When Kyle Busch blasted through the doors at Richard Childress Racing in 2023, the garage couldn’t help but feel captivated. But the most impressed of them all was Randall Burnett. Already bummed over Tyler Reddick’s move to 23XI Racing, the No. 8 team’s crew chief realized success would get a brand new meaning now. The challenge was simple: Navigate the veteran racer to his third Cup Series championship. Yet, just two seasons and countless unsatisfactory races later, the reality is not what anybody had expected. Now, add to that the latest rumor, and it truly feels Busch’s career graph might be doomed.

Earlier this week, NASCAR Rumors & Nostalgia’s official Instagram page shared a concerning update: “I’m being told that Randall Burnett is leaving RCR after the conclusion of the season”. Official confirmation is yet to come in, but a close look at the team’s performance explains exactly what’s going wrong. Because, while the duo has managed three wins, 15 Top-5s and 27 Top-10s in 72 races, performance gaps have been a recurring frustration for the 86-race winless team.

As Burnett admitted in July this year, “I feel like we’ve made some improvements on the short tracks. I still don’t think we’re anywhere near where we need to be at the short tracks on the 8 car…I feel like our short track program, still for the 8 car at least, is our weakest link of all the tracks we go to… So, still working on that program for sure.” What’s more, the veteran crew chief has never really been comfortable in the Next Gen era. “I think it’s harder when you’re regulated by so many different things, right?” he had said back in 2023. “We’re in a really small box of what we can do to the cars where, you know, over the years, if you watch the progression of NASCAR, it used to be a lot.”

“The rulebook has gotten thicker and thicker over time, right? So when they started, there weren’t really many rules at all. Kind of run what you’ve brung to the race track and hope you brought enough, but now, as we’ve learned so much and the engineering has gotten so involved and it’s so data-driven that NASCAR really tightened up all the rules. You can see that with the Next Gen cars, everybody is racing the same car than somebody you’re racing against, so you’re stacking a lot of pennies to try to get a little bit better performing car, so everything’s got to be very detail-oriented,” the RCR team member had further lamented. Against that backdrop, Burnett’s rumored exit gains credibility, even if it remains unconfirmed. However, if the split does happen, the big question is who would step in.

Some fans and analysts have floated Rodney Childers, the longtime Stewart-Haas Racing crew chief, as a top option. His championship pedigree with Kevin Harvick makes him one of the most sought-after free agents, and he’s been linked to multiple openings for 2026. In fact, RCR has already begun reshaping its competition department with new leadership hires, such as John Klausmeier as technical director, in a bid to shore up those weak areas. The other layer of speculation centers on Busch himself.

If Burnett departs, Busch could face a crossroads: adapt to yet another new voice on the pit box at RCR, or reassess his options elsewhere.

For now, though, the rumor has set fire elsewhere

Speculations rule social media

One user kicked off the debate,“If Randall Burnett does end up leaving RCR, who becomes Kyle Busch’s crew chief for 2026? What do you guys think?” Rodney Childers, with 40 Cup race wins and a Harvick championship, tops the list, but landing him is a stretch.

Hence, another fan floated an idea: “I go wildcard and say Brian Pattie. He would be a terrible hire, but he and Busch have worked well in trucks, and D–k Childress usually hires washed-up veterans on the cheap.” Pattie’s guided Stenhouse and Waltrip in Cup but hasn’t lit it up lately, though his Truck success with Busch makes him a cheap, familiar fit. Having said that, the frustration boiled over, too. “Thank God. He used to be hit and miss at worst back then, and it was at least a rocketship when he hit, but now he seems completely clueless and screws up constantly,” one user wrote, while another pondered, “I wonder where Burnett would go. When he and Reddick were together, I thought he was a top 5 crew chief. For whatever reason, it hasn’t clicked with him and KFB. Probably best to try something different for both sides.”

Burnett’s peak with Tyler Reddick, 2019 Xfinity title, and 2022 Cup playoffs, marks him as elite. The Busch pairing hasn’t sparked the same magic, with missed opportunities piling up. Fans see a split as mutual, giving Burnett a shot at a better match. The pressure angle hit home, “Stress probably got to him. And for the love of God, please do not start a Rodney Childers chant.” Well, seems like fans are still mulling over their options. Meanwhile, do you have anyone in mind?