Jim Pohlman Will Be Kyle Busch’s Crew Chief in 2026

Jim Pohlman has been signed as Kyle Busch‘s next crew chief in the NASCAR Cup Series, Richard Childress Racing announced Oct. 16.

Pohlman will move to the team from JR Motorsports, where he’s been Justin Allgaier‘s crew chief in the NASCAR Xfinity Series since 2023.

With Allgaier, Pohlman won the 2024 championship and is in contention for the 2025 title as well.

“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,” Richard Childress, team chairman and CEO, said in a team release. “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 [, N.C.], and we know that he will do a great job leading the No. 8 team and Kyle Busch.”

Pohlman had worked as RCR’s head of R&D prior to joining JRM. He replaces Randall Burnett, who departed as Busch’s crew chief earlier this season. Andy Street has been the No. 8’s interim crew chief.

In 2025, Busch has two top fives and nine top 10s in the Cup Series. Allgaier, second in points entering this weekend’s Talladega Superspeedway event, has three wins, 13 top fives and 18 top 10s.

Pohlman’s replacement at JRM has not been announced.

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Kevin Rutherford is the executive editor of Frontstretch, a position he gained in 2025 after being the managing editor since 2015, and serving on the editing staff since 2013.

At his day job, he's a journalist covering music and rock charts at Billboard. He lives in New York City, but his heart is in Ohio -- you know, like that Hawthorne Heights song.

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