TC Daily Pit Stop: Burnett Moving From RCR to Trackhouse To Be Zilisch Crew Chief in 2026; Corey LaJoie 'Not Entertaining' Truck Offers

TC Daily Pit Stop: Wednesday, September 24, 2025

Sep 24, 2025

Randall Burnett will join Trackhouse Racing to serve as the crew chief for Connor Zilisch in 2026 — Craig White | TobyChristie.com

Randall Burnett, who has served as the crew chief of the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet since the start of the 2020 season, will be on the move for 2026. Burnett is set to move to Trackhouse Racing next season and will be paired with Rookie of the Year contender Connor Zilisch.

Trackhouse Racing announced the acquisition of Burnett, a six-time NASCAR Cup Series race-winning crew chief, via a social media post on Tuesday morning.

Burnett will look to close out the 2025 season on a high note as he hopes to help Kyle Busch snap a career-long 87-race losing streak.

Zilisch, who has nine wins in the NASCAR Xfinity Series this season, is highly regarded as one of the biggest can’t-miss prospects in recent NASCAR history.

Corey LaJoie ‘Not Entertaining’ Truck Offers; Looking for DAYTONA 500 Seat

Corey LaJoie tried like crazy over an eight-year stretch full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series ranks to make something happen, but heading into this season, he found himself on the outside looking in after being released from Spire Motorsports.

In this week’s Stacking Pennies Podcast episode, LaJoie says a disdain for how the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series trucks drive, his enjoyment of his television and podcast endeavors, and other outside business interests have him feeling like he’s close to the end of his NASCAR National Series driving career.

“I like doing TV. I think I’m gonna start up this carbon fiber business, and if NASCAR wants to keep doing the show, I’ll keep doing the show because I like doing it and having the platform to talk about life and racing,” LaJoie said. “But yeah, Trucks aren’t particularly fun to drive, and also like smashing my head up against the wall, metaphorically. Like, you’re fighting a battle that is just; if you’re not doing it yourself, you deal with all the bullshit. We can’t do a new body build. Well, we can’t build it this way because GM this, and simulation that.”

LaJoie continued, “So, if I had a really good opportunity call, then sure, I’ll entertain the conversation, but there’s like ten other things that I could be doing right now to start what the next chapter looks like, and I think I’m going to start focusing on that.”