NASCAR Cup Series: 5 drivers who Christopher Bell could replace in 2020

Kurt Busch

Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kurt Busch is by far the least likely of the five drivers discussed in this article for Christopher Bell to replace for the 2020 season, but the possibility exists for more than one reason.

First of all, Busch only signed a one-year deal to drive the #1 Chevrolet for the team, and he is no young gun at the age of 40 years old. With these two things in mind, it is evident that Chip Ganassi Racing have no immediate desire to commit to the Las Vegas, Nevada native beyond the conclusion of the 2019 season.

Additionally, while Busch has been fairly consistent at recording solid results in both individual races and the championship standings, he hasn’t won more than two races in a single season since he won three races back in the 2005 season.

More from NASCAR Cup Series

• NASCAR Cup Series: New team set to compete in 2024
• NASCAR: Surprising name continuously linked to new seat
• NASCAR driver at risk of missing the Daytona 500?
• NASCAR set for rare appearance last seen 13 years ago
• NASCAR team adds third car, names driver for 2024 Daytona 500

The advantage to this is that you know exactly what you’re getting with Busch, but he doesn’t possess a whole lot of upside potential, and in the midst of the youth movement, this logic makes it hard to justify Chip Ganassi Racing retaining him for another season if Bell is willing to leave Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota to join a Chevrolet team, especially if Busch doesn’t end up winning any races this year.

Finally, the pairing of Bell with Busch’s current teammate, Kyle Larson, would be one that could potentially put fans back in the grandstands. Both drivers are accomplished dirt drivers, and a healthy rivalry between the two stars at the Cup Series level could do wonders for a sport in need of a shot in the arm.

That said, Ross Chastain has been tapped as a potential future Chip Ganassi Racing Cup Series driver as well given the fact that he drove for the team in three Xfinity Series races last year and was supposed to drive for the team in the Xfinity Series this season before that deal fell through. He dominated and won one of these three races, finished in second place in another one and dominated the other one before he was involved in a late crash.

For which team and in which series will Christopher Bell end up driving in the 2019 NASCAR season? Will he be promoted to the Cup Series, and if so, will he replace one of these five drivers? If so, who will he replace? The upcoming silly season should certainly be an entertaining one, especially with Bell’s situation likely to be at the forefront of it.