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On the latest episode of the Dale Jr. Download podcast, the former NASCAR Cup Series driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. opened up about Jim Pohlman's switch to RCR in the next season. During the episode, Earnhardt Jr. pointed out how hard it is to replace someone like Pohlman on the team.Richard Childress Racing presented the #7 Chevy crew chief with an opportunity to work for them in the Cup Series. Pohlman will replace Kyle Busch's current crew chief, Randall Burnett, in the 2026 Cup Series season. The JRM crew chief has previously worked with RCR in the 2022 season and managed multiple roles for the team.After his stint with the Cup Series team, Jim Pohlman joined JRM and has guided Justin Allgaier in the Xfinity Series. He led the #7 Chevy to multiple victories and even won the 2024 championship title with Allgaier. Reflecting on this, Dale Earnhardt Jr. highlighted that replacing him would not be an easy task and asked him to stay with the team. He stated [19:52 onwards]:"It is hard to replace a guy like Jim. I told Jim I wanted him to stay, but I knew that he had this opportunity and that it was great for him to go and hear it out, right?"Dale Earnhardt Jr. further added:"Um, he's worked at RCR before, so he knows that environment. He would know himself whether that's a comfortable environment for him. He's been there. And, uh, you know, he made the choice to go, and I love it. I think, you know, it's tough to replace him."Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s co-owned team, JR Motorsports, fields four full-time entries in the Xfinity Series. Justin Allgaier drives the #7 Chevy, followed by Carson Kvapil in the #1, and Sammy Smith in the #8. Additionally, NASCAR prodigy Connor Zilisch pilots the #88 Chevy.“Without them, this opportunity doesn’t exist”: Jim Pohlman credits Dale Earnhardt Jr. and JRM for the Cup Series opportunityRichard Childress Racing made a huge announcement ahead of the 2026 Cup Series season. The 2025 season will mark Randall Burnett's last year with the #8 Chevy Camaro ZL1 driver, Kyle Busch.The former Cup Series champion has been struggling since his sophomore season with the team. He has been winless since 2024, and his luck still hasn't changed this season. Additionally, he broke his streak of winning at least one race each season and landing a spot in the playoffs. Busch failed to secure his berth in the postseason in the 2024 and 2025 seasons.Jim Pohlman is excited for the switch and aims to bring the right mentality to the team. Pohlman gave the credit for getting a spot in the Cup Series to Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his team. He praised them and stated:“Justin is the guy that put me on the map. Without JRM, this opportunity doesn’t exist. It’s very hard to leave Justin; he’s a great friend and has been a friend for a long time. We’ve won an ARCA championship, we’ve won an Xfinity championship – hopefully, we’re going to win two. To walk away from the possibility of winning three in a row was very heavy on my mind.”Kyle Busch ranks outside of the top 20 drivers in P22 with 681 points to his credit. He has logged nine top-ten finishes and only two top-five finishes in 34 starts this season.
