Richard Childress Racing, which has just one race win this season courtesy of Austin Dillon, has halted suggestions that its team namesake and owner could retire after the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season in their tracks.
A rumor emerged on social media on Tuesday that the 80-year-old was planning to step away, with the team as yet unsure who would take over his position. However, RCR wasted no time in commenting, “This is not accurate. Richard Childress is not planning to retire following the end of the season.”
This came around a week after it was announced that Kyle Busch‘s crew chief, Randall Burnett, would be leaving RCR after the season comes to a close to work with Xfinity Series starlet Connor Zilisch during his first Cup Series season with Trackhouse Racing in 2026.
During his two seasons with two-time champion Busch, he has been unable to help the 40-year-old return to victory lane, with the 63-time race winner now winless since 2023 and continuing to struggle to consistently perform in the NextGen car.
In an announcement on Wednesday, RCR revealed that Andy Street would take over as Busch’s crew chief effective immediately. His first race in the role will be Sunday’s Bank of America Roval 400 in Charlotte, with Burnett not set to “continue contributing in a support role with the organization through the end of the season.”
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The team went on to add that “Additional information regarding future competition roles will be shared at a later date.”
This comes after Busch’s spotter, Derek Kneeland, was heard engaging in a brutal rant over the team radio during the Hollywood Casino 400 on Sunday. With Busch down in 25th on lap 130, Kneeland told the No. 8 crew, “I know you’re trying your a— off and I know we’re struggling, but we’ve got to try to keep him and everybody upbeat. We are not going home 35th tonight. If we do, I’m going to jump off this f—- spotter stand.”
Later, Kneeland added, “We’ve got to try to keep everybody upbeat, including him. I know we’re bleeding spots right now, but we’ve got to finish.”
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Busch’s afternoon later went from bad to worse when, with 15 laps to go, a tire blew out on his No. 8, forcing him onto pit road as the caution flag flew. Eventually, he would go on to finish 19th after double overtime, as Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott crossed the line first after a last-lap overtake of a duelling Denny Hamlin and Bubba Wallace.
After the race, Busch said, via NBC Sports, “The entire No. 8 Chevrolet team worked throughout the race to make adjustments to make us competitive today.
“We made forward progress, but it just wasn’t enough to get us where we needed to be to contend for a victory this afternoon at Kansas Speedway.
“This race is in the books, and our attention is now on securing that first win of the season next weekend at the Charlotte Roval.”