Richard Childress Racing makes Kyle Busch decision amid unwanted NASCAR streak
Richard Childress Racing has named Kyle Busch's crew chief for the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, as the two-time championship winner's winless streak continues
Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch has learned who will be his crew chief in the 2026 season.
Richard Childress Racing has appointed Jim Pohlman to the No. 8 crew. Busch, 40, has missed the Cup Series playoffs the last two seasons in a row and hasn't won since Illinois in 2023. Despite his struggles on track, RCR and Busch will continue their partnership for at least one more season, with the veteran Cup Series driver extending his stay with the team.
However, following Randall Burnett's departure, moving to Trackhouse Racing to serve as Connor Zilisch's crew chief during his rookie Cup Series season in 2026, RCR was left needing a new crew chief for Busch to help him snap his 90-race winless streak.
Pohlman, who formerly led research and development at Richard Childress Racing, has been Justin Allgaier's crew chief at JR Motorsports since 2023 in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
The duo captured the Xfinity Series championship in 2024 and is now pursuing a repeat, with Allgaier sitting second in the 2025 standings behind Zilisch.
"Everyone at Richard Childress Racing remains focused on improving performance and is committed to putting the right people in place, including on the No. 8 team," said Richard Childress, Chairman and CEO of Richard Childress Racing.
"Jim Pohlman is a relentless competitor in the garage and fits in well with our mission and approach at RCR. He was well-respected during his previous tenure in Welcome, and we know that he will do a great job leading the No. 8 team and Kyle Busch."
Busch sits 22nd in the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series standings, posting two top-five finishes and nine top-10s across 33 races.
He enters Sunday's YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway coming off an eighth-place finish in his most recent start at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, his home track.
Busch hopes to win before the season ends. Three races remain at Talladega, Martinsville, and Phoenix, with the latter being the championship decider.
"I'm proud of the entire No. 8 zone Chevrolet team for getting us to a place from qualifying 32nd to finishing eighth today at Las Vegas Motor Speedway," Busch said.
"We worked throughout the race to correct rear grip issues and a loose-handling Chevy to get the car to a competitive pace by race's end. Now, the name of the game is consistency and continuing to finish out front the remainder of the season, and of course, get our Richard Childress Racing machine back to Victory Lane."
Busch's longtime NASCAR rival, Denny Hamlin, has already captured his spot in November's Championship 4 race in Arizona.
Hamlin also secured his 60th Cup Series win, pushing him inside the top-ten all-time race winner rankings. He is now just three Cup Series wins away from tying Busch for ninth.