Rodney Childers makes feelings clear on role as Chase Elliott's NASCAR crew chief
Alan Gustafson has one of the hardest crew chief roles in NASCAR according to Rodney Childers, who responded to speculation he could work with Chase Elliott.
Legendary NASCAR crew chief Rodney Childers is currently focusing on spending time with his family after his shock departure from Spire Motorsports, but has been linked with joining Chase Elliott's No. 9 Chevrolet crew for Hendrick Motorsports.
Elliott's current crew chief, Alan Gustafson, has been under pressure this season with a potential Hendrick Motorsports replacement primed, but has been heavily supported by the driver.
Elliott is currently fourth in the NASCAR Cup Series standings but is yet to win a race this season, and issued an apology to Gustafson after a costly mistake in Sunday's race at Texas Motor Speedway.
- Chase Elliott pinpoints three things needed to end NASCAR winless streak
- Chase Elliott shares NASCAR retirement thoughts and view on broadcast role
While Elliott is happy with his current crew, Childers' availability has sent shockwaves throughout NASCAR as he is one of the most respected in the business.
However, in a recent appearance on the 'Door Bumper Clear' podcast, Childers admitted that Gustafson has the "worst" job in NASCAR working for the sport's Most Popular Driver with an extremely passionate fanbase.
Childers joined hosts Freddie Kraft, Tommy Baldwin, and Karsyn Elledge to discuss all things NASCAR, and was also asked about his future.
Kraft said: "Judging by my Twitter replies last night, the 9 Nation will pay you (Rodney Childers) whatever you want to go over there and kick Alan (Gustafson) out. I think you’ve gotta be really careful what you wish for because Alan’s pretty good, and I know the results aren’t what they want right now but I really don’t think it’s Alan that’s all of the problem over there, so just pipe down a little bit on that stuff."
Baldwin then added: "Yeah, Alan’s really, really good at what he does. But they’ve been together a long time, and a lot of these guys have been together a long time, and sometimes there might be a change.
DON'T MISS:
"I mean, we all understand that. Alan understands that and they’ve already made a change with the spotter a couple of years ago trying to change things up. So you never know, man. That Mr Hendrick, he’s pretty savvy on putting people in the right places and understand that. This is a rough business right now. This is very competitive."
Then, Childers had his say as he responded to the ongoing speculation. "I think Alan’s got the worst job, the hardest job, you know what I mean?" Childers said. "I went through a few years with Kevin (Harvick), man there’s some people that are pretty hardcore, pretty harsh. I had the County Sheriff sitting outside my house for like a week straight at one point. It can be pretty crazy."
Elliott is currently enduring a 37-race winless streak, with Gustafson doing all he can to end the drought. While fans have called for Gustafson to be replaced, Elliott told Express U.S. Sports on April 27 that he is happy with the way that things are, which is "all that matters" in his eyes.
"I mean, I think that’s probably some of it comes with the territory, I guess, a little bit," Elliott said when asked about criticism of Gustafson. "Look, he’s a pro. I love Alan. I think he is so good at what he does, and I believe in him. At the end of the day, that’s really all that matters is kind of how I look at it.
"I think we have a good relationship and we both helped each other grow quite a lot in the course of our time together, coming up to ten years. We just enjoy going to battle each week."
Childers was serving as the crew chief for Justin Haley in the No. 7 Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports, but parted ways mid-season after conceding that the partnership hadn't worked out. Previously, Childers had spent 11 years at Stewart-Haas Racing, where he won the NASCAR Cup Series Championship alongside Kevin Harvick.
