What happened between Kyle Busch and his crew chief? Randall Burnett’s Connor Zilisch switch explored

Kyle Busch's crew chief, Randall Burnett, is set to leave the #8 Richard Childress Racing team for Connor Zilisch at Trackhouse Racing next year. The move comes after an underwhelming two-year run from 2024-2025, a stretch that has left a stain on the veteran driver’s career.

Busch failed to score a single win and missed the playoffs for the first time in his career in 2024. While the Las Vegas native still has a shot at returning to victory lane this year, he has already fallen short of a postseason berth for a second straight season.

The driver-crew chief duo last won a race at World Wide Technology in 2023, their first season together. They also secured two victories earlier that year, which at the time appeared to be a good sign for the future, but did not carry forward today.

Kyle Busch won at World Wide Technology Raceway in 2023 - Source: Imagn

Richard Childress Racing has yet to release a statement on the departure of Kyle Busch's crew chief. It remains to be seen whether the Chevrolet team will turn to an in-house option, such as Andy Street, who currently serves as the shot caller for Austin Hill in the Xfinity Series.

Now set to join Trackhouse Racing in 2026, Randall Burnett brings a blend of experience working with up-and-coming talents like Kyle Larson and Tyler Reddick, as well as veterans like Kyle Busch—knowledge that could prove invaluable for Connor Zilisch. At just 19, Zilisch is already one of NASCAR’s most highly touted prospects, racking up nine Xfinity Series wins in his rookie season and counting.

Zilisch will replace Daniel Suárez in the lineup, joining Ross Chastain and Shane van Gisbergen, his teammate at the 2025 Rolex 24. He also made a few Cup Series starts at tracks like Circuit of the Americas and Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Meanwhile, RCR has yet to announce who will step in as Kyle Busch’s crew chief, with the 63-time Cup race winner under contract through 2026. He plans to stay in the sport until his son, Brexton, 10, is old enough to run on superspeedways like Daytona and Talladega.

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Who is Kyle Busch's outgoing crew chief Randall Burnett?

Randall Burnett, a native of Fenton, Missouri, holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He began his NASCAR career with a decade-long run as an engineer at the now-defunct Chip Ganassi Racing, where he worked alongside now-Cup Series champion Kyle Larson during the 2014 season.

Burnett got his first shot as a crew chief in 2016 with JTG Daugherty Racing (now Hyak Motorsports), paired with AJ Allmendinger. But perhaps his breakthrough came three years later with Tyler Reddick in Richard Childress Racing’s Xfinity program after they captured the 2019 championship.

The duo graduated to RCR’s Cup Series team in 2020, making the playoffs in 2021 and 2022 and scoring three wins in 2022—at Road America, Indianapolis, and Texas. When Reddick left for 23XI Racing, Burnett was assigned to Kyle Busch's pit box, and the rest is history.