Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s loss is Kyle Busch’s gain, after the Richard Childress Racing driver’s No. 8 team poached crew chief Jim Pohlman from the 50-year-old’s NASCAR Xfinity Series team for next season.

Pohlman will serve as the permanent replacement for Randall Burnett, who recently left for Trackhouse Racing, where, next season, he’ll work alongside current JR Motorsports star and Xfinity Series leader, Connor Zilisch. In the interim, Andy Street is filling in as the temporary crew chief for the No. 8 Chevrolet team through the end of the season.

Having first taken on the role as Justin Allgaier’s crew chief at JRM in 2023, Pohlman has since helped guide the veteran to nine races as well as the 2024 Xfinity Series championship. This could yet change, however, with Allgaier having already qualified for the Championship Four along with Zilisch prior to the Round of 8 finale at Martinsville Speedway and a second title, therefore, still on the cards.

And while Dale Earnhardt Jr. knows it will be a loss to his team, he has given the move the green light and believes the fact he did not simply move up to their affiliated Chevrolet team, Hendrick Motorsports, is significant. 

“It’s tough to replace him,” Earnhardt said of Pohlman on his podcast. “Are we better with him? Yes, we’re a much better race team with Jim in the building.

“But that’s what this team’s about, and we don’t always have to graduate people right up into the Hendrick fold, which is basically we’re that satellite farm team for Hendrick.

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“But we also work with other teams, right? We worked with Trackhouse with Zilisch, try to groom him and get him ready for his next opportunity at the Cup level.

“And we’ve had a lot of different drivers and crew chiefs and stuff go off to different organizations. This is what this company’s about. This is what this company does, and he’s earned it. He gave us a championship, maybe two, depending on how things go here in Phoenix.”

Looking ahead, Earnhardt believed Pohlman had the capability to succeed with RCR, a team that has struggled in recent years to help add to Busch’s current tally of 63 career race wins – ninth most all-time.

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Since Busch’s third and final win in the 2023 season, his first with the team, he has now gone almost two and a half years without a trip to victory lane, whilst failing to reach the Playoffs each year. This season has been particularly tough, reaching the top five on just two occasions, along with a further seven top ten finishes.

“I think Jim can do it, man. He’s detailed. He works his tail off, and he is in the details,” Earnhardt said. “And that’s what it’s gonna take, especially with that car, the kit car that the Cup guys are racing, every thousandth of a fraction of a freaking inch, and every little piece and part is what you’ve got to work for to gain an advantage. You’ve got to add it all up. And he is into it. So, I think he’ll have some success there.”