Stewart-Haas Racing announced Friday morning that it has signed Kevin Harvick’s crew chief, Rodney Childers, to a multi-year contract extension.
Childers helped lead Harvick to the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship last year in his inaugural year with the team. Harvick is leading the points heading into this weekend’s event at Pocono Raceway.
In 49 races together at Stewart-Haas Racing, Childers and Harvick have scored seven wins, 23 top-five finishes, 32 top-10 finishes and nine poles. Harvick also has led 3,260 laps.
“Rodney Childers and Kevin Harvick set a new standard of excellence in 2014 that they’ve carried into this season. Keeping Rodney and Kevin together was a high priority, and we’re obviously very happy to have the two of them at Stewart-Haas Racing for many years to come,” said Tony Stewart, co-owner of SHR with Gene Haas, founder of Haas Automation, in a statement from the team.
Said Childers, in a statement: “I knew when I came to Stewart-Haas Racing that this was a special opportunity. Kevin’s skills have always been evident, and his hunger and desire to be the absolute best he can be in every practice, qualifying session and race motivates our entire team. We have great leadership at Stewart-Haas Racing along with a deep commitment toward success, excellent people and strong partners. If you want to win, this is where you want to be, and I’m happy to be here for a long time.”