TALLADEGA, Ala. — Jim Pohlman can be described as an intense, highly motivated individual chasing the ultimate goal in NASCAR: winning. In 2026, he gets to chase that goal as a full-time Cup Series crew chief, taking over the reins of the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing car with future Hall of Famer and two-time Cup champion Kyle Busch.
Pohlman will return to RCR after spending the previous three seasons leading the way for Justin Allgaier in the Xfinity Series with JR Motorsports. He spent 2022 deep in the RCR bubble, playing multiple roles, including being one of the leads of the team’s research and development program.
“Working for Richard Childress, a Hall of Famer, and Kyle Busch, a future Hall of Famer, speaks paramount for the organization and what they are trying to accomplish,” Pohlman told NASCAR.com Friday at Talladega Superspeedway. “Who better to take a swing at the Cup Series at with somebody other than those two guys?”
MORE: Talladega schedule | Details on Pohlman’s new job
Accepting the inquiry to crew chief Busch, who sits ninth on the all-time Cup wins list and is the winningest NASCAR driver in history across the top three national tour series (232), was a no-brainer for Pohlman. He brought the possibility to Allgaier’s attention, and the duo hashed out their feelings.
Allgaier told Pohlman that he “would be an idiot if he didn’t take” the No. 8 gig. He knows there will be a glaring hole to fill on the No. 7 team, but wanted Pohlman to pursue his ambition.
“It’s a double-edged sword for me,” Allgaier admitted when talking to NASCAR.com. “I am sad to see him go because he has meant the world to me — and still will. His dream has been to be a full-time Cup Series crew chief, to have a shot for going for a championship. He has had forays and been able to be on the Cup side, but not in this scenario.
“I couldn’t have asked Jim to do any more for me. We came into this series and he put more effort than anyone I could ever imagine into what he was doing. The hard work and dedication that he’s given to me, I couldn’t ask for any better. As sad as I am to see that go, he accomplished everything we ever asked for. If you could write it all down on paper, you couldn’t even ask for those stats.”
The pairing has won nine races together since the beginning of 2023. The highlight was securing the 2024 Xfinity Series title at Phoenix Raceway in an emotional, feel-good fashion. Pohlman will forever be grateful to Allgaier for giving him his first foray into the full-time crew chief role and running with it.
“Justin is the guy that put me on the map,” Pohlman added. “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.
“The goal for me has always been to race on Sunday and make it to that level and have an opportunity to win Daytona 500s and win at the highest level. It’s a great opportunity and I’m certainly looking forward to it.”
While Pohlman has crossed paths with Busch on a professional level for more than two decades, he wouldn’t consider themselves to be the best of buds. Their conversations have been minimal.
Pohlman has 20 Cup starts as a crew chief on his resume, including 17 with Juan Pablo Montoya in 2011, earning a pair of top-10 finishes. He called the shots in two races for RCR in 2022, one apiece for Austin Dillon in the No. 3 Chevrolet and Austin Hill in the team’s part-time third entry. Having that previous experience is admirable, but he reiterates that without Allgaier, this opportunity wouldn’t exist.
“I would say that the opportunity to be a crew chief and move to that level all starts with Justin,” Pohlman said. “If Justin doesn’t make that phone call, we’re not standing here. With everything that we’ve accomplished with Justin, myself and this JRM team, it doesn’t come along without that.”
The motivation of winning a second consecutive championship is pegged for Pohlman. He wants to depart the No. 7 team better than he found it.
“After winning the championship last year, the goal when we came back was, ‘we’ve got to do it again and again after that,\"” Pohlman said. “We turned into champions, and if you win three in a row, we wanted to turn it into a dynasty. Definitely hard to make that decision, but kudos to Justin for putting me here and giving me this opportunity.”
Allgaier wants to rejoice the final three weeks of the 2025 season with Pohlman and leave him in rarified air.
“I don’t know of any crew chiefs that have come into the series for three years and had two firsts and a second (in points),” Allgaier said. “Those are pretty good stats.”
The courting process for the next crew chief of the No. 7 car will likely be put on hold until the conclusion of the 2025 season, as Allgaier has asked JRM management for “a little time to process it and help not take away from what we’re doing on the race track.”
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