Randall Burnett Leaving RCR to be Shot-Caller for Rookie Zilisch in 2026

Randall Burnett, a long-time crew chief across the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series, will be moving on from his current post at Richard Childress Racing (RCR) following the conclusion of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series campaign.

A native of Fenton, Missouri, Burnett will be making the move to Trackhouse Racing next season, where he will serve as shot-caller for 19-year-old rookie phenom Connor Zilisch, who will compete for Rookie of the Year (ROTY) honors in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2026.

“Stoked to welcome Randall [Burnett] to the team,” Zilisch stated in a social media post made on Tuesday. “Can’t wait for next year.”

Burnett first joined forces with Richard Childress Racing in 2017, eight years ago, where he worked on the team’s NASCAR Xfinity Series program. In 2019, the promising crew chief was paired with Tyler Reddick as the pair went on to win the championship with a stellar season that included six wins, 24 top-fives, and 27 top 10s.

The championship-winning pair then made the jump into the NASCAR Cup Series in 2020, thus beginning his stint as crew chief of the No. 8 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. In the six years since making that jump, Burnett has earned six wins as a crew chief – three with Tyler Reddick (2022) and three with Kyle Busch (2023).

In the last two seasons in the NASCAR Cup Series, though, Busch and Burnett have gone winless, as Richard Childress Racing struggles to get a handle on their deficit in raw speed.

As Burnett moves on to this new opportunity next season, he will be partnered with one of the brightest young talents that the NASCAR Cup Series has seen in quite some time. Zilisch, in 30 NASCAR Xfinity Series starts, has been to Victory Lane an incredible 10 times, and is no-doubt the favorite to clinch the series championship this year.

In fact, this weekend at Kansas Speedway, Zilisch will be looking to make an incredible piece of history in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and become the first driver to ever secure 16 consecutive top-five results in the second-tier series – beating the record set by Sam Ard in 1983 and 1984.

Additional information on Connor Zilisch’s 2026 NASCAR Cup Series campaign, including sponsorship and a car number, will be announced in due course.