Richard Childress Racing makes crew chief change

Richard Childress Racing driver Kyle Busch. Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Richard Childress Racing makes crew chief change amid Kyle Busch's career-worst start

By Samuel Stubbs | Last updated Apr 27, 2026 11:12 AM ET

Kyle Busch is in the midst of the worst start of his NASCAR Cup Series career, and Richard Childress Racing is already making personnel changes.

On Monday, RCR announced that crew chief Jim Pohlman, who was -paired with Busch at the start of 2026, will be replaced by Andy Street atop the No. 8 pit box for the final 26 races of the 2026 season.

"This move is about putting our people in the best position to succeed," said Richard Childress, Chairman and CEO of RCR, in a team news 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 is 27th in the Cup Series standings through the first 10 races of the 2026 campaign with a career-worst average finish of 22.1, though he did earn his first top-10 of the season at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday.

Crew chief change for Kyle Busch: Andy Street to replace Jim Pohlman, who will remain with the organization.
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) April 27, 2026

Not the first time RCR has shaken things up

The crew chief change is the second in the last 15 races for Busch. With five races left in the 2025 season, Randall Burnett stepped down as Busch's crew chief with Street taking over for the final five events of 2026.

Busch and Pohlman's short-lived tenure together saw the two express their frustration on the radio multiple times, but most notably at Bristol on April 12, where Pohlman said, "Just same sh--, different week," over the radio after Busch struggled to make ground and spun Riley Herbst on Lap 313.

Those frustrations, combined with the lack of results on the racetrack, made a shake-up in personnel seem reasonable. At the very least, with Street atop the No. 8 pit box, things don't seem like they could get much worse for Busch and the No. 8 group.

Samuel Stubbs

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

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