There is no denying the disappointment that the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season brought Kyle Busch.
The two-time champion finished a career-worst 21st in points with his fewest top fives (three) in his 21 full-time seasons, with a 17.9 average finish that only betters his 18.3 low from 2024. The good news is that 2025’s campaign is over, and Busch ended it with a top-five finish at Phoenix Raceway that hopefully helps put this year in the rearview mirror.
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And no, he is not willing to reflect too long on what 2025 was.
“I’m not giving grades,” Busch said ahead of the season finale. “It hasn’t been a good one. We all know that and got to get better.”
MORE: Final 2025 standings | 2026 Cup schedule
Indeed, the 2026 season should look different for Busch after his second straight winless year driving the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. Jim Pohlman heads from JR Motorsports’ NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series program as crew chief for Justin Allgaier to Welcome, North Carolina, where he will crew chief Busch in 2026. Andy Street served as Busch’s crew chief for the final five races of the year, replacing Randall Burnett, who led Busch to three wins in 2023.
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One man’s entry to the team may not be a cure-all, but Busch is optimistic for what lies ahead with Pohlman in what will be a busy lead-up to the 2026 Daytona 500.
“I think this offseason will be different just based off of trying to build some camaraderie and some time with Jim,” Busch said. “Being able to spend some time with him and just kind of figure things out and what makes him tick, and obviously ways of things of what makes me tick and getting on the same page to start our season. Those are always the best ways of being the most successful with a crew chief is when you know when each other’s thinking, what they’re thinking and you can anticipate what’s next.
“Trying to do some of that here early because it used to be a lot easier to just do that through practice, having three hours of practice every given weekend and be able to talk in the hauler in between those practices. And so now, a lot of conversation happens outside the race track that you’re not doing on-track activity and you’re not in the stress of getting into the next thing.”
Austin Dillon and Kyle Busch look on.
Austin Dillon, driver of RCR’s No. 3 car and grandson of team owner Richard Childress, has played a more significant role in his family’s team recently. Dillon largely replicated his 2024 stats in 2025 — a Richmond win serving as his lone top five of the season, coupled with five total top 10s — but improved his average finish from 22.6 to 20.8 with new crew chief Richard Boswell. Looking on for the betterment of both his No. 3 team and the whole of RCR, Dillon believes the organization is poised to take its next step toward Cup Series success through the offseason, adding that his father, Mike Dillon, plans to be more involved in the process as well.
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“Obviously, bringing Pohlman in as the 8 crew chief, Richard Boswell and him and (technical director) Johnny Klausmeier and Andy Street all working really closely together, I think that is a powerhouse team between the four of them,” Dillon said. “I like where all those guys stand as humans and workers (to) just be pushing our cars to make them better and more competitive for Kyle and I. And I think you’ll see my dad more, which is a good thing. He was a competition director for RCR for a long time, and I think a lot of people love to work with him and know where he stands on getting these things right.”
Busch is NASCAR’s winningest driver of all time across its national series, collecting 63 Cup wins, 67 Craftsman Truck Series wins and an astounding 102 O’Reilly Auto Parts Series victories. The winning has slowed over the last two seasons, though. And through his experience across 20-plus years at NASCAR’s highest levels, he knows he’ll need to crawl before he walks back to Victory Lane again.
“There’s still a building process that’s got to take place to get us to that avenue,” Busch said. “And being most consistent each and every week and finishing consistently in the top five is the easiest way to prove that you’re capable of your next win. So we’ve got to get to that point first.”
