Childers Leaving MWR for SHR and Harvick in 2014

Rodney Childers will leave MWR for Kevin Harvick's new team at SHR
next season (Google Images)

While the rumors had been circulating for quite some time, it still came as a surprise when Rodney Childers announced Friday morning that he would leave Michael Waltrip Racing after the 2013 season. The consensus in the garage area is that he is headed to Stewart-Haas Racing to turn wrenches on Kevin Harvick's No. 4 Budweiser Chevrolet.

"As far as next year, it's not actually 100 percent done, but I think everybody has a good idea what it is," Childers said. "Going to SHR and working with Harvick is an opportunity that not many people ever get. I was afraid if I didn't take it, I would regret it the rest of my life. That's not something I wanted to do." MWR confirmed the news, which no doubt took the organization by surprise. Last week, the team announced Brian Vickers as the full-time driver of their No. 55 entry next year, but they did not announce that Childers would be back with the team. Despite this, MWR co-owner Michael Waltrip was more than confident a deal would get done.

"We feel like it's imminent," he said of re-signing the 37-year-old Childers. "It's going to happen. Obviously, putting together a driver/sponsor combination to go race for a championship is very appealing." However, that combination proved not appealing enough to Childers, who now will have the chance to work with Harvick, a 21-time winner in NASCAR's premiere series, and the chance to work on the Hendrick Motorsports equipment SHR runs on a weekly basis. MWR has made major gains since they began and then nearly went bankrupt in 2007, but they are not at the same level as SHR, who won the 2011 Sprint Cup Series championship with driver and co-owner Tony Stewart.

Childers (left) poses with then-driver David Reutimann
after the duo won Chicago in 2010 (Google Images)

While there are many reasons, both personal and professional, why Childers made this decision, he said there was not one major factor that led him to this point. “There was no one big thing that stood out at all. Everybody at MWR has treated me great for five years and really has had no issues at all," he said. "It's just a personal decision. I've thought about it for a long time and just woke up one day and that's what my heart told me I should do." He also said it was difficult to explain his decision to his team. "I was pretty much a mess trying to tell them," he said. "This team is the best group of guys I have ever been around and a pretty big family. After being here for five years, it's pretty hard to walk away from that." But while Childers values the relationship with his crewmen, it is the relationship he has with Vickers, who he has known since childhood, that may have taken a serious blow.

"The part with Brian is the hardest part for sure," he said. "We've had a long relationship together. It'll be difficult these next few races together, but hopefully they work out. I think after a while it will blow over and hopefully, we'll remain friends like we've always been our whole lives." But the 29-year-old Vickers did not sound as sure as his soon to be former crew chief.

"I was only disappointed the way it was handled with the team and me personally," said a clearly annoyed Vickers. "But at the end of the day, if someone wants to leave, they should leave. The last thing you'd ever want is someone on your team who doesn't want to be there, whatever the reason is." He also told reporters after Friday's first practice session that the "foundation" of his team would not crumble because of "one brick," saying he was in the situation he is for next year because of MWR as an organization and not simply because of Childers. He also did not know who would be atop his pit box next year, but said he is anxious to find out.

As far as what the rest of the year holds for Childers, he said he is "not exactly sure yet." It would not be surprising to see MWR release him from his contract early (the team released Mark Martin of his driving duties 13 races early to fill in for the injured Tony Stewart, coincidentally, at SHR). "We're just going to play it day by day and talk things over and see what's best for MWR," he said. "I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make this team a winning contender when I leave.

 "All in all, we'll do the best job we can, move forward wit everything and do the best job we can for the rest of the year (or however many more races they allow me to do this)," Childers said. "They've been pretty good about it so far."

Childers joined MWR in 2009 after a five-year stint at Gillette-Evernham Motorsports and a one-year deal at MB2 Motorsports. A former driver himself, he has won three times as a crew chief at NASCAR's top level. His first two victories came with David Reutimann in the 2009 Coca-Cola 600 and the 2010 race at Chicagoland Speedway. He also won at New Hampshire Motor Speedway with Vickers this past July.

UPDATE: Childers has been officially let go by MWR. Competition Director, Scott Miller will sit atop Vickers's pit box for the final 12 races of the season. Childers took his crew out to lunch one final time, tweeting a picture of he and his crew at "the Last Supper." (8/26/13)