NASCAR: 3 drivers who could sign with Joe Gibbs Racing for 2019

Daniel Suarez

While Martin Truex Jr. has been tipped to replace Daniel Suarez behind the wheel of the #19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota next season with Furniture Row Racing being set to shut down, the possibility still exists that Suarez will end up returning to Joe Gibbs Racing for what would be his third season both in the Cup Series and driving for the team next year.

This possibility likely only exists if Joe Gibbs Racing form a technical alliance with Leavine Family Racing, which is what many people expect that they will do. If this happens, Truex Jr. could drive what would become the #95 Leavine Family Racing Toyota, which is currently the #95 Chevrolet driven by Kasey Kahne, as opposed to the #19 Toyota.

But why would Joe Gibbs Racing re-sign Suarez, who has zero Cup Series victories in 62 career races, with the option of signing Truex Jr., who has earned 12 victories since Suarez’s Cup Series debut?

Look at the success that Truex Jr. has had since Furniture Row Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing formed their technical alliance ahead of the 2016 season.

Truex Jr. earned three victories in his 10 full-time Cup Series seasons prior to the 2016 season. Since the 2016 season, he has earned 16 victories. He more than doubled his career win total in both the 2016 and 2017 seasons, and his 16 victories since the 2016 season began are the highest among all Cup Series drivers. Oh, and he is the defending Cup Series champion who has a great chance to repeat as the champion this year.

There is no reason to believe that Truex Jr. would not continue to have that success driving for another Joe Gibbs Racing-aligned team. Why try to fix what isn’t broken?

But if Joe Gibbs Racing do not sign Truex Jr. or Suarez to drive the #19 Toyota next season, who else might they sign?