Pohlman quickly rose 'to the top' of candidates for Busch's new crew chief

Kyle Busch says Jim Pohlman was the standout of those considered to be his next team leader at Richard Childress Racing.

“We had a few conversations with a few individuals, and Jim seemed to rise to the top of all of that,” Busch said Saturday at Talladega Superspeedway. “I’m excited about that opportunity and to work with him.”

Richard Childress Racing announced Thursday that Pohlman will take the reins of the No. 8 Chevrolet for Busch beginning in 2026. Pohlman replaces Randall Burnett, who worked with Busch since the two-time series champion joined the organization in 2023. Childress has since taken Burnett off the team after it was announced he’s headed to Trackhouse Racing next year.

Pohlman will join Childress from the Xfinity Series, where he is working with Justin Allgaier. He and Allgaier are in the middle of a title defense in the series and have won nine races together.

“I know he’s done some great things the past couple of seasons in the Xfinity Series with Justin, and I hope this doesn’t take away from that … for the remainder of the year [for them] to go out there and secure another championship,” Busch said. “It’d be nice to have a two-time championship leader coming back to RCR as he was with us years prior, early years, in the development of the Next Gen car.”

Before moving to JR Motorsports and being paired with Allgaier in 2023, Pohlman worked at Childress and once served as the head of research and development. His Cup Series resume includes 20 starts split between drivers Juan Pablo Motoya (2011), Ross Chastain (2020), Austin Dillon (2022) and Austin Hill (2022).

“I think it’s really cool that somebody like him is getting the opportunity to go do that, and I think they’ve picked the right guy,” Allgaier said of Pohlman. “I’ve seen how hard he works and how much effort he puts into it, and they picked the right guy.”

Busch said it was Pohlman’s passion and leadership that came through in their conversations that made him stand out. While he does not have a robust resume as far as Cup Series results, Busch noted it’s yet to be seen what he can do, and the hope is that he’ll not only lead the turnaround of his team but the Childress organization.

Allgaier is confident Busch and Pohlman will be a good match.

“I’ve been around Kyle a lot, and Kyle is very analytical and understands these race cars really well, and I think what he’s willing to put in, Jim will match or exceed,” Allgaier said. “They’re going to have to figure that out, but I know Kyle was involved pretty heavily in making that decision and who he wanted.

“If you sit down with Jim for more than 15 minutes, you’ll understand really quickly his intensity to go win races, and I think that’s something Kyle was looking for. Kyle wanted someone who would match his energy, and I think they got the right guy for that.”

Pohlman will be the third crew chief Busch has worked with at Childress after starting with Burnett and now finishing the year with Andy Street (put on his car after Burnett was removed). The decision to hire Pohlman happened quickly – it’s been less than a month since Burnett’s impending departure was announced.

“He gave me a little bit of personality traits of what I’ve had from others previously,” Busch said. “A little mix of a couple that I really enjoyed working with and had great success with. That’s just two times of an hour each, maybe, of sitting down and having conversations, so there’s plenty more to learn about one another for sure.”

Busch has been winless since 2023, the longest stretch of his Cup Series career. The 2023-24 seasons are the first time he’s failed to make the playoffs in back-to-back years. The 2026 season will be Busch’s 21st in the series.