Rumors are swirling that Furniture Row Racing may not compete in the NASCAR Cup Series next season. Where might their current driver, Martin Truex Jr., end up driving in 2019?
Last month, 5-hour ENERGY announced that they will be leaving NASCAR once the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season, their seventh consecutive season as a sponsor in the sport, comes to an end.
Seeing as how 5-hour ENERGY are a $10 million sponsor for one of the sport’s smallest yet best teams, Furniture Row Racing, this announcement of their departure has sparked rumors that the Denver, Colorado-based team may have to shut down ahead of the 2019 season.
Furniture Row Racing team owner Barney Visser was quick to shut down these closing rumors. Here is what he had to say about the matter, according to NBC Sports.
"“Furniture Row Racing continues to develop sponsorship opportunities for 2019 and beyond. We have aligned ourselves with great partners over the years and are very proud of the success our organization has achieved, especially the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series championship with Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Racing not fielding a team in 2019 is not an option and we have every intention of continuing to build on our success for years to come.”"
But the fact is, Furniture Row Racing need sponsors. Martin Truex Jr., the defending Cup Series champion who drives the team’s lone full-time entry, the #78 Toyota, has admitted as much, and he has also admitted that this may end up causing him to leave the team at the end of this season even though that is certainly not what he wants to do.
Here is what Truex Jr. had to say about the matter when asked about his chances to return to Furniture Row Racing for a sixth consecutive season next year in what would be his 14th consecutive season as a full-time Cup Series driver, according to ESPN.
"“That’s hard to put a number on. Honestly, I really don’t know. I think in another week or two, I’ll have a better answer for you, a better percentage. Right now, we need sponsorship. That’s as simple as it gets. So it’s hard to say. Is there a 50 percent chance we get that in a couple weeks or is there a 100 percent chance or is there 2 percent, I don’t know. I can tell you that everything really is based upon that.”"
With all of this in mind, for which team might the defending Cup Series champion end up driving in the 2019 Cup Series season? Here are three possible landing spots for him.
Furniture Row Racing
It’s really this simple: as long as Furniture Row Racing get more sponsors and do not shut their doors ahead of the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season as a result of the departure of $10 million sponsor 5-hour ENERGY, expect Martin Truex Jr. back competing with the team for the sixth consecutive season next year.
If Furniture Row Racing get more sponsors and do not shut down, Truex Jr. would have absolutely no reason to leave whatsoever. None.
Truex Jr. began driving for the team in the 2014 Cup Series season, which was his ninth season as a full-time driver in the sport. He entered the season with two career Cup Series victories and career-high finishes of 11th place in the championship standings, which he recorded in the 2007 season driving for Dale Earnhardt, Inc. and in the 2012 season driving for Michael Waltrip Racing.
The 2014 season was Truex Jr.’s worst Cup Series season, as he finished in a career-low 24th place in the championship standings. But ever since then, he has gotten better and better.
In the 2015 season, Truex Jr. earned one victory and qualified for the Championship 4. He ended up finishing in fourth place in the championship standings, as he finished in 12th in the season finale, which was the lowest finishing position among the four drivers who qualified for the Championship 4.
Furniture Row Racing (continued)
In the 2016 season, Martin Truex Jr. earned four victories, which more than doubled his career victory total from three to seven, but he failed to advance to the round of 8 of the playoffs and finished in a disappointing 11th place in the championship standings.
Last season, Truex Jr. more than doubled his career win total for the second consecutive season, as he earned eight victories and brought his career win total from seven to 15. For the second time in three seasons, he qualified for the Championship 4. This time, he took full advantage of that and won his first career Cup Series championship.
So far this season, Truex Jr. has been one of the “big three” along with Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick. These three drivers have combined to win 17 of the 23 Cup Series races that have been contested so far this season,
Truex Jr. has earned four victories through the season’s first 23 races, which is how many victories he had through the first 23 races last season, and he sits in third place in the championship standings.
What reason would Truex Jr. have to leave Furniture Row Racing if they get more sponsors and do not shut down? Again, none. However, if the Denver, Colorado-based team are unable to continue their operations in the 2019 season, for which other teams could the defending Cup Series champion drive?
