Kevin Harvick and Stewart-Haas Racing will be without Rodney Childers, crew chief of the No. 4 Ford Mustang, for the NASCAR Cup Series event at Watkins Glen International, Childers confirmed on Sunday, several hours prior to the start of the event.
In a social media post, Childers explains that he returned to North Carolina on Saturday upon learning his mother had a medical emergency, which caused her heart to stop. As of Sunday, the long-time crew chief says “she is stable and her vitals are doing ok.”
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— Rodney Childers (@RodneyChilders4) August 20, 2023
The championship-winning crew chief mentions that he plans to be in the war room at Stewart-Haas Racing for Sunday’s 90-lap event, where he will be in constant communication with interim crew chief Stephen Doran.
Doran, an engineer for Stewart-Haas Racing, has four previous races of crew chief experience with Kevin Harvick, after taking on the interim role following a four-race suspension in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs in 2022.
The post-season pressure may seem high – with Sunday serving as the second-to-last event of the regular season – however, the route to clinching a spot in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs is entirely out of the hands of Harvick and the No. 4 Ford Mustang.
Should Sunday’s Go Bowling at The Glen feature a repeat winner, then both Harvick and Brad Keselowski would clinch a spot in the post-season, heading into the regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway.
Harvick, driving the No. 4 Busch Light Ford Mustang, is scheduled to roll from 34th in Sunday’s Go Bowling at The Glen, a 90-lap contest from the 2.45-mile road course of Watkins Glen International.
