Kyle Busch is not having a good time racing at Las Vegas. It seems like his car is not responding to him, and Busch is unable to get the best out of the Chevy while driving this Sunday once again. His radio was full of explicit ranting as he expressed his disappointment with the car losing out early on in the race.
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“About busting my a**, I’m f****** dying!” Busch exclaimed. “Feel like progressively throughout the run, the front right height’s gone down. But I don’t f***ing know. I feel like the a** is way high and the front is down and I’m i***ng spinning out.”
The No. 8 team responded that they may have a tire going down but aren’t sure. “You guys have access to pictures, I don’t. I’m just talking out my a**, I guess,” Busch added.
Busch is currently running P25 two laps down the race leader. He is nowhere near making any progress through Stage 2.
Not only that, it will also cause him to lose a free pass to catch up with the race leader during caution. If Busch and his team were gunning for the last stage in order to rack up some points, it is highly doubtful that their plan is working right now.
As it stands right now, Richard Childress Racing‘s Las Vegas weekend is breaking down in shambles, and Kyle Busch is paying the price for the same. It is complete chaos for the man who once held the record of winning a race every season.
It is a stern reminder of how his last two seasons have been in NASCAR. To help him get out of his streak of not being able to win any races, the team took a massive gamble when they brought back Jim Pohlman in 2026 to replace his crew chief.
“We’re f*cking dying here.”
Kyle Busch is not happy with his car at the moment.
He’s just gone a lap down with less than 15 to go in Stage 1.— Taylor Kitchen (@_TaylorKitchen_) March 15, 2026
Their belief was that “Jim Pohlman is a relentless competitor in the garage and fits in well with our mission and approach at RCR. He was well-respected during his previous tenure in Welcome, and we know that he will do a great job leading the No. 8 team and Kyle Busch.”
So far, it does not seem like any of these new changes are working in his favor at all. Busch’s results have been lackluster as ever, and he is unable to get his car rolling to the front row in order to challenge for good points, let alone winning the race. For now, Busch looks like he is out of contention for a top-10 finish at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Sunday is a stark contrast to his last year’s race. Not only was his car among the top 10 last year at Vegas, but at one point it looked like they had a lot of pace to even challenge for the victory. Busch was hoping to replicate the same this year as he came to Vegas.
“Last year here, this race was really good for us. I thought we had really good speed. I think we qualified in the top 10 (fourth, in fact). We were running fourth. We had a bad pit stop, and then we had a loose wheel, lost a tire, and all that sort of stuff.”
To go from being a race-winning contender last year to running three laps down at the back of the pack has got to hurt his optimism for the upcoming race of the 2026 season.
On that note, is it really okay to blame the lack of development on Jim Pohlman? Let’s have a look at the career of the crew chief before we criticize him.
Who is Jim Pohlman?
Before he left Richard Childress Racing, Jim Pohlman was the head of research and development on the team. Until 2022, Pohlman was with Richard Childress, taking over multiple roles as needed. However, in 2023, he shifted to JR Motorsports with Justin Allgaier, and that was where he showed his real prowess.
Allgaier and Pohlman steamrolled through the competition with multiple victories to their name. In Allgaier’s rookie year in 2023, Pohlman’s knowledge would guide him to a championship four appearance. His perseverance came in clutch next season, helping them win the 2024 championship.
Thus, it was no wonder that Richard Childress and co. wanted him back too: “Everyone at Richard Childress Racing remains focused on improving performance and is committed to putting the right people in place, including on the No. 8 team.”
So, as it stands currently, it doesn’t seem like Pohlman is the real problem in the situation. He has proven himself when necessary, and now it stands to reason that RCR delivers the No. 8 team with a race-winning car.