The morning after Kyle Busch finished 10th in the NASCAR Cup Series Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, Richard Childress Racing announced that it is shuffling the deck atop the pit box for its No. 8 Cup Series team.
Effective immediately, Richard Childress Racing has named Andy Street the crew chief for Busch and the No. 8 team, while Jim Pohlman, who has served as Busch’s crew chief this season, will move into a leadership role within RCR’s competition department.
Street had been serving as the Performance Director for Richard Childress Racing this season, and has been with RCR for more than 20 years in various roles, including as a crew chief.
Pohlman, who replaced Randall Burnett as Busch’s crew chief in the offseason, only made it 10 races into his pairing with Busch. According to Richard Childress, the Chairman and CEO of RCR, the move was made in an effort to maximize the performance of the entire race team.
“This move is about putting our people in the best position to succeed,” said Childress in a press release. “We have strong talent across this organization, and we’re focused on having each person in the right position to help deliver the results we expect.”
Busch, a two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, has struggled mightily over the last few seasons at Richard Childress Racing, after scoring three victories with the team in 2023 — his first season with the team.
RCR reiterates that Pohlman, whom it acquired from JR Motorsports in the offseason, will remain an important part of their organization going forward, but that the organization is dedicated to turning around the performance for Busch and the No. 8 team.
“We strongly believe in the people we have,” said Mike Verlander, President of RCR. “At the same time, we expect better results, and that requires us to continually evaluate and make adjustments. Jim has more than two decades of success in this sport and will remain an important part of our team. We believe Andy and Kyle’s previous working relationship positions us to improve the No. 8 team and compete at a higher level.”
With 16 races remaining until the Chase for the NASCAR Cup begins, Busch is mired in 27th in the championship standings, and the driver of the No. 8 Chevrolet is 66 points below the cutline.
