The two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch has been struggling to make ends meet on the race track for the past few seasons. He finished 20th in the 2024 driver standings and 21st in the 2025 driver standings. Also, he is currently riding a winless streak of over 80 races. To save him from this sticky mud arrives a championship-winning crew chief from the O’Reilly Series in 2026.
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Following Randall Burnett’s departure from the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing team, it was announced that Jim Pohlman would take his place. Pohlman was a crew chief at JR Motorsports in 2025 and, notably, also won the 2024 Xfinity Series championship with the team’s Justin Allgaier. Ever since the announcement of his signing was made, he has been expressing strong excitement to work with Busch.
In an interview with RACER, he kept that spirit going and underlined that they’re both a lot alike in many ways. He said, “We’re probably a lot alike. I haven’t seen his analytical chart as to how his personality is, but having done the crew chief role and reading people, I’d say we’re probably identical. There might be some spats, I’m not going to lie. He’s passionate. I’m passionate.”
The end goal is that both of them want to win races, and they’re both very clear with each other about that. The chemistry between the driver and the crew chief is the soul of any NASCAR team. Pohlman found the perfect partner in Allgaier and literally created history with him. To let that go and move to Busch’s camp is a big gamble. But it is one that can be extremely rewarding.
What pushed Pohlman to take the job at RCR
Personally, accepting the offer to become a crew chief for a certified Hall of Famer had been a no-brainer for Pohlman. But leaving Allgaier was the tough part. When he brought his dilemma to the driver’s attention, he was told that he would be an idiot not to take the job.
Allgaier told NASCAR.com, “It’s a double-edged sword for me. I am sad to see him go because he has meant the world to me – and still will. His dream has been to be a full-time Cup Series crew chief, to have a shot at going for a championship.” He further added that he couldn’t ask Pohlman to sacrifice his dream and continue doing things for him.
The unmatchable chemistry that these two have is a dream for several other driver-crew chief combinations throughout the sport. Hopefully, Busch will obtain a similar relationship with Pohlman.
