Crew chief Rodney Childers leaving MWR for Stewart-Haas
Childers confirmed he was leaving Friday at Bristol Motor Speedway. Childers had joined MWR in 2009 after spending three years at Gillett Evernham Motorsports. He currently is the crew chief for the No. 55 team, which has used multiple drivers — Mark Martin, Brian Vickers and Michael Waltrip — the last couple of years.
He has three Cup victories, including one this year with Vickers at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Vickers will drive the car again this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Childers is expected to be named the crew chief for Harvick, who has 21 career victories in a 13-year career at Richard Childress Racing but will leave that organization at the end of the year for SHR.
“Stewart-Haas Racing has not signed any new crew chiefs for 2014, but the team thinks very highly of Rodney Childers and he is on a short list of candidates," SHR spokesman Mike Arning said in an email.
“There was no one big thing that stood out at all," Childers said of his decision to leave MWR. "Everybody at MWR has treated me great for five years and really has had no issues at all. It’s just is a personal decision, and I’ve thought about it for a long time. I just woke up one day and that’s what my heart told me I should do so hopefully it works out."