Editor’s note: Today’s Richard Childress Racing preview continues NASCAR.com’s countdown of team previews for the 2026 Cup Series season.
RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING
Manufacturer: Chevrolet
Engine: ECR Engines
Driver-crew chief pairings: Austin Dillon-Richard Boswell (No. 3); Kyle Busch-Jim Pohlman (No. 8)
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Team outlook: RCR has collectively had a tough go of it in the last two seasons. Since 2024, only Austin Dillon made the playoffs (finished 15th in 2025), while Kyle Busch hasn’t made the playoffs since his first year with RCR in 2023. A significant change for 2026 is that Busch will have a new crew chief, Jim Pohlman — Busch’s third crew chief since the start of the 2025 season. The team also named Mike Dillon as chief operating officer, John Klausmeier as technical director and Andy Street as performance director. These leadership changes, coupled with a strong group waiting in the wings in what is now the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, could point to a brighter future around the bend.
AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 CHEVROLET CAMARO
Experience: 12 full-time seasons/3 part-time seasons in NASCAR Cup Series; 444 career starts
2025 stats: 15th in final Cup Series standings; 1 win, 1 top five, 5 top 10s, 0 poles, 119 laps led
Driver outlook: After finishing with one win and five top-10 finishes in both 2024 and 2025, Dillon is considered a long shot by DraftKings to win the championship in 2026. He’s managed six total wins since 2017 (all of his Cup career wins). With the new Chase championship format set for 2026, Dillon won’t have the “win-and-you ‘re-in” to make the playoffs this season. This time, the No. 3 team will need to show more consistency over the long haul in order to make it to The Chase.
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MORE: Austin Dillon driver page
KYLE BUSCH, NO. 8 CHEVROLET CAMARO
Experience: 21 full-time seasons/2 part-time seasons in NASCAR Cup Series; 750 career starts
2025 stats: 21st in final Cup Series standings; 0 wins, 3 top fives, 10 top 10s, 0 poles, 88 laps led
Driver outlook: The 2025 season was Busch’s last under RCR’s original contract with him, but the team gave him a one-year extension for 2026. Busch has not been the driver he once was: The 63-Cup race winner has not won a race since 2023, and his finishes in the last two seasons (20th in 2024 and 21st in 2025) are single-season career-worst performances for him. However, if he can recapture what he had at the beginning of his tenure at RCR when he rolled off three quick wins and without the “win-and-you ‘re-in” rule, it’s not out of the question that Busch could produce consistent enough results to break his postseason drought.
MORE: Kyle Busch driver page
