Richard Childress Racing makes surprising personnel change before Charlotte Roval race

Andy Street will step in and serve as the shot-caller for Busch and the No. 8 team over the last five weeks of 2025, while Burnett will be in a support role with RCR for the remainder of 2025. 

Why is this change happening?

Burnett will be the crew chief for young phenom Connor Zilisch at Trackhouse Racing in 2026. It's not yet known who Busch's crew chief will be for 2026, but the next five weeks allow Street to audition for the full-time role. 

Burnett has worked with Busch since the latter began his RCR tenure in 2023. After winning three races and earning a playoff berth in 2023, Busch and Burnett have struggled to find success over the last two years. 2024 was the first winless season of Busch's career, and if he can't find Victory Lane over the next five weeks, he'll have suffered through two consecutive winless seasons. 

Busch has also missed the playoffs in consecutive years (2024-25) for the first time in his Cup Series career. He finished 19th in the Sept. 28 race at Kansas Speedway. Through 31 of 36 races this season, Busch is 21st in the Cup Series standings. Should he finish 21st or worse in the final points standings, it would be the worst points finish of his Cup Series career.