It is true that week in and week out, NASCAR team members live a unique reality that only they understand. Hence, when someone like Kevin Harvick retires from the team, it is almost like a member of the family leaving the No. 4 team forever. The 2023 Cup Series Grand Finale at the Phoenix Raceway was special for Harvick as the veteran racer had grown up racing on the 1-mile oval in Arizona. It wasn’t any different for crew chief Rodney Childers when his teammate and long-time friend raced his last oval run and exited the NASCAR arena for good.

Rodney Childers opened up about his emotional rollercoaster Phoenix ride with Kevin Harvick

At the Phoenix Raceway, when Harvick climbed out of his #4 Ford Mustang and grabbed the water bottle from his son Keelan, he was at a loss for words, knowing that he’d not climb into his car as a full-time driver ever again. Not just Harvick, even Rodney Childers was on the verge of tears. However, he was able to control his tears when he got down off the pit box after the 312-lap-long race to congratulate the Stewart-Haas Racing driver, unlike the time when DeLana Harvick grab hold of him.

In a conversation with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Childers said, “She (DeLana) grabbed me to hug me just like she did then and I lost it all that point.” Back in 2014, as Kevin Harvick bagged the championship trophy at Homestead-Miami Speedway, his wife DeLana watched on, sitting behind Childers, hugging him in excitement. And the same spectacle repeated itself at Phoenix.

Childers was extremely thankful to be able to be a part of such a great team. He admitted that the entire weekend was pretty great for them. “We had dinner at the Speedway club on Monday night, that was really emotional for everybody,” he said. “And then, it was one thing after another all week. We unloaded and felt like we had the best car in practice, everybody in the garage coming by to talk about how good our car was.”

“Didn’t work out at the end, but just a special weekend altogether. So many things going on, so many people in the sport talking about what we’ve done as a group and what he’s (Harvick) done,” he added. Rodney Childers regretted the fact that Kevin Harvick would not be with the #4 team anymore, but he found some solace in the fact that everybody in the whole sport cares about Kevin Harvick and the team.

Watch this story: NASCAR’s 2024 Schedule: A New Chapter Begins

Meanwhile, there were rumors regarding team owner Tony Stewart closing the shutters of the #4 team after Harvick retired. But that is far from being true. Childers busted the rumor as he spilled the truth behind it.

Rodney Childers revealed the minor changes in the SHR team

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The rumor was that a large group of people were leaving the team. Hence, the fans had assumed that the team would also draw its curtains. But Rodney Childers admitted not so fast as he confidently assured that only a handful of crew members were bidding goodbye. Of the 31 crew members, only 4 are leaving the team. Next year, Josh Berry will have almost the same team driving the #4 car as a rookie Cup Series driver, with Rodney Childers as his crew chief. Thankfully, Berry will be in experienced hands during his first season as a full-time Cup Series driver.

However, Stewart-Haas Racing is going through some major changes before the upcoming season kicks off. Harvick is leaving, and so is the #10 driver, Aric Almirola. That is going to be tough to replace, not just from a talent point of view but also from a sponsorship perspective. After all, Stewart-Haas Racing’s longtime sponsor, Busch Light, is moving to Trackhouse Racing to partner up with Ross Chastain in 2024.

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For now, the # 4 team is not dismantling yet. Nevertheless, it’s only a matter of time before the fandom gets to know how SHR will replace its missing pieces in 2024.