I feel like now is a good time to post another “silly season”
update. Lots of things going on, so reach up and pull those belts tight one more time. The next few weeks could be
wild.
First, let’s start with what we know. Stewart-Haas Racing
will cease to exist in 2025 and all 4 of their charters were put up for sale.
Front Row Motorsports confirmed that they purchased one of them for roughly $20
mil. (half of what Spire spent to acquire the Live Fast charter last year).
Rumored other buyers are Trackhouse, 23XI, and a mysterious 4th
buyer. But word on the street is that both RFK and RCR are preparing to have 3
full-time teams next year. Assuming one of them buys the 4th SHR
charter, that means there is another potential seller out there, which we can
only assume would be either Kaulig or Rick Ware Racing, considering that each
of those teams’ fields a chartered car with a rotation of drivers.
The other breaking announcement is that Martin Truex Jr. is
expected to announce tomorrow that he will be retiring at season’s end, opening
up a seat at Joe Gibbs Racing. When you pair that with the high expectation
that Harrison Burton will not return to the Wood Brothers next season, that
leaves us with the potential of Front Row, Trackhouse, 23XI, RFK, RCR, JGR, and
the Wood Brothers all searching for drivers. So the question is who winds up
where?
Let’s start with Front Row. With Michael McDowell announcing
he is leaving for Spire, that puts them in search of 2 drivers. Rumors suggest
that both will be former SHR drivers. Common consensus is that Cole Custer will
wind up in one of the cars, but who will be the 2nd? Aside from Chase
Briscoe, Noah Gragson has been the most consistent SHR driver this year and
could slot into that ride, but multiple teams are showing interest in Gragson
and this may not be his best option. Josh Berry would seem the next most likely,
however let’s not forget that Riley Herbst drove 2 races for this team last
year, finishing 9th at Talladega, and has a ton of financial
backing.
Trackhouse has 4 drivers currently in their stable
currently. The only one that does not have a contract for next year is Daniel
Suarez, but he and the team are currently working on a contract extension. We
know Ross Chastain isn’t going anywhere, so that leaves Zane Smith, currently
on loan to Spire, but losing that ride to Michael McDowell next year, and Shane
van Gisbergen, who was promised to go Cup racing in 2025. Initial assumptions
were that Trackhouse would purchase 2 of the 4 SHR charters, but per the last 2
charter proposals, they are looking at a 3 charter limit per team, which would
make Trackhouse have to choose between Smith and SVG. It’s possible they could
extend their partnership with Kaulig (who SVG is driving for this year in
Xfinity) and lease one of their drivers out to them for next year as a
temporary solution.
23XI seems pretty cut and dry. Corey Heim is Toyota’s top
prospect and he’s already made 2 starts this season with Legacy in relief of
the injured Erik Jones. Heim is also slated to make his first start for 23XI in
just 2 weeks when we go to Nashville. It’s widely assumed he will be the target
for a 3rd entry for that team.
RFK made it no secret how much they value Justin Haley. When
Haley went to meet with Rick Ware Racing last year to talk about driving for
them, the first person to meet him was Brad Keselowski. RWR works out of the
RFK campus and with how impressive Haley has been this season, there’s no doubt
that he is slated to move to the big team as soon as a seat opens.
As mentioned above, the Wood Brothers seem to be ready to
move on from Harrison Burton. Their top target is Chase Briscoe, who Ford wants
to keep in their camp, but keeping Briscoe in a Ford may not be as easy as they
think.
RCR is where things start to get interesting. There is no
doubt that they value Xfinity driver Austin Hill. When other teams were talking
to Hill about a Cup ride for 2024, RCR was able to get him to sign back on with
them in the Xfinity Series, which I could only imagine came with the promise of
a Cup opportunity. Many have spoken about the potential of Austin Dillon
hanging up the helmet and taking an admin role with the team to open up a seat
for Hill, but the latest rumors are suggesting that Bass Pro wants a seat for
Noah Gragson with a team they are already associated with. If Dillon steps out
and RCR acquires a 3rd charter, that makes it simple to slide Hill
and Gragson into those rides. That being said, they may be able to bring in
both Hill and Gragson while allowing Dillon to continue to race. PRN NASCAR
analyst Lee Spencer reported last week that Kyle Busch is becoming frustrated
with the performance of RCR and regrets leaving Joe Gibbs Racing. Apparently
the only thing preventing him from returning to the team as a replacement to
Truex is his contract. Might there be a buyout to allow Kyle back behind the
wheel of a JGR Toyota?
That’s certainly one of the options for Gibbs, but there is
a lot at the table for them as well. It’s also been rumored that another former
JGR driver could make his return. Erik Jones was let go by JGR in favor of
Christopher Bell in 2020 and even though he’s back under the Toyota banner, the
word is that Coach Joe would love to have him back. Finances could be the issue
as Bass Pro, who sponsors Truex, may also be looking at this team as a landing
spot for Noah Gragson. There’s also rumblings that they are also interested in
Chase Briscoe, who will be bringing Mahindra and some other current sponsors
along with him to whatever team he lands with.
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