By Neja Dwivedi, Staff Writer
Although in September, the Richard Childress Racing team announced Kyle Busch’s crew chief, Randall Burnett, would depart at the end of the 2025 season, the team decided to pull the trigger early.
RCR shook up the pit box early for Busch, putting Andy Street, who served as a part-time crew chief in both the Cup and Xfinity Series this year, in to call the shots for Busch through the final races of 2025.
Now, with Burnett officially moving on to a new chapter in his life at Trackhouse Racing, RCR has turned to a familiar face to steer the No. 8 team’s ship in 2026. The organization rehired Jim Pohlman to return to the team as crew chief for Busch and the No. 8 team in the NASCAR Cup Series. Pohlman previously worked at RCR as head of research and development before making his mark at JR Motorsports.
Since taking the crew chief seat of the No. 7 Chevrolet with Justin Allgaier in 2023, Pohlman has built a program in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. His leadership produced nine wins, a Championship 4 appearance in their debut season, and an emphatic title run in 2024 that delivered Allgaier his first championship. The duo is again in the thick of the Playoffs hunt, fighting to defend their crown. Pohlman also has prior Cup experience, having served as crew chief for Juan Pablo Montoya for the final 17 races of the 2011 season with Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, where the pair notched two top-10 finishes.
Meanwhile, Burnett won’t be idle for long as he moves crew chief duties for 19-year-old prodigy Connor Zilisch, who will make his full-time Cup debut in 2026 and compete for Rookie of the Year honors.
Burnett’s journey with RCR began in 2017, when he joined the team’s Xfinity Series program. Two years later, he was paired with Tyler Reddick, and the duo won six races, scoring 24 top-fives, 27 top-10s, and ultimately won the 2019 championship. Their success earned them a promotion to the Cup Series in 2020, where Burnett continued to lead the No. 8 Chevrolet.
Over six seasons atop the box, Burnett amassed six wins, three each with Reddick in 2022 and Busch in 2023, and guided Busch to 14 top-fives in the last three years. However, RCR’s recent struggles with raw speed have left the pairing empty-handed for two consecutive seasons.
After opening his 2023 campaign with three wins in 11 starts, Busch’s momentum has since hit a wall. With only two top-fives and 62 laps led this season, the move signals RCR’s intent to stop the bleeding and get the No. 8 team firing on all cylinders again. The organization believes that bringing Pohlman back could be the shot in the arm Busch needs to reclaim his winning form.