Matt Johnson
Kyle Busch and the No. 8 team have expressed frustration all season with their overall performance, prompting ample debate about the future Hall of Famer and the issues at Richard Childress Racing. Now coming off a season-best finish, an abrupt change has been made.
RCR announced a crew chief change for the No. 8 team on Monday, bringing in Andy Street to take over as Busch’s crew chief for the remainder of the season. Busch’s former crew chief, Jim Pohlman, is being shifted into a “leadership role” within RCR.
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The move comes just months after Pohlman joined RCR as Busch’s crew chief following a three-year stint in that same role for Justin Allgaier in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. It marks the second crew chief change for the No. 8 team since October.
RCR’s timing on the move is a bit odd. Busch finished 10th in the Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday. Not only was it a season-best finish, but it was the first time since Phoenix that he finished inside the top 20.
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“This move is about putting our people in the best position to succeed. 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.”
Richard Childress on replacing Kyle Busch’s crew chief
The move will do nothing to dispel the growing talk around NASCAR that RCR itself has fallen far behind the competition. Busch’s winless streak in the Cup Series has now reached 103 races, and Austin Dillon’s average finishing position has dropped from 20.81 last season to 21.6 this year.
There’s been mounting skepticism of the direction RCR is headed under Childress and team president Mike Verlander from fans, media and drivers for months now. Effectively parting ways with Pohlman after he helped deliver a top-10 on Sunday will only raise more criticism for both the timing of the move and the belief that RCR is effectively just shuffling things around when it itself is the problem.
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As for Busch, a new crew chief will likely do nothing to change the fact that he’ll probably be leaving RCR when his contract expires after this season. Jesse Love is the presumptive favorite to take over the No. 8 car next season, but a new driver will do little to stop the questions about RCR’s leadership right now.