Joe Gibbs Racing
Furniture Row Racing have had a technical alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing ever since making the switch from Chevrolet to Toyota ahead of the 2016 NASCAR Cup Series season.
If Furniture Row Racing don’t get enough sponsorship and they end up shutting down after the end of this season, Joe Gibbs Racing would be the only remaining competitive full-time Toyota team on the Cup Series grid, as the only other full-time Toyota team are BK Racing, and they are a backmarker team without a full-time driver.
Martin Truex Jr. has spent six of his 13 seasons as a full-time Cup Series driver driving for Chevrolet teams, and he is in his seventh season driving for a Toyota team. He certainly would not need to stay with Toyota if he leaves Furniture Row Racing, but that may be his best option seeing as how he earned 16 of his 19 career Cup Series victories driving for a Toyota team since the 2016 season began.
In fact, it would be hard to find a driver who has had more success in any kind of Cup Series car than Truex Jr. has had in a Toyota Camry since the 2016 season began. The question with Joe Gibbs Racing as far as Truex Jr. potentially joining the team next season is concerned is which driver he would replace.
Joe Gibbs Racing (continued)
Kyle Busch would appear to be out of the question seeing as how he is the current leader of the championship standings and is driving at the highest level of his Cup Series career, and Erik Jones would appear to be out of the question as well seeing as how he is in his first season driving for the team and has already earned a victory.
The situations of Denny Hamlin and Daniel Suarez are far less certain. While Hamlin signed a multi-year contract with the team last season, he hasn’t won a race in almost a full year, and while Suarez would seem to be slated to return to the team next year as well given his sponsorship situation, he hasn’t won a race since he began driving for the team last season, and he appears to be slated to miss the playoffs once again.
The odds that Hamlin and/or Suarez get replaced next season are slim. There is no doubt about that. However, if team owner Joe Gibbs manage to figure something out where he is in a position to replace one of them with Martin Truex Jr., I wouldn’t put it past him to pair one member of the “big three” with another.
But if Furniture Row Racing shut down and Truex Jr. does not sign with Joe Gibbs Racing, which other team might he drive for?
Stewart-Haas Racing
If Furniture Row Racing do end up shutting down ahead of the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series, Stewart-Haas Racing is probably Martin Truex Jr.’s most likely option as far as which team he would drive for next year is concerned.
Yes, you read that correctly.
The 38-year-old Mayetta, New Jersey native has not driven for a Ford team at any point in his Cup Series career so far, but if Furniture Row Racing close down and he wants to remain with a competitive, top-tier team, he need not look any further than this Ford team.
There are already rumors swirling that Kurt Busch is in his final season driving the #41 Ford for the team. In fact, last week, the possibility of him replacing Jamie McMurray at Chip Ganassi Racing as the driver of the #1 Chevrolet was thrown out there as an option and perhaps even a likelihood, although nothing has been confirmed as far as Busch’s 2019 contract is concerned.
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While signing Stewart-Haas Racing Xfinity Series driver Cole Custer would make sense for the team if Busch’s departure ends up being confirmed and luring Joe Gibbs Racing Xfinity Series driver Christopher Bell away from Toyota may seem like an attractive option as well, it is hard to believe that the team would hesitate for one second if it meant losing the opportunity to get two of the “big three” on their team.
Kevin Harvick, who, along with Truex Jr. and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch, is one of the “big three”, and he currently drives the #4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford. Harvick and Truex Jr. have combined to earn 11 of the 17 victories earned by the “big three” so far this season.
Also of note, Truex Jr. replaced Busch at Furniture Row Racing after Busch left the team following the 2013 season to join Stewart-Haas Racing. It could happen again, but this time with Truex Jr. replacing Busch at Stewart-Haas Racing.
For which team will Martin Truex Jr. end up driving in the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season? Will he stay put at Furniture Row Racing or will he sign with a team such as Joe Gibbs Racing or Stewart-Haas Racing?