Kyle Busch on crew chief change: 'Gotta get the train back on the tracks'

"I liked Jim. I liked his fire and his passion. Was he in the right position? Obviously, Richard [Childress], Mike [Verlander], the guys in charge didn't feel that way. We did have some decent races with Andy Street [in 2025]. Do we come to Texas and flip everything around and run top 10 right here, right now? I'm not sure about that. But we certainly have done all our due diligence this week."

"The writing is in the points standings. We're not where we need to be. There's gotta be a change somewhere. From my understandings, I feel like the conversation with Jim was well received. He was fine with it."

Austin Dillon, Busch's RCR teammate, said in a Friday news conference at TMS that there is a sense of urgency in regard to the organization's need to improve. That's especially poignant for Busch, who will be a free agent at season's end.

"We're in this together anyways," Busch said. "I love Richard, I feel like we've worked really well together. Austin's a phenomenal teammate that I've been able to work with. He's probably one of the best that I've had. It's just that the results aren't there."

Busch turns 41 on Saturday and will go for his fifth Texas win on Sunday. He has 19 top 10s at the track in 35 starts, though he has only one top-10 result at the 1.5-mile track in four Next-Gen starts.