NASCAR Cup Series: How is the 2019 driver lineup shaping up?

With the offseason between the 2018 and 2019 NASCAR Cup Series seasons underway, let’s take a look at how next year’s full-time driver lineup is shaping up.

Team Penske’s Joey Logano closed out the 36-race 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season by clinching his first career Cup Series championship with his victory in the Ford EcoBoost 400 Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida on Sunday, November 18.

With that race and the entire 2018 season in the books, the offseason is officially underway and there are under three months to go until the Daytona 500 is scheduled to get the 2019 season underway at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Several of the drivers who are set to compete in the Cup Series have already been confirmed, but there are a number of seats that are still open and a number of drivers who are still searching for rides.

Here is how the 2019 full-time driver lineup is currently shaping up.

Jimmie Johnson, Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman and William Byron are all set to return to Hendrick Motorsports as the drivers of the #48 Chevrolet, the #9 Chevrolet, the #88 Chevrolet and the #24 Chevrolet, respectively.

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Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer and Aric Almirola are all set to return to Stewart-Haas Racing as the drivers of the #4 Ford, the #14 Ford and the #10 Ford, respectively. Meanwhile, Kurt Busch, who drove the #41 Ford for the team this past season, does not yet have a ride for next season. No driver has been confirmed as the driver of the #41 Ford for the 2019 season at this point.

Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Erik Jones are all set to return to Joe Gibbs Racing as the drivers of the #11 Toyota, the #18 Toyota and the #20 Toyota, respectively. Meanwhile, Daniel Suarez, who drove the #19 Toyota for the team this past season, does not yet have a ride for next season.

Martin Truex Jr., who drove full-time for Furniture Row Racing this past season, has been confirmed as Suarez’s replacement, as Furniture Row Racing, the team with which Joe Gibbs Racing had a technical alliance since the 2016 season, have shut down.

Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney are all set to return to Team Penske as the drivers of the #2 Ford, the #22 Ford and the #12 Ford, respectively. Kyle Larson is set to return to Chip Ganassi Racing as the driver of the #42 Chevrolet, but Jamie McMurray, who drove the #1 Chevrolet for the team this past season, does not yet have a ride for next season. No driver has been confirmed as the driver of the #1 Chevrolet for the 2019 season yet.

Austin Dillon is set to return to Richard Childress Racing as the driver of the #3 Chevrolet, but Ryan Newman, who drove the #31 Chevrolet for the team this past season, is set to drive the #6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford, which was driven by both Matt Kenseth and Trevor Bayne this past season. Neither Kenseth nor Bayne have rides for next season yet.

Daniel Hemric, who drove full-time for Richard Childress Racing in the Xfinity Series this past season, is set to replace Newman behind the wheel of the #31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is set to become Newman’s new teammate, as he is set to return to Roush Fenway Racing as the driver of the #17 Ford.

David Ragan and Michael McDowell are both set to return to Front Row Motorsports as the drivers of the #38 Ford and the #34 Ford, respectively. The team are set to add a third car, the #36 Ford, for next season as well. This car is set to be driven by Matt Tifft, who drove full-time for Richard Childress Racing in the Xfinity Series this past season.

Chris Buescher is set to return to JTG Daugherty Racing as the driver of the #37 Chevrolet, but A.J. Allmendinger, who drove the #47 Chevrolet for the team this past season, does not yet have a ride for next season. Ryan Preece, who drove part-time for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Xfinity Series this past season, is set to replace him.

Matt DiBenedetto is set to leave Go Fas Racing, which have not confirmed a driver to replace him behind the wheel of the #32 Ford yet, and replace Kasey Kahne at Leavine Family Racing as the driver of the #95 Chevrolet, which is set to become the #95 Toyota as a result of the fact that the team now have a technical alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing.

Paul Menard is set to return to Wood Brothers Racing as the driver of the #21 Ford while Ty Dillon is set to return to Germain Racing as the driver of the #13 Chevrolet and Darrell Wallace Jr. is set to return to Richard Petty Motorsports as the driver of the #43 Chevrolet.

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Among the drivers who do not yet have confirmed rides for the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season, who do you believe will end up competing in the series next year? For which teams do you believe these drivers will compete in 2019?

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