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Austin Dillon spoke on Kyle Busch's commitment to RCR.

Austin Dillon addressed the media on Friday at Texas Motor Speedway regarding teammate Kyle Busch’s crew chief change in the NASCAR Cup Series and his commitment to Richard Childress Racing.

Following his first top-10 finish of 2026 last Sunday at Talladega, RCR made the call to swap in Andy Street for Jim Pohlman as crew chief of the No. 8 Chevrolet. Busch previously worked with Street in the final few races of the 2025 season and found moderate success as a pairing. 

In addition, amid Busch’s 2026 struggles, Dillon made it clear that his teammate is committed to turning his performance around this year.

Austin Dillon believes Busch crew chief change will set “positive tone”

The 2026 season has been one of struggle for Busch.

Through 10 races, “Rowdy” has posted only one top-10 finish and sits 27th in the points standings. The Las Vegas native has six finishes outside the top 20 and four finishes of 25th or worse. 

With the lack of performance in the No. 8 car, and crew chief Jim Pohlman wanting to make a change, Dillon told reporters there were a number of factors that went into making a crew chief adjustment. 

The bottom line was a change needed to be made, and Street was the perfect fit given the circumstances.

“I think there’s multiple reasons, but I think the obvious reason is that we had someone in-house that had some success with Kyle at the end of last year and was willing to step up and do the job. I think it was something that Jim also wanted to do whatever we needed to do as a company to run better,” Dillon said.

Street came aboard for Busch for the final five races of the 2025 season, replacing Randall Burnett. The pairing posted two top-five finishes, including a fifth-place effort in the season-finale race at Phoenix. 

With prior success atop the pit box of the No. 8, Dillon believes the move bodes well for the team going into the rest of 2026.

“I think he’s shown his ability to work with Kyle at the end of the year last year and have some solid runs, I think that’s what was the obvious move to make. I think it should be a positive tone for that team,” Dillon said.

Dillon on Busch’s next win: “Biggest of his career”

Busch’s dry spell in the NASCAR Cup Series has been well-documented.

In his first season with RCR in 2023, Busch won three races. However, the two-time Cup champion has not won since, with his latest trip to victory lane coming in June 2023. 

Amid the struggles at RCR, Dillon said Busch had a productive meeting with the team at the race shop this week. If anyone was questioning Busch’s commitment before, Dillon set the records straight.

The driver of the No. 3 believes his teammate will make it back to victory lane, and it will be bigger than any of his prior 63 career Cup triumphs.

“He’s all in. He wants to get back. I talked to Kyle and his next win is going to be the biggest of his career if you think of it the right way. All the stuff that’s been said and brought up over this year, I feel like if he puts his head down and takes that team back to victory lane, that’s going to be the biggest win of his career. That’s what we’re all fighting for. We want to see that. As a competitor, that’s what I like to see,” Dillon said.  

In addition to the struggles, Busch is in a contract year with RCR, making his future for 2027 unclear. He is in his fourth season behind the wheel of the No. 8 car.