Kyle Busch said he is grateful for what Jim Pohlman brought to his Richard Childress Racing No. 8 team through the first 10 races of the season and that senior leadership ultimately made the decision to pair him with Andy Street instead.<\/p>\n
After finishing second to Carson Hocevar in the Truck Series race on Friday night at Texas Motor Speedway, Busch addressed the change in leadership atop the No. 8 pit box moving forward.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, I liked Jim (and) I liked his leadership and I liked his fire and his passion and all that sort of stuff,\u201d Busch said. \u201cSo, was he in the right position? Obviously, Richard (Childress) and Mike (Verlander) and the guys in charge didn\u2019t really feel that way.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had some decent races with Andy Street (last year) so do we come to Texas and run top-10 right here, right now? I\u2019m not sure about that but we certainly have done our due diligence this week in trying to get prepared as we best know how.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Paired with Street last year, Busch had finishes of 8th at Vegas, 13th at Martinsville and 5th at Phoenix. Right now, Busch sits 27th in the standings and just scored their first top-10 of the season at Talladega — a superspeedway race.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, obviously, I think the writing is in the point standings, right,\u201d Busch said. \u201cLike, we\u2019re not where we need to be so there has got to be a change somewhere. From my understanding, I feel like the conversation with Jim was well-received and he was fine with it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Busch also addressed everyone at RCR in a shop meeting over the past week and teammate Austin Dillon says the message was well-received.<\/p>\n
“He’s all-in and wants to get back,” Dillon said earlier in the afternoon. “I talk to Kyle and his next win is going to be the biggest of his career, if you think about it the right way. All the stuff that has been said and brought up over the past year.<\/p>\n
“I feel like if he puts his head down and takes that team back to victory lane … that’s going to be the biggest win of his career. That’s what we’re all fighting for and as a competitor, that’s what I would like to see.”<\/p>\n
Busch echoed that sentiment that he is \u2018all in\u2019 at Richard Childress Racing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thanked Jim for his leadership and for him being there and being a part of our team and what he did at the time, and that I am fully-in and committed,\u201d Busch said. \u201cI’ve never probably worked as much in these last four years as I did in 15 at (Joe Gibbs Racing) but that\u2019s due to us needing to get better and getting things headed in the right direction.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have 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. I feel like (Dillon) has done that lately. Those guys are clicking on all cylinders and making things look good for them and we have to be able to do the same — carry our weight and help improve the program.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I was just reiterating all of that and giving everyone the vote of confidence that we\u2019re all in this together and digging in.\u201d<\/p>\n
To wit, Busch is a free agent at the end of the season, and there is a perception that switching from Randall Burnett to Jim Pohlman and now Andy Street is a last ditch effort to keep the two-time Cup Series champion with the organization.<\/p>\n
Busch rejected that.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn’t agree with that,\u201d he said. \u201c I mean, I feel like we are in this together and I love Richard and feel like we have worked really well together. Austin is a phenomenal teammate that I have been able to work with. He is one of the best that I\u2019ve had and it\u2019s been a joy working with him.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just the results are there and we have to line up and try to be better in order to get those.\u201d<\/p>\n
And that means resetting with Street.<\/p>\n
\u201cAndy and I conversate a lot,\u201d Busch said. \u201cWe did a lot last year and I think he has, I don\u2019t know how to say this, a simpler mentality about how he goes about looking at things and it has to make sense for him to believe in it.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe just doesn\u2019t believe in what the computer tells him. I feel like this is going back to basics and being a little more methodical about race cars.\u201d<\/p>\n
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