NASCAR: If Kurt Busch departure confirmed, Cole Custer to Stewart-Haas Racing in 2019?

If it is confirmed that Kurt Busch is leaving Stewart-Haas Racing for Chip Ganassi Racing for the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season, will Cole Custer replace him?

It was reported earlier today that 40-year-old Kurt Busch is set to leave Stewart-Haas Racing following the conclusion of the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season, as is his primary sponsor, Monster Energy.

It also was reported that the 2004 Cup Series champion is set to replace Jamie McMurray at Chip Ganassi Racing as the driver of the #1 Chevrolet starting next season.

However, Busch has since claimed that he hasn’t signed anything as far as a contract for next season goes, and Stewart-Haas Racing team co-owner Gene Haas has since claimed that there is still a possibility that Busch will re-sign with the team to continue driving the #41 Ford next season.

But if it does end up being confirmed that Busch will not return to Stewart-Haas Racing for the 2019 season, whether or not that means he will drive for Chip Ganassi Racing or do something completely different next year, would Cole Custer be the driver who would replace him behind the wheel of the #41 Ford?

Custer, 20, currently drives for Stewart-Haas Racing in the Xfinity Series. He is in his second season driving the #00 Ford full-time in the Xfinity Series after driving the #5 JR Motorsports Chevrolet and the #88 JR Motorsport Chevrolet part-time in the 2016 season.

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While Custer has earned just one career Xfinity Series victory, he is widely considered one of the most promising prospects of NASCAR’s lower series.

Custer currently sits in second place in the championship standings with seven top five finishes, 16 top 10 finishes and four pole positions through the season’s first 20 races. His best finish of the season is his second place finish in the Alsco 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Custer’s average starting position and average finishing position so far this season are 6.8 and 9.3, respectively. Last season, they were 8.6 and 13.3, respectively, so he has clearly developed into a better driver and one of the best drivers in the Xfinity Series.

Last season, Custer earned his first career Xfinity Series victory in the season finale, the Ford EcoBoost 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Before that, he advanced to the round of 8 of the playoffs, but he was unable to get into the Championship 4.

Had Custer advanced to the Championship 4 last season, he would have won the 2017 Xfinity Series championship thanks to his victory in the season finale. Instead, he had to settle for a fifth place finish in the championship standings.

As one of the most promising Xfinity Series drivers and as a Stewart-Haas Racing driver, Custer would be the logical replacement for Busch at Stewart-Haas Racing in the Cup Series next season if Busch does end up leaving the team after the 2018 season reaches its conclusion.

Plus, Custer already has two career Cup Series starts, and he was impressive in both of them. Driving the #51 Rick Ware Racing Ford, he finished in 25th place in the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway after qualifying in 30th, and he finished in 26th in the Pocono 400 at Pocono Raceway after qualifying in 28th.

The average starting positio  and finishing position of Rick Ware Racing’s drivers this season are 34.3 and 31.7, respectively, in 23 races, so Custer has clearly outperformed his equipment.

If Kurt Busch ends up leaving Stewart-Haas Racing after the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season comes to a close and he ends up replacing Jamie McMurray as the driver of the #1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet in the 2019 season, will Cole Custer replace him as the driver of the #41 Ford?