This week when news dropped that Matt Kenseth would be leaving Roush-Fenway Racing, it opened lots of questions, but at the same time began the domino effect that is NASCAR Silly Season.
Kenseth has announced he will be leaving the team, but has not said where he will be going. However, it was confirmed by RFR, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will be replacing Kenseth in the Sprint Cup Series. Most of the press has speculated Kenseth will be either replacing Joey Logano, or being put in a fourth car at Joe Gibbs Racing. If he will be the fourth JGR driver, he will more than likely be put in the #20 car sponsored by Home Depot because the sponsor has put a lot of pressure on JGR for the performance of Joey Logano which, let’s be honest, on the Cup level has been rather pathetic. So where does Joey go?
There is no doubt that Ford would probably love to steal Logano from Toyota, since they more than likely have stole Kenseth from them. Talk is, Logano could remain with JGR, but at the Nationwide Series level, and that would more than likely send Logano packing because I’m sure he feels he is good enough for a Cup ride. If Michael Waltrip Racing can find sponsorship for a fourth car, that is a strong possibility for him too. That will keep Logano in the Toyota camp. Logano has not met expectations, but so far in the season he has finally shown the potential everyone believes he has. Now, if Logano heads to MWR, what about Brian Vickers?
Vickers has earned himself a ride and he has options. 1) he keeps racing part time for MWR with Mark Martin until he retires or a ride can be secured for him. 2) He finds another ride with another team. However, the best chance for Vickers would be to stick with MWR even if it means 6 races per season because MWR is showing how strong they are and their cars are getting better. While they’re not the best team, they are the worst of the best teams in NASCAR and if he can be patient he can secure a top tier ride in the next season or so.
Then there is the most famous free agent of them all…Kurt Busch! There is no doubt in my mind, Kurt will not be with Phoenix Racing next year. This is one of the most talented drivers in the garage and though he has anger issues, he deserves a ride with a better team. He deserve to win! Rumor has it, Furniture Row Racing has discussed a second car for their team with Kurt being the driver. Another one, until Matt Kenseth’s announcement was that he would be joining JGR with his brother Kyle. A small, but probably no where near true rumor is that Kurt could be replacing Jeff Burton. Burton has strugged, but he still has one year left on his contract. Rumors also have his close friendship with Tony Stewart possibly giving him a ride at Stewart-Haas Racing. Current driver, Ryan Newman, has been given the green light to shop around for a new ride because of sponsorship problems.
Ryan Newman, doesn’t have much options. Odds are he will be back at SHR, but under a new contract that will give him a pay cut, and while Newman is a nice guy, he has underperformed and the pay cut should be expected.
I have covered most of the drivers, and I’m sure I’ve left out a few, but I know in the coming weeks I will get a chance to cover them!