“He Put Me on the Map”: Kyle Busch’s Future Crew Chief Jim Pohlman Credits Justin Allgaier for His Path to the Cup Series

After the exit of Randall Burnett from Kyle Busch’s No. 8 team, Andy Street stepped in on an interim basis to call the shots for the remaining races of the season. But looking ahead to 2026, Richard Childress Racing has opted to go back to the well, bringing in a familiar hand to steady the ship. Jim Pohlman, a name well-known within the RCR walls, will return as crew chief for Busch and the No. 8 Chevrolet in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Pohlman’s previous stint with RCR saw him serve as the organization’s head of research and development before he made the jump to JR Motorsports, where he took charge of the No. 7 Chevrolet alongside Justin Allgaier in 2023. The partnership hit the ground running, nine wins, a Championship 4 appearance in their rookie campaign, and a 2024 title run that earned Allgaier his first championship.

Long before his Xfinity Series success, Pohlman had also cut his teeth in the Cup Series, serving as crew chief for Juan Pablo Montoya in the final 17 races of the 2011 season with Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, where the pair finished two races in the top 10.

In total, Pohlman has logged 20 Cup starts atop the pit box, 17 with Montoya and two with RCR in 2022, one for Austin Dillon and another for Austin Hill in the team’s third entry.

Despite his experience, Pohlman didn’t hesitate to credit Allgaier for putting him back in the Cup Series spotlight.

“Justin is the guy that put me on the map. Without JRM, this opportunity doesn’t exist. It’s very hard to leave Justin; he’s a great friend and has been a friend for a long time. We’ve won an ARCA championship, we’ve won an Xfinity championship – hopefully, we’re going to win two. To walk away from the possibility of winning three in a row was very heavy on my mind.”

He added, “The goal for me has always been to race on Sunday and make it to that level and have an opportunity to win Daytona 500s and win at the highest level. It’s a great opportunity and I’m certainly looking forward to it…”

“I would say that the opportunity to be a crew chief and move to that level all starts with Justin. If Justin doesn’t make that phone call, we’re not standing here. With everything that we’ve accomplished with Justin, myself and this JRM team, it doesn’t come along without that.”

Now, as the Allgaier-Pohlman duo continues its fight to defend last season’s crown, Pohlman aims to leave the No. 7 team firing on all cylinders before turning his focus back to the big stage in 2026.