In the high-stakes world of NASCAR, very few partnerships have clicked like Justin Allgaier and his crew chief, Jim Pohlman. Since teaming up at JR Motorsports in 2023, they’ve racked up nine Xfinity Series wins and enjoyed peak fame with the 2024 championship. But now, as Pohlman leaves the JR camp to follow his Cup dreams, this separation is a very bittersweet one for the Junior’s No. 7.

Pohlman is heading to Richard Childress Racing to lead Kyle Busch’s No. 8 Cup team starting in 2026. And Allgaier’s emotions are running high right now as he opened up about this sacrifice, his words carrying the weight of the legacy they built together.

Justin Allgaier’s bittersweet emotions pour out

Justin Allgaier didn’t hold back when discussing Jim Pohlman’s departure during a candid talk on NASCAR.com, revealing the deep bond that’s fueled their success. “It’s a double-edged sword for me,” Allgaier said. “I am sad to see him go because he has meant the world to me—and still will. His dream has been to be a full-time Cup Series crew chief, to have a shot for going for a championship.”

This isn’t just talk; Pohlman joined JRM in 2023 after his stints in ARCA and limited Cup roles. He transformed Allgaier from a perennial contender, with 19 wins before their pairing, into a champion, dominating with four victories in their debut year and building toward what Pohlman called a potential dynasty.

Allgaier knows this, which is why when he got to know about Pohlman’s transfer, he told him that he “would be an idiot if he didn’t take” that chance.

The pain stings more because they’ve peaked at the perfect time, yet Allgaier knows holding back Pohlman’s Cup ambitions would dim their glow. “I couldn’t have asked Jim to do any more for me,” Allgaier added. “We came into this series, and he put more effort than anyone I could ever imagine into what he was doing. The hard work and dedication that he’s given to me, I couldn’t ask for any better.”

Their stats back it: nine wins, 38 top-fives, and a 2024 title at Phoenix, where Allgaier’s fuel-mileage calls sealed the deal with calculated P2.

Pohlman also feels likewise, as he credits Allgaier for his break: “Justin is the guy that put me on the map. Without JRM, this opportunity doesn’t exist. It’s very hard to leave Justin.”

For Allgaier and the JRM team, it’s a quiet gut punch, running the 2026 season without his trusted crew chief, while Pohlman will move to Busch in 2026, a driver he’s known for 20 years but rarely raced against directly. Still, Allgaier sees the full picture: “As sad as I am to see that go, he accomplished everything we ever asked for. If you could write it all down on paper, you couldn’t even ask for those stats.”

Their story started in ARCA with a championship, evolved through Pohlman’s RCR research role in 2022, and peaked in Xfinity, but now it pivots to separate paths that test true grit.

As RCR builds its future, one team insider sheds light on the calculated play behind pulling Pohlman from JRM’s grasp.

Dillon lays out RCR’s calculated move for Busch

Austin Dillon, Busch’s RCR teammate, said it bluntly on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio about why the team targeted Pohlman amid their No. 8 struggles. “We needed to look internally first, to build the culture at RCR,” Dillon explained. “We interviewed some of the guys here at RCR, and Jim’s name came to the front because mostly the guys that are here, we needed them in the positions that they were in.”

This hire caps a rebuild after Randall Burnett’s exit to Trackhouse for Connor Zilisch in 2026; Burnett had won six Cups with Tyler Reddick and Kyle Busch but couldn’t spark victories lately, with Busch winless in 90 starts since 2023.

Dillon highlighted Pohlman’s fit as more than nostalgia from his 2022 RCR stint, calling races for Dillon and Austin Hill. “Jim’s experience and his familiarity, I feel like, with RCR probably gave him an inside track, then there was success on the track with Justin and everything they have done at Junior Motorsports.”

RCR, weak on engineering, resulted in dips; Busch’s 2025 average finish sits at ~18th, and it sees Pohlman’s detail work, like aero tweaks that aided JRM‘s nine wins, as the spark to revive Busch’s edge.

With Andy Street serving as a new crew chief for Busch for the next three races in 2025, this new crew chief change sets up a fresh 2026 start at Bowman Gray and Daytona, aiming to end that 90-winless drought of Rowdy.