RFK Racing said Bullins was leaving for “a new opportunity” and described the parting as amicable. That opportunity is now known: Bullins has signed with Legacy Motor Club to lead its No. 84 team in 2027. Rather than keep him on the No. 6 for the last six races while he prepared to join a rival, RFK and Bullins parted straight away.

That left RFK with a crew chief vacancy six days before Kansas, and it filled the role from inside. Keselowski made clear the team backs the choice: “We believe in him, and we’re looking forward to seeing what we can accomplish together.”

Skarbowski isn’t a household name, but his CV explains why RFK trusted him with the job:

His background is engineering, which fits how the modern crew chief role has changed. With the Next Gen car, much of the job is car setup, simulation and data, alongside the traditional strategy calls on pit road. Skarbowski’s time as a lead engineer on a Championship 4 team means he’s worked at the front of the field, and as RFK’s team manager he already knows the No. 6 crew.

He admitted the week was hectic: “It was definitely a thrash of a week, but luckily, it’s a solid team.” And he made it clear why he wanted the job: “I just get the thrill of going to battle with a group of people.”

Bullins leaves RFK as one of the more successful crew chiefs of the last decade. According to NASCAR.com, he has 10 Cup Series wins: five with Keselowski at Penske, three with Ryan Blaney, and one each with Austin Cindric and Harrison Burton. His record in the second-tier series is even more striking: 21 wins in 100 starts.

His next job is at Legacy Motor Club, the team part-owned by seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson, where he’ll lead the No. 84 in 2027. Keselowski himself had hinted earlier in September that changes were coming: “Every year you have some level of change, almost certainly with attrition, people going to different spots in their lives.” For more on the 2027 driver and team moves, see our NASCAR 2027 silly season guide.

The timing makes more sense once you look at the No. 6 team’s season. Keselowski is 18th in the Cup standings and missed the 16-driver Chase, the second year in a row he hasn’t made the postseason. According to NASCAR.com, he has seven fewer top-ten finishes than at this point in 2025, and only two top tens in his last 20 races, going back to Talladega in late April.

With nothing to race for in the championship, there’s little reason to keep a departing crew chief in place. Instead, RFK gets six races to see how Skarbowski works with Keselowski and the No. 6 crew before decisions for 2027. His last RFK win came at Darlington in spring 2024, and the team will want to find the speed to return to victory lane.

Skarbowski’s first race is the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway on Sunday 27 September (3 p.m. ET), the fourth race of the 10-race Chase. Kansas is a 1.5-mile intermediate oval where tyre wear, fuel strategy and pit stops decide a lot, which puts the crew chief’s calls in the spotlight. Our guide to fuel strategy in NASCAR explains the basics.

Keselowski isn’t racing for the title, but he’ll be racing among the Chase drivers, where the stakes are high. Kyle Larson leads the Chase by a single point from Denny Hamlin after Joey Logano’s win at Bristol. For Skarbowski, a solid, mistake-free race and a finish in the top 15 would be a good start. A top ten would be a statement.

For the rest of 2026, the No. 6 team still has Las Vegas, Charlotte, Phoenix, Talladega and Martinsville before the Homestead finale. Keselowski has long been one of NASCAR’s best superspeedway racers, so Talladega could still produce a surprise. Our how to watch NASCAR guide has TV details for every race.