NASCAR Silly Season Update - The Key Players And Where They Might Land
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As the summer months roll on, NASCAR silly season continues to heat up. With the 2024 season rapidly approaching, owners are on the lookout trying to find people to drive their cars next year, and drivers without a long term deal are looking for a ride. While a few dominoes have already fallen, such as Trackhouse Racing securing Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez for the foreseeable future, as well as Rick Ware Racing signing Justin Haley to a multiyear contract, there are still many top talents who don’t know where they’ll be driving come the Daytona 500 in February. Here are a few of the biggest names, and some potential locations that they might wind up at.
First, let’s tackle the Joe Gibbs Racing drivers of Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. While neither of them currently have a contract in place for the new year, it is highly unlikely that either will leave Gibbs. Hamlin has said before that he wants to be a JGR-lifer, and as long as his longtime sponsor FedEx is willing to continue their support of him, we will likely see a contract extension announcement for Hamlin quite soon. As for Truex, his future will likely be either with Joe Gibbs Racing, or no team at all. There’s a decent chance that MTJ calls it quits after this season and retires, but if he does decide to keep racing, he’ll probably just stay at JGR, as the team would love to have him for as long as he wants to hang around.
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Another driver who could be staying with his current team is Aric Almirola. The 39 year old has driven Stewart-Haas Racing’s #10 car since 2018, and has become a staple at that team. He, much like Truex, is contemplating retirement, and it sounds like even he’s not sure if he’ll be racing full time next year. Almirola brought longtime sponsor Smithfield with him when he moved to SHR, and the team will be anxious to keep the support of the famous company for as long as possible. However, if Almirola retires, Smithfield will likely depart with him. So if the three-time Cup Series winner decides to continue racing, he will no doubt have a contract from SHR slid across his desk.
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But if Almirola does step away from driving, then who could Stewart-Haas Racing replace him with? They could elevate one of their Xfinity drivers, either Cole Custer or Riley Herbst, but neither of them have shown that they are worthy of a full time Cup Series seat. Rumors have suggested that they might try and poach Harrison Burton from Wood Brothers Racing, but the 22 year old has also been less-than-stellar in his Cup career so far. Other potential options lie within the Front Row Motorsports family, with Michael McDowell, Todd Gilliand, and Zane Smith all fighting to earn a contract extension. FRM only has two charters, which are currently used to field McDowell and Gilliland. But the talented and promising Smith has already stated that he expects to be in the Cup Series next year, so Front Row will likely have to boot one of their current drivers to avoid losing their young phenom to another team. Whoever is the odd man out at FRM could find themselves scooped up by Stewart-Haas Racing to replace Almirola.
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Kaulig Racing’s #31 car is currently available as well, now that Justin Haley has announced his plans to join Rick Ware Racing for the 2024 season and beyond. Owner Matt Kaulig and team president Chris Rice have many options as to who could step in and replace the departing Haley. Like SHR, they could promote from within, and tap Chandler Smith or Daniel Hemric to drive the #31. But Hemric only has one career Xfinity win to his name, and is yet to find victory lane for Kaulig Racing. And while Smith is undoubtedly talented, throwing the 21 year old straight into the deep end of the Cup Series sounds like a recipe for disaster. As of now, it appears as if the team has their eye on a different Xfinity Series driver, that being Austin Hill of Richard Childress Racing. Hill, 29, has slowly worked his way up through the ranks, and is in the middle of his best season ever, having already amassed four wins. He seems to possess the right combination of talent and experience to warrant a Cup ride, and all signs point towards him being the second driver at Kaulig Racing next year.
And then there’s the wildcard in the silly season carousell; Australian V8 Supercars champion Shane Van Gisbergen. SVG shocked the NASCAR world when he stepped into Trackhouse’s project 91 car and won in his debut race at the Chicago Street Course. This instantly put him on every Cup Series team’s radar, and he has already received multiple full-time offers for this upcoming season. With every passing day, it looks more and more likely that Gisbergen will leave Australia and pursue a career in stock car racing; the big question is who will he sign with? Logically, it makes sense for him to stay with Trackhouse, but the team would have to purchase a third charter to make that happen, which seems highly unlikely at the moment. He could step into the struggling #77 car for Spire Motorsports and try to right their ship. He could fill Almirola’s seat at SHR, or potentially take the #31 entry for Kaulig. Maybe there could be a spot for him at Front Row or the Wood Brothers depending on how things shake out. Essentially, Shane Van Gisbergen could land anywhere, and drive for anyone. He is by far the hardest driver to predict this silly season, but whatever team wins the SVG sweepstakes will undoubtedly be getting themselves one of the most exciting prospects to enter the NASCAR Cup Series in recent years.
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How do you think silly season will play out? Which drivers will wind up staying with their current teams, and who will be forced to find a ride somewhere else?
