NASCAR Cup Series: Remaining key players in 2020 Silly Season

Slowly but surely, the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series driver lineup is taking shape. Who are the key players in the remaining portion of Silly Season?

Recent weeks have featured several driver confirmations for the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season lineup, but it is well-documented that there are still a number seats that are up for grabs.

With several seats still up for grabs, which drivers are the remaining key players in this year’s Silly Season?

Clint Bowyer

Clint Bowyer is currently in his third season driving the #14 Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing. There are rumors that he will return to the team for a fourth straight year next season, but not doing so could result in the promotion of Cole Custer from the Stewart-Haas Racing Xfinity Series team.

Daniel Suarez

Daniel Suarez is currently in his first season driving the #41 Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing. Like the case is with Bowyer, Suarez has been rumored to return to the team, but him not doing so could result in the promotion of Custer.

Cole Custer

Cole Custer is currently in his third season driving the #00 Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing in the Xfinity Series. Should Stewart-Haas Racing not retain both Clint Bowyer and Daniel Suarez, Custer would likely be promoted to the Cup Series. Even if they do retain both of them, there are rumors that Stewart-Haas Racing could form a technical alliance with Go Fas Racing and place him behind the wheel of the #32 Ford.

Corey LaJoie

Corey LaJoie is currently in his first season driving the #32 Ford for Go Fas Racing. A Stewart-Haas Racing technical alliance with Go Fas Racing would likely result in the end of LaJoie’s run with the team. He has already been rumored as a replacement candidate for the retiring David Ragan at Front Row Motorsports if such a technical alliance comes to fruition.

Kurt Busch

Kurt Busch is currently in his first season driving the #1 Chevrolet for Chip Ganassi Racing. He has been rumored to return to the team with additional investment from primary sponsor Monster Energy, but a lack of confirmation this late in the season and his early playoff exit leave questions still to be answered. If the team replace him, it would likely be with Ross Chastain.

Ross Chastain

Ross Chastain currently competes in the Cup Series, the Xfinity Series and the Truck Series, and he is eligible to score Truck Series points as the driver of the #45 Chevrolet for Niece Motorsports. Chastain has been rumored to about a dozen different landing spots for next season, the most notable two being Cup Series rides. Should Chip Ganassi Racing replace Kurt Busch, Chastain would be the go-to guy after his Xfinity Series ride with the team fell through for 2019 following his impressive three-race stint with the team in the 2018 season. Chastain is also in the running to replace Chris Buescher at JTG Daugherty Racing.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is currently in his seventh season driving the #17 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing, but the team have confirmed that they will be replacing him with current JTG Daugherty Racing driver Chris Buescher next year. Stenhouse wants to be back in the Cup Series next year, and he has been rumored as a potential replacement candidate for Ragan at Front Row Motorsports and as the replacement for Buescher, the latter of which would effectively create a driver swap.

Daniel Hemric

Daniel Hemric is currently in his first season driving the #8 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing, but the team have confirmed that they will be replacing him with current Xfinity Series driver Tyler Reddick next year. He is also in the mix to replace Ragan at Front Row Motorsports and Buescher at JTG Daugherty Racing.

Brett Moffitt

Brett Moffitt currently competes in the Truck Series, driving the #24 Chevrolet GMS Racing. The 2018 Truck Series champion and 2019 championship contender is more than ready to make the jump to either the Xfinity Series or the Cup Series, and the open seat at JTG Daugherty Racing could provide him with the opportunity to make the move to the latter for a decent team.

Landon Cassill

Landon Cassill is currently in his first season driving the #00 Chevrolet for StarCom Racing. Like most of the other drivers discussed in this article, his name has been mentioned as a possibility to fill the vacancy at the #37 Chevrolet for JTG Daugherty Racing.

Kyle Larson*

Kyle Larson gets an asterisk here since he is already slated to return to Chip Ganassi Racing in the 2020 season. However, his situation is far less certain for 2021, and it could hinge on what happens at Stewart-Haas Racing for the 2020 season considering the fact that he has been rumored to land there in 2020. The team have been interested in signing him for several years, so monitoring which of the team’s seats could be open for the 2021 season will make the 2020 driver lineup a lot more interesting as it pertains to Larson.

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How will each of these remaining Silly Season situations play out in the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series driver lineup? Which of these key players will end up in the driver lineup, and with which teams?

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