Another year, same story. The NASCAR world is still waiting to see a Rowdy win. 93 races have passed since Kyle Busch’s dominating victory at Worldwide Technology Raceway in 2023, and the No. 8 driver hasn’t replicated that sweeping celebratory finish. The 2025 season was particularly frustrating for a driver with 63 career victories, making it a tough pill to swallow. But with a renewed mindset and a new crew chief stepping in, the tide is poised to turn.

Jim Pohlman isn’t about to let the two-time NASCAR champions’ legacy fade. Having guided former Xfinity champion Justin Allgaier to the 2024 title and with a heavy resume behind him, Polhman now brings his expertise to Richard Childress Racing. His mission is clear: rebuild Kyle Busch’s winning formula and re-establish the dominance fans expect in 2026.

Jim Pohlman sees Kyle Busch as a future Hall of Famer

As the man capable of turning Kyle Busch’s fortune around, the crew chief didn’t waste time listing down the objectives. He said, “We’ve got to get competitive on a weekly basis and then win races. Then you can talk about championships and stuff like that. My main focus is to bring some consistency right out of the gate. Let’s try and make sure we know where we’re going to be, where the car needs to be, and try to bring some good race cars to the racetrack early on. If you get that mentality going, I think in the long haul the rest will start to take care of itself.”

Pohlman brings a wealth of experience with him, particularly with the Next-Gen race car. During his stint at Chip Ganassi Racing, he spent excessive time designing and testing the car, so much so that by the end of 2020, it was a primary focus.  That period gave him an edge when he transitioned to Richard Childress Racing and later JR Motorsports.

Now, partnering with Busch, he knows he must catch up again, a challenge he welcomes, describing himself as hands-on and committed to leading by example. Gannasi was where the crew chief spent 15 years growing into R&D and engineering roles as NASCAR evolved. With all this experience behind him, the crew chief is more than ready to tackle the 2026 challenge head-on. But Pohlman wants to take it step by step.

He said, “We’re probably a lot alike. I haven’t seen his analytical chart as to how his personality is, but having done the crew chief role and reading people, I’d say we’re probably identical. There might be some spats, I’m not going to lie. He’s passionate. I’m passionate. The end goal is that he wants to win races, and he wants to win races at RCR, and he was crystal clear about that. I think I’m most excited about having a future Hall of Fame driver.”

After a challenging 2025, where Busch managed just to top five at COTA and Chicago and lead only 88 laps, the off-season offers a critical chance to strengthen their teamwork. The 40-year-old driver also emphasizes the importance of understanding each other’s mindsets to anticipate moves on and off the track, particularly given the reduced practice time and modern NASCAR. And Busch seems to be looking forward to working with the veteran.

Busch said, “Well, we just got to keep working on building everything, and you know, getting Jim Pohlman announced as our crew chief for next year, hopefully, that will help things and get us trending, continuing to trend in the right direction.” But for a driver looking to recoup in the offseason, the break has been rather stressful for the Busch family.

With Samantha and Kyle Busch suing a Fortune 500 company for a scam that compromises the finances of the family, the offseason just got more intense amid the already brewing NASCAR antitrust lawsuit. And in a twist of events, this case has been assigned to Judge Kenneth Bell, who already has his hands full with the charter debate.

Busch’s court battle lands with the same judge handling the NASCAR lawsuit

US District Court Judge Kenneth Bell, the same judge presiding over the high-profile antitrust battle between 23XI Racing/Front Row Motorsports and NASCAR, has now been assigned to a very different NASCAR-related case, Kyle Busch’s lawsuit against Pacific Life Insurance Company.

Earlier this month, the two-time champion filed suit after discovering that what he believed was a safe, five-year life insurance funding plan for his retirement had quietly unravelled.

The trouble began when Busch received a sixth premium notice on a policy he was told would require only five annual payments. That raised immediate red flags. Busch and his wife, Samantha, began digging and soon hired an independent firm to investigate. The finding stunned them. Their policy was set to lapse in 16 months, and their entire $10.4 million contribution was gone.

The No. 8 driver is now suing Pacific Life for $8.5 million, claiming the company had crucial risks, misrepresented the product, and offered misleading assurances about what was marketed as tax-free retirement income. His legal team is also seeking others who experienced similar losses. “These insurance companies are too big to be (messing) with the little people, so we’re going to go at them,” Busch noted. “It’s not just race car drivers or athletes or rich people of the world, and this is why we’re going public with it.”

Judge Bell brings familiarity to the NASCAR ecosystem as he simultaneously manages the sport’s ongoing antitrust clash, which heads into trial on December one. The proceedings are expected to run 10 days, with 23XI Racing co-owner and NBA icon Michael Jordan anticipated to appear in court