Here’s the story at Richard Childress Racing unfolding right now – The engine is running, but the direction is missing. Once a powerhouse, the team finds itself stuck in its worst start since 1982, with Kyle Busch (27th) and Austin Dillon (24th) both outside the Chase picture. Something had to change, and it just did. Now, Busch is stepping up, not just as a driver, but as a leader determined to get RCR’s season back on track.

Kyle Busch wants to “Put the train back on the tracks”

“I’ve never probably worked as much in these last four years I as I did in 15 at JGR, but that’s due to us needing to get better and us get the things heading in the right direction. And so you know, we got to put the train back on the tracks and have a direction of what we need to do in order to be able to go forward.”

That honesty from Kyle Busch recently says everything about where things stand at Richard Childress Racing right now. Since making the high-profile move in 2023, Busch’s time with RCR has been a mix of early promise and prolonged frustration. After a relatively strong first season, the results have steadily dipped, and the veteran now finds himself stuck in a winless stretch that has crossed the 100-race mark. The 2026 campaign hasn’t offered much relief either.

That’s what led to the latest shake-up. In a decisive move, RCR has replaced Jim Pohlman with Andy Street as Kyle Busch’s crew chief, effective immediately. Pohlman, who joined in October 2025 after guiding Justin Allgaier to an Xfinity Series title, shifts into a leadership role within the competition department. The expectation was clear when he arrived: help Busch rediscover Victory Lane. But the execution never matched the ambition.

Across ten races together, Busch and Pohlman managed just one top-10 finish (ironically coming at Talladega Superspeedway last week) along with a Daytona 500 pole earlier in the season. For a driver of Kyle Busch’s caliber, those numbers simply didn’t add up. It was a stark contrast to his earlier run with Randall Burnett, where top-five finishes came far more frequently.

Consistency, or the lack of it, ultimately forced RCR’s hand. Now, with Andy Street stepping back into a familiar role, the focus shifts to resetting direction. Kyle Busch has made it clear that this isn’t about excuses anymore. It’s about accountability, alignment, and finally turning effort into results before the season slips too far out of reach.

Hocevar ends Busch’s Texas stronghold

“We had to reverse order, you know, obviously, the one-two with Kyle. I watched him win a lot of truck races. And you know, it’s finally good to put an end to his Texas streak.” That was Carson Hocevar making a statement after winning the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Texas.

And the way it unfolded only added to the statement. The race turned chaotic in the closing laps, with Gio Ruggiero appearing to have everything under control after a late restart. With just two laps remaining, he held the lead and looked poised to steal the win. But a multi-truck crash involving Jake Garcia, Justin Haley, Conner Jones, and Tanner Gray forced yet another caution, setting up an overtime finish and one final shot at glory.

That’s when Hocevar stepped up. Running the high lane through Turns 3 and 4, he built momentum at exactly the right time, surging past Ruggiero just before the white flag. On the final lap, Ruggiero got caught in the middle three-wide, lost balance, and faded back to 14th, while Hocevar stayed clean and controlled out front.

The result was a commanding 1-2 finish for Spire Motorsports, with Kyle Busch crossing the line in second, followed by Kaden Honeycutt, Brandon Jones, and Ben Rhodes. But beyond the result, the symbolism mattered. Busch, the all-time winningest driver in Truck Series history with 68 wins, had long treated Texas like his personal playground, stacking victories (4 in his last 4 appearances) and dominating the limited starts he had.

This time, though, the script flipped. And for Kyle Busch, still trying to steady things at RCR, it was another reminder that the next generation isn’t waiting around.