Danica Patrick: Top 5 Replacement Candidates in 2018

DAYTONA BEACH, FL - JUNE 29: Danica Patrick, driver of the #10 Aspen Dental Ford, practices for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 59th Annual Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway on June 29, 2017 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sarah Crabill/Getty Images)
DAYTONA BEACH, FL - JUNE 29: Danica Patrick, driver of the #10 Aspen Dental Ford, practices for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 59th Annual Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway on June 29, 2017 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Sarah Crabill/Getty Images) /
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SONOMA, CA – JUNE 25: Kyle Larson, driver of the #42 Target Chevrolet, races during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway on June 25, 2017 in Sonoma, California. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
SONOMA, CA – JUNE 25: Kyle Larson, driver of the #42 Target Chevrolet, races during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway on June 25, 2017 in Sonoma, California. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /

Kyle Larson

Kyle Larson is the current leader of the championship standings, and he is driving for Chip Ganassi Racing, which is just a two-car team. While he has said that he wants to stay with the team, there are no guarantees, and certainly coming to the four-car Stewart-Haas Racing team could potentially play to his advantage in the long run.

As the saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Larson has certainly had a great 2017 season up to this point in time, which would lead one to think that “it ain’t broke.” But it hasn’t all been great for him throughout his career. In his first two seasons with the team, he didn’t even make the playoffs, and it took until his third season for him to finally win a race.

This season, he has finally starting to show flashes of not only his potential but his true talent, and moving to a larger team could be the best move for him to continue to exploit that talent. When Tony Stewart, co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, was asked about why Kyle Larson was not driving for him, here was his reply.

If Larson does end up leaving Chip Ganassi Racing at the end of the season, you can bet that Tony Stewart will do whatever he can to get him to fill a vacant seat for Stewart-Haas Racing, with the #10 car being the car that most likely ends up with a vacant seat.