The Rodney Childers sweepstakes is over and JR Motorsports has won big time. It was announced yesterday that JRM hired Rodney Childers to crew chief for their soon to be O’Reilly Auto Parts #1 Chevy. The car is going to be driven by both Carson Kvapil and Connor Zilisch.

Despite several Cup drivers needing a crew chief like Rodney Childers, a viable Cup opportunity never presented itself. Personally, I think that is insane. Still, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. has managed to capitalize on that lack of interest. Clearly, Rodney Childers is thrilled at the opportunity, as well.

This is a big victory for both. Countless cup drivers could have used Rodney Childers. For example, any of the first four drivers out of the playoffs really need to look at bringing in new crew chiefs. Personally, as a fan of Childers, I was hoping to see him either crew chief for SVG or Connor Zilisch. While it’s not in the Cup series, now Childers will be crew chief for Zilisch.

The Big Winners (and Losers) of this Move

As is the case with the hiring of any major player, there are going to be big winners (and big losers). First, I’m going to look at the big winners.

Rodney Childers

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Rodney Childers, JRM, and Connor Zilisch

Rodney Childers, JRM, and Connor Zilisch are the big winners here. First, Childers doesn’t fall too far from the cup series with this move. Many folks were expecting to see him in the truck series. This keeps him in range of making a jump back up to cup. If JRM ever decides to go cup racing, they already have a veteran superstar crew chief to take with them. Also, say Randall Burnett under-performs with the quite capable Connor Zilisch in the cup series as Childers performs well with him in the lower series. In such a case, Childers would seem like a natural replacement.

Obviously, JRM and Connor Zilisch are huge winners in this move. In my opinion, that #1 car is going to be a favorite for the owners championship in 2026. I’m sure I’m not the only one to hold that opinion. Carson Kvapil is a big winner too, but if this means he is going to be part-time that’s also kind of a loss. Still he will benefit greatly from having Rodney Childers as a crew chief.

Obviously, Rodney Childers is a big winner here too. He may not be going Cup racing in 2026, but he is headed to a successful Xfinity/O’Reilly Auto Parts series team with JRM. Many Kyle Busch fans wanted to see Rodney Childers at RCR. RCR is the team that got me interested in the sport, so what I’m going to write is hard to write. Dale Earnhardt, Sr. carried that team during the last few seasons of his career. Kevin Harvick carried that team during his time there. Kyle Busch hasn’t been able to carry the team. That would have been a very tough situation for Childers to be put in.

Rodney Childers

Andy Coffey — Pit Pass Network

The Big Losers

Kyle Busch is probably the biggest loser with this move. While it would have been a difficult situation for Rodney Childers to be in, he may have been the only crew chief that could resurrect KFB’s cup series career. Honestly though, I’m not sure that RCR would have been willing to spend the amount of money to bring Childers in.

The Cup series fans are a big loser in this move. Rodney Childers is one of the few crew chiefs that stand out as a superstar. His name belongs beside those such as: Chad Knaus and Ray Evernham. I’m sure that his return to the top of the pit box at JRM will allow him to prove himself to any doubters.

The rest of the entire O’Reilly Auto Parts 2026 field should be included in this list as well. Rodney Childers has stated that he just wants to “smash” his competition. Good luck current Xfinity Series teams, you’re going to need it next year!