Author: Jay Pennell
Date: Dec. 19, 2014
The 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season saw a number of new driver-crew chief combinations, some more successful than others.
Whenever a new driver and crew chief are paired together, there are sure to be bumps in the road, and success right off the bat is more of a rarity than the norm. Yet throughout the 2014 season, some new partnerships hit the ground running and found great success.
Looking back across the season, we break down some of the best new driver-crew chief pairings of 2014.
Rodney Childers/Kevin Harvick
When Stewart-Haas Racing announced Kevin Harvick would have crew chief Rodney Childers leading the No. 4 team, many wondered how the mild-mannered crew chief would handle the occasionally hot-tempered driver. Yet throughout the 2014 season, this pairing showed they were the team to beat.
From the outset of their working relationship, Childers and Harvick hit the ground running. During the preseason test at Charlotte Motor Speedway in December 2013, the two turned heads with their off-the-truck speed and successful back-and-forth in the garage.
Once the season officially kicked off, it was evident right away this combination would be a force to be reckoned with.
The No. 4 Chevrolet was fast in Daytona and flat-out dominant at Phoenix International Raceway, where the pair scored their first victory together. However, they also overcame early-season adversity and a string of poor finishes where they finished 36th or worse in four of the five races after their Phoenix win.
Yet through it all, the team came together, solved pit crew and reliance issues, and charged into the Chase with momentum on their side. Thanks to their work at the shop, in the hauler and in the garage, the No. 4 Chevrolet was often the fastest car all weekend long, and captured eight poles on the season.
The team was able to peak when it mattered most, earning significant Chase victories at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Phoenix International Raceway, and the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, which led to the team's Sprint Cup Series championship.
Aside from their success on track, the pairing showed Childers a much different side of Harvick. Instead of working together as a driver and crew chief, Childers described their relationship more like "dating" one another.
"What I've seen the past 18 months is nothing that I ever thought, and it's nothing that I ever read in the media or anything," Childers said of Harvick ahead of the season finale in Homestead. "It's a guy that cares 100 percent about his race team, cares about me, cares about every single person on that team, and you know, as much of a family person as I've ever been around. ...
"He's one of the best guys I've ever been around and cares about all of us and cares about his family and cares about (son) Keelan and the way he's going to be raised and everything else."
With this relationship finding so much success so early on, there is little doubt they will be back with a vengeance in 2015 looking for a second Sprint Cup title.
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