On Wednesday morning, Richard Childress Racing pulled back the curtain on the competition leadership within the organization’s NASCAR Cup Series program heading into the 2026 season. Among the many confirmed appointments, Mike Dillon has been named Chief Operating Officer, where he will focus on competition administrative functions.
According to a press release from the team, Dillon will focus on an emphasis on recruiting and retaining top talent in the industry.
In addition to Dillon’s assignment, John Klausmeier has been named the technical director, which will have him focus on competition leadership at Richard Childress Racing. Klausmeier will oversee all vehicle systems engineering, design, and metrology.
Andy Street has been named performance director for the organization. In this role, Street will focus on research and development and will have the goal of increasing overall on-track performance across the company.
Additionally, the team announced that Richard Boswell will reprise his role as crew chief for Austin Dillon and the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing team in 2026, and he’ll join Jim Pohlman, who was previously announced as the new crew chief for Kyle Busch and the No. 8 team for the upcoming campaign.
Richard Childress is bullish on the future of his NASCAR Cup Series race team with the leadership that is now in place at Richard Childress Racing.
“RCR has assembled a talented team of professionals to help lead our race team into the future,” said Childress, Chairman and CEO of Richard Childress Racing. “Mike Dillon has already began assembling top talent for RCR and has a track record of success when working with the competition side of our race team. Similarly, John Klausmeier continues to elevate our competition program. Andy Street stepped up for us this year and will be a great asset for RCR as we focus on increasing performance across the company. I have full confidence in our crew chiefs this year. I know that both Richard Boswell and Jim Pohlman will do a good job leading our Cup teams.”
In their first year paired together, Austin Dillon and Boswell paired to collect a race win last year, which came at Richmond Raceway, and propelled the No. 3 driver and team into the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. While Kyle Busch is on a career-long losing streak, there is hope that the acquisition of Pohlman as his crew chief can help turn things around for the driver of the No. 8 Chevrolet in 2026.
