Justin Allgaier told Jim Pohlman he would’ve been an ‘idiot’ if he didn’t agree to becoming Kyle Busch’s crew chief

Xfinity Series champion Justin Allgaier will lose his crew chief, Jim Pohlman, to Kyle Busch's No. 8 Richard Childress Racing team in 2026. But he is happy for Pohlman.

It was with Pohlman that Allgaier bagged his maiden Xfinity Series championship last season. The JR Motorsports driver is a playoff contender this year as well. He ranks second in championship standings with a 44-point cushion on the cutoff line.

In an interview with NASCAR, Allgaier revealed the conversation with Pohlman about the move and even encouraged his crew chief about the new opportunity.

"would be an idiot if he didn’t take." Said Justin Allgaier

Further Allgaier said,

“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.”

“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,” he added.

Justin Allgaier and Pohlman have won nine races together since 2023. The duo will continue working together through the ongoing season in a bid to defend Allgaier’s championship title. Next up for the duo is the United Rentals 250 at Talladega Superspeedway.

Scheduled for Saturday, October 18, the 94-lap event will be televised on CW (4 pm ET onwards) with live radio coverage on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

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When Hendrick Motorsports chose Justin Allgaier to drive in their All-Star Race campaign

Justin Allgaier got tabbed by Hendrick Motorsports to drive NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson’s No. 5 Chevy Camaro in the 2025 All-Star Race, as Larson would be busy testing and qualifying for the upcoming Indianapolis 500.

This was back in May. Larson was attempting to try his hand at the infamous Double: running the Indy 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day, for the second straight year. So Allgaier was the standby driver for the Coca-Cola 600 as well, which would be hosted just the following week.

“We’re fortunate to have Justin and we appreciate him stepping in to help,” Cliff Daniels, crew chief for Larson, said in a statement. “He and Kyle are very similar in size, so there’s a lot in the cockpit that’s common between the two.”

“He’s had some time in the simulator driving the track and he did the wheel-force test there a year ago, so he’s got some experience in the Cup car at North Wilkesboro. We’re looking to put in a solid practice and make sure the car drives good,” he added.

In the end, Justin Allgaier ran the practice and qualifying for Larson on race day. Larson ran the main event and finished 21st.