ryan) Sparks. Had a lot of fun working with the back half of the season. I think he’s the plan for now and I enjoy working him”
“For me, (it’s) showing up and doing my job to the best of my ability each week. Obviously, it’s an unexpected change and not something you ever want to do in the middle of a season. But super proud to be with a race team and owner like Jeff Dickerson that’s not scared to make changes for maybe the better. It was a fit thing, I think. I think Jeff said in his interview with The Athletic, nothing super wrong that stood out.”
“I think at the end of the day, we’re in the Cup Series to compete, and on a Sunday in the Cup Series, everything has to be right. If one little thing isn’t right, you’re not going to win races, and that’s what we’re trying to do. That’s what Spire (Motorsports) is trying to do. They’ve been putting some much time, effort and resources, money, ability, put people in the right places to try to win races. I don’t think they’re scared to do anything to win a race. Yeah, just thankful to be in a position.”
“I think about where I was this time last year, a year later, I don’t think I could imagine being in this position – having such fast race cars underneath me. I feel like our race cars are so fast, especially at Bristol and some of the other races that we’ve gone to, our speed has just been amazing. Michael (McDowell) getting the pole at Las Vegas, and yeah, just working through the new team blues.”
“We brought in so many new people in the offseason. We’re trying to grow. Their (Spire) third car last year was a little different compared to this year with McDowell. We had to onload a lot of people, and through that, there’s going to be differences. Not direct Lego pieces that go together. I’m thankful for my time with Rodney (Childers), that taught us a lot as an organization. He’s a super great person. I really enjoyed getting to know him and work with him. At the end of the day, it’s a business and just trying to be successful on Sundays.”
Rodney Childers’ free agency may not be that long of a grace period. Childers, 48, remains one of the best crew chief minds in the sport today. The 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion alongside Kevin Harvick, Childers has 40 wins in a career that spans 21 seasons. Since this announcement, Childers has posted a few cryptic images to social media featuring his family and much-needed house work getting done. Just about any team on Sunday’s grid would benefit greatly from Childers’ decades of experience.
Childers’ exit was not the first recent change on the Spire No. 7 team. Car chief Robert ‘Cheddar’ Smith also left a few weeks ago for Joe Gibbs Racing. The Stewart-Haas Racing veteran is now teamed up with Ty Gibbs on the No. 54 Toyota. Dating back to last fall, Corey Lajoie also left this team in a swap for Justin Haley.
Spire Motorsports has moved their past crew chief Ryan Sparks back atop the No. 7 pit box. Sparks previously led this team with Corey Lajoie from 2021-2024. Haley and Sparks both ran together for the final seven races of last season.
Spire Motorsports has proven time and again to be willing to make many daring, bold, and seemingly outlandish moves in order to thrive. Whether or not letting Rodney Childers walk away is a right decision remains to be seen. However, Justin Haley is an above-average talent on superspeedways and may just be the right match with Ryan Sparks. It will be fun to see how the No. 7 fares over the rest of this season, and if they can win their way into the coveted Playoff field of 16.
For Haley’s full Talladega comments, click the link below.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credits to Chris Graythen/Getty Images
