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NASCAR: Five Possible Landing Spots for Matt Kenseth in 2018

By Asher Fair

WATKINS GLEN, NY - AUGUST 06: Matt Kenseth, driver of the #20 Toyota Care Toyota, drives during qualifying for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series I Love NY 355 at The Glen at Watkins Glen International on August 6, 2017 in Watkins Glen, New York. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)
WATKINS GLEN, NY - AUGUST 06: Matt Kenseth, driver of the #20 Toyota Care Toyota, drives during qualifying for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series I Love NY 355 at The Glen at Watkins Glen International on August 6, 2017 in Watkins Glen, New York. (Photo by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images) /
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LOUDON, NH – JULY 14: Aric Almirola, driver of the #43 Smithfield Ford, practices for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Overton’s 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 14, 2017 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images)
LOUDON, NH – JULY 14: Aric Almirola, driver of the #43 Smithfield Ford, practices for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Overton’s 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 14, 2017 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo by Chris Trotman/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.

Almirola is also 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 45-year-old driver and former Cup Series champion like Matt Kenseth, who has proven that he can still be a contender at most race tracks despite the fact that he is the oldest full-time driver in the series and hasn’t won a race in over a year.

If Kenseth 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 lots of success over the course of his career to put in that car.

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