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NASCAR: Five Possible Landing Spots for Kasey Kahne in 2018

By Asher Fair

LONG POND, PA - JULY 29: Kasey Kahne, driver of the #5 Great Clips/Shark Week Chevrolet, practices for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Overton's 400 at Pocono Raceway on July 29, 2017 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
LONG POND, PA - JULY 29: Kasey Kahne, driver of the #5 Great Clips/Shark Week Chevrolet, practices for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Overton's 400 at Pocono Raceway on July 29, 2017 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /
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WATKINS GLEN, NY – AUGUST 05: Aric Almirola, driver of the #43 Smithfield Ford, practices for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series I Love NY 355 at The Glen at Watkins Glen International on August 5, 2017 in Watkins Glen, New York. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)
WATKINS GLEN, NY – AUGUST 05: Aric Almirola, driver of the #43 Smithfield Ford, practices for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series I Love NY 355 at The Glen at Watkins Glen International on August 5, 2017 in Watkins Glen, New York. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images) /

No. 43 – Richard Petty Motorsports, Ford

The contract of Aric Almirola, the current driver of the #43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford, expires at the end of this season. If he does continue racing, which is the most likely scenario, it will likely not be with this one-car Richard Petty Motorsports team seeing as how he carries sponsorship from Smithfield.

Also, Almirola is still higher than a few drivers in the championship standings despite the fact that he missed seven races due to a back injury he sustained in a wreck at Kansas in May. While he hasn’t won a race since the 2014 season when he won his first career Cup Series race at Daytona, he can definitely find a better ride, even if it isn’t with one of the sport’s top-tier organizations.

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Since many of the vacant seats in cars owned by the top-tier organizations are being filled by younger drivers in their teens and early 20’s, the one-car Richard Petty Motorsports operation is certainly on the table as an option for a 37-year-old driver like Kasey Kahne, who has proven that he can still win races here and there despite the fact that his career has been steadily declining as of late.

If Kahne can’t secure a ride with another top-tier team but still wants to drive full-time in the Cup Series, the #43 Ford would be a good option for both he and the team, as it gives him a car that will allow him to continue competing in the series full-time and it gives the team a very experienced driver who has had some success over the course of his career to put in that car.

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