All good things must come to an end. When Jimmie Johnson’s NASCAR Cup Series career concludes, who will be the top three candidates to replace him at Hendrick Motorsports?
Jimmie Johnson, 42, started off the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series very slowly with just one top 10 finish in the first six races in his #48 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports. But truth be told, we have seen this act before.
In the 2016 season, Johnson went on a then career-long 24-race win drought. He ended up winning the championship, which was his record-tying seventh title. Last season, he also had just one top 10 finish in the first six races. He ended up winning three races and advancing to the round of 8 in the playoffs.
However, have we really seen this act before? Johnson is now on another career-long win drought of 29 races, and it was recently confirmed that Lowe’s, his sponsor ever since he entered the Cup Series in 2001, is set to leave after the 2018 season.
Johnson is, in fact, under contract with Hendrick Motorsports through the 2020 season. However, Kasey Kahne was under contract with the team through the 2018 season, and he ended up being let go of before this season began in a move that was confirmed last summer following the departure of his primary sponsor, GreatClips. If Johnson continues to underperform, there is no telling what his future holds with the team.
Regardless of when he finally retires, here are the early top three candidates to replace him as the driver of the #48 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports.
Chris Buescher
Chris Buescher, 25, currently drives the #37 Chevrolet for JTG Daugherty Racing full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series. He drove in the Cup Series as a part-time driver for Front Row Motorsports in the 2015 season before coming to the team full-time in the 2016 season and then making the switch to JTG Daugherty as a full-time driver in the 2017 season.
Buescher is probably not a driver who most people would think of when it comes to potential replacements for Jimmie Johnson at Hendrick Motorsports in the #48 Chevrolet. In fact, Buescher is probably not a driver who most people who think of when it comes to potential replacements for any of the veterans who currently drive for any of the top-tier teams in the Cup Series.
However, Buescher is a talented young driver who is locked into a contract with JTG Daugherty Racing until the end of the 2018 season, and he has valuable experience behind the wheel of a Chevrolet. Despite the fact that he has driven only for underfunded teams in his Cup Series career, he has done a solid job.
In the 2016 season when he drove the #34 Ford for Front Row Motorsports, Buescher made it to the playoffs with his first career Cup Series win at Pocono. He also finished in 5th place at Bristol in the only other race that resulted in him finishing in the top 10 in 2016.
In the 2017 season in his first season driving for JTG Daugherty Racing, Buescher did not make the playoffs, but he was far more consistent with four top 10 finishes, including two season-high 6th place results at Michigan and Kansas. He opened up the 2018 season with a 5th place finish in the Daytona 500.
There is no doubt that Buescher is a talented driver who has not had great equipment in the Cup Series to show off his talent. The question is whether or not he will get the opportunity to do so at Hendrick Motorsports in the #48 Chevrolet after Johnson retires.
Kyle Larson
Kyle Larson, 25, currently drives the #42 Chevrolet for Chip Ganassi Racing full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series. So far in the 2018 season, which is Larson’s fifth full-time season in the sport, Chevrolet drivers have struggled as a whole, but Larson has almost effectively been immune to the struggles that these drivers have had with two podium finishes in six races.
Last season, Larson was also the top Chevrolet driver in the sport. While he only finished in 8th place in the championship standings as the second highest finishing Chevrolet driver, he did so as a result of the fact that he had tons of misfortune that eliminated him in the round of 12 in the playoffs. He led all Chevrolet drivers with four victories throughout the season.
Larson has had all of this success despite the fact that he drives for a two-car team that have a primary focus that is arguably on IndyCar as opposed to NASCAR. That may, however, keep Larson from moving to Hendrick Motorsports given the fact that he has expressed his desire to drive the Memorial Day Double, which involves driving in IndyCar’s Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day Sunday. Chip Ganassi Racing could allow him to do that.
Kyle Larson (continued)
In regard to Hendrick Motorsports, team owner Rick Hendrick actually prevented Kasey Kahne, who was set to begin driving for the team in the 2012 season, from competing in the IndyCar championship finale at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the 2011 season to compete for $5 million if he were to start last and win the race.
Dan Wheldon ended up being the driver who started last and attempted to win the money, but he ended up being killed as a result of a wreck that took place early in the race, which was ultimately canceled. After effectively playing a huge role in saving Kahne’s life, it’s hard to see Hendrick allowing Larson to run the Memorial Day Double if he goes to Hendrick Motorsports.
With all of that said, keep in mind the fact that Larson is definitely a NASCAR driver before he is an IndyCar driver. Plus, Johnson hasn’t retired yet, and there is no timetable for his retirement. Add to that the fact that Larson still drives for Chip Ganassi Racing, so he could very well end up running the Memorial Day Double within the next year or so and still join Hendrick Motorsports as Johnson’s replacement in the #48 Chevrolet depending on when he retires. Don’t rule any of it out.
Tyler Reddick
Tyler Reddick, 22, is probably the most likely option to replace Jimmie Johnson in the #48 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports at this point once he retires from NASCAR Cup Series competition. That said, this could definitely change, as Johnson’s contract does run through the 2020 season.
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Reddick currently drives the #9 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports, the team co-owned by Hendrick Motorsports team owner Rick Hendrick, in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Of the team’s four drivers, he is the only one under age 31 at age 22.
The three Hendrick Motorsports drivers not named Jimmie Johnson are all 24 years or younger right now. Given the current youth movement in the Cup Series right now, it is hard to see Hendrick Motorsports hiring any of the other three JR Motorsports drivers, who are 31-year-old Justin Allgaier, 31-year-old Michael Annett and 42-year-old Elliott Sadler, over the 22-year-old Reddick to replace Johnson.
Reddick drove part-time in the Xfinity Series for Chip Ganassi Racing in the 2017 season after driving full-time for Brad Keselowski Racing in the Truck Series in the 2015 season and the 2016 season and part-time for the team in the 2014 season. He won his first Xfinity Series race as a full-time driver for JR Motorsports at Daytona to open up the 2018 season, and he did so by beating Sadler to the finish line in what is the closest finish in NASCAR history.
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Which driver will end up replacing Jimmie Johnson at Hendrick Motorsports in the #48 Chevrolet once he retires from his NASCAR Cup Series career? Will it be one of the three drivers discussed in this article, or will it be another driver?