Frustrated Kyle Busch Throws Shade at Richard Childress’ Crew After Repeated Pit-Road Jeopardization

The Pennzoil 400 did not go the way the hometown hero, Kyle Busch, wanted it to go—not even a tad bit. Taking on the mile-and-a-half track on his home turf, the 2-time Cup Series driver eyed a close and decisive race result that would get him into the victory lane that he missed in Atlanta, but instead, his own Richard Childress Racing crew got the driver back, holding him back with one of the slowest pit stops of the race.

Unlike last season, the #8 RCR Chevy showed exceptional pace and is in no way lacking in oomph. But what Kyle Busch is lacking is a potent pit crew. After the Daytona disappointment where the crew left the car with a loose front tire after the pit stop that later stood in the way of his maiden Daytona 500 win, Richard Childress made imminent changes. However, that seems to have no effect on the team. Rolling into another race week at Phoenix, “Rowdy” let his frustration be known, hitting out at his pit crew.

Kyle Busch takes a dig at his RCR pit crew ahead of Phoenix

Between Daytona and Atlanta, the #8 team replaced his jackman. Now, after Las Vegas, more changes are coming. Before taking it to the track last week, Busch admitted that he and his boss gave the crew an earful, saying, “Trust me, they’ve heard it not from me but from Richard week in and week out. So, their ears are bleeding, but I know they’re trying and I know we’re working hard. Trust me there were plenty of offers over the offseason to try and get different talent up there and we just weren’t able to secure it.” 

However, the Jackman change seems to have no effect on the #8’s performance, prompting Richard Childress to step in with more changes. Reflecting on the pit road woes and his crew’s inadequacy, Kyle Busch, when prompted by the media to share his mind at the pre-race media availability, who was on his phone, got straight to the point, saying, “I just wanted to make sure that my pit crew was on time this week.”

What are the new pit crew changes in the #8 RCR?

Another week of frustration on pit road has led the Chevy camp at RCR to overhaul the crew for Busch ahead of the one-mile marathon in Phoenix. Busch had speed this season, but mistakes on pit road have led to unsatisfying results. To get the #8 car off the pit road fast and improve its game, bossman Childress is actually adopting a trial-and-error sort of strategy to see what works best for the team.

This week, the rear changer, front changer, and jackman are all new for the #8 pit crew. Rear changer Michael Johnson is in for Chris Jackson. Shiloh Windsor is in as front-changer in place of Michael Russell. Finally, Doug Warrick will replace Garrett Crall as the jackman. However, the tire carriers and fuelman remain the same. But can this get the #8 out of the rut? Only time will tell.

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