Sure, a crew chief change at Richard Childress Racing was more than expected, but what might not be expected is blatant disrespect. After just 10 races together, and arguably one of the worst starts Kyle Busch has had in his Cup career, Richard Childress replaced Jim Pohlman with Andy Street as Busch’s crew chief. Another reason for the change could be how Pohlman communicated with Busch. And former driver Kevin Harvick is in complete support of the decision.

“If I had a crew chief that talked about me like that, I’d have, I would fire his a– quickly, because that is unacceptable,” Harvick said, speaking on his namesake podcast.

Although Childress’ intentions were positive when he signed Pohlman to work with Busch before the start of this season, the two did not share a synergy. In fact, there were moments where many noted that Pohlman wasn’t exactly cooperative with Busch.

“What is the frickin problem now? Is the thing sideways, or is it plowing? What the f— does it look like!?” Pohlman had responded to Busch during the Bristol when he mentioned an issue with the car.

And as the car continued to struggle, the frustration only deepened.

We keep tightening it up, and we keep going slower!” Pohlman added, summing up a day where nothing seemed to click.

The tension reached a point where Kneeland had to step in and urge the team to regroup.

“Listen, I know you’re frustrated. I don’t like running on the 30th either. But us yelling at each other during the race isn’t going to help. We’ve got to keep it together here,” he said.

Busch, on the other hand, remained silent. With just four laps remaining, the No. 8 closed in on Herbst and returned the favor, planting his front bumper into the back of the No. 35 Toyota. The contact sent Herbst sideways, spinning into Turn 1, and backed it into the wall.

Moving on, while the harsh words might not be the only reason for putting him in a different position with the team, it also affected their overall performance. It naturally becomes important to have good synergy between the driver and the crew chief, but as Harvick claimed, Pohlman is very similar to Busch in terms of the way he speaks, which did not sit well with them.

“Jim Pohlman’s just like Kyle Busch, you know, very vocal, very rough-and-tumble, fiery. That, it never sounded like it was going to work,” he said. “I think Richard believes that Kyle Busch can get it done behind the wheel. It’s just a matter of putting him in the right scenario.”

The 40-year-old has been struggling with Richard Childress Racing for a long time now. He moved to the team in the 2023 Cup Series season, and although he did manage to win three races early, he has been winless ever since. It has been a painfully long time since the fans saw him in Victory Lane.

His contract with the team expires this year, and there has been no conversation about a possible extension. While this sounds like a positive, as Busch could finally move to a more competitive team, the recent move that Richard Childress pulled makes it feel the other way.

What does Andy Street’s pairing with Kyle Busch say about his future with the team?

Many speculated that Kyle Busch would depart from the team when his contract ends at the end of the current season, and it seemed to be going that way, too. With the disappointing results the RCR–Busch pairing has yielded in the past three years, it only seemed natural. Moreover, this year’s start has been worse, as through 10 races, Busch has just one top-10 finish, along with 19 laps led and one DNF.

However, with Childress replacing Busch’s crew chief after just 10 races together, it tells a different story. It seems apparent that the 80-year-old wants Busch to stay with the team, and he is not afraid to pull any trigger to do that, even if it means changing the management.

The experience that Busch brings to the team is quite meaningful. He has been racing in the Cup Series field for over two decades now, and winning two championships has made him one of the most competitive drivers out there. A team like RCR, that doesn’t have an experienced driver signed, would greatly value the knowledge that the likes of Busch bring to the table.

Moreover, with the ‘Rowdy’ making some comments on the team’s future, the situation looks a bit clearer:

“It’s for me to show him that there’s a lot of work that goes into this. That you have to pour it in order to get the results out of it. So, yeah, we want to win; we want to be successful… So, trust me, this is my life, our life, everything we have known, and now another generation is coming in.”

So, it seems Busch has few options remaining and is now focused on his pairing with Andy Street in the upcoming races. His performance in the rest of the season could prove to be a statement of change, or perhaps another reason to bid farewell to the team.