NASCAR: Did Kyle Busch make the right decision about 2020?

Did Kyle Busch Motorsports team owner Kyle Busch make the right decision by confirming Christian Eckes and Raphaël Lessard as the full-time drivers in his team’s 2020 NASCAR Truck Series driver lineup?

Kyle Busch Motorsports NASCAR Truck Series team owner Kyle Busch was recently asked on NASCAR America about his plans for the 2020 Truck Series season, and for once, that discussion does not revolve around a “Should Kyle Busch be allowed to compete in the Truck Series?” debate.

Busch stated that he still plans to run two trucks for two full-time drivers like he does now, and he plans to drive a truck in his maximum allowable total of five races.

He also stated that Chandler Smith, who drove for the team in four races this year, is set to continue driving part-time for the team next year, but he was quick to note that this is because Smith is only 17 years old; he is not set to turn 18 until Friday, June 26, 2020.

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Smith showed a ton of potential in his limited time behind the wheel this year. He finished as high as second place, recorded three top four finishes, never finished outside of the top eight and recorded an average finish of 4.25. He consistently ran at the front and often times beat the series’ stars as if he had been doing it for years.

Running the talented youngster part-time, perhaps in an increased number of races may not be a bad idea. Harrison Burton and Todd Gilliland are the team’s current full-time drivers. But Burton is set to move to the Xfinity Series and drive for Joe Gibbs Racing to replace the Cup Series-bound Christopher Bell while Gilliland will not be back with the team next year.

Busch stated that he was not “fired” after his F-bomb outburst directed at his boss over the radio following his maiden Truck Series victory at Martinsville Speedway a few weeks ago, but he only confirmed that he is set to finish out the season. Gilliland could very well end up at his father’s team, DGR-Crosley, and has stated that such an option wouldn’t be an unfavorable one.

The three other young drivers who drove part-time for Kyle Busch Motorsports in the 2019 Truck Series season were 20-year-old Riley Herbst, 18-year-old Raphaël Lessard and 19-year-old Christian Eckes. Herbst is set to join Burton at Joe Gibbs Racing in the 2020 Xfinity Series season, leaving only Lessard and Eckes.

Lessard drove in three races for the team this year and finished in 14th, 11th and 12th place. He also drove in two races for DGR-Crosley and finished in ninth and 10th.

Eckes, who drove in four races for the team last year, drove in seven races for the team this year. His best finish in 11 starts is his third place finish in this September’s playoff race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway despite the fact that he took a series-high three pole positions this year. He has recorded two top five finishes and six top 10 finishes in his career, and his average finish is 12.27.

To no one’s surprise, Eckes and Lessard were confirmed as the drivers of the #18 Toyota and #4 Toyota, respectively, for next season.

Given what Smith has shown in his abbreviated stint at Kyle Busch Motorsports this year, would it have been worth the gamble to plan on having Smith as a full-time driver once he turns 18 instead of two drivers who can run the full season?

Smith is only set to turn 18 years old once 12 of the regular season’s 16 races have been completed, at which point he will only have been able to compete in three races, the races at Richmond Raceway, Dover International Speedway and Iowa Speedway.

This would put him in position to compete in just seven of the regular season races, meaning he could only qualify for the playoffs by winning one of these seven races, finishing the regular season in the top 20 in the point standings and receiving a playoff waiver.

While the issuance of one isn’t a guarantee, we have seen playoff waivers issued before throughout NASCAR, and we have seen drivers win their way into the playoffs in a limited number of regular season races. Most notably, Busch himself competed in just 15 of the 26 races in the 2015 regular season. He went on to win the championship.

Gilliland was granted a playoff waiver after missing four races last season due to his age, although he ultimately could not win his way into the playoffs.

If Kyle Busch Motorsports had decided to run Smith full-time after he turns 18 years old, it shouldn’t be a problem for him to receive a playoff waiver. It’s not like the Ryan Preece situation in the 2018 Xfinity Series season.

Preece did what it took to qualify for the playoffs as a part-time driver for Joe Gibbs Racing, but because there was never any intent for him to run full-time, he was not granted a waiver.

It also wouldn’t have been a problem for Smith to get into the top 20 in the point standings. After declaring for Truck Series points ahead of the ninth race of this year’s regular season, Ross Chastain climbed into the top 20 in the point standings in just five races, and he would have done it sooner had he not had 59 points and a win stripped from him after failing post-race inspection at Iowa Speedway.

The key question is this: would the chances of Smith winning one of seven regular season races be greater than the chances of one or both of two other potentially full-season full-time drivers winning one of 16 regular season races and/or pointing their way into the top eight in the playoff picture?

After the exceptional talent Smith showed in the first four starts of his career this year and after both of the team’s full-time drivers failed to qualify for this year’s playoffs, this is something that cannot be ignored.

Nevertheless, it really doesn’t matter now since Kyle Busch Motorsports’ driver lineup for next year has been confirmed. But keep an eye out for Smith to land a full-time ride with the team for the 2021 season.

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As of now, Chandler Smith is set to drive part-time for Kyle Busch Motorsports in the 2020 NASCAR Truck Series season. But even though he isn’t slated to turn 18 years old until just four of the 16 regular season races remain on the schedule, you have to wonder whether or not gambling on him to win one of what would be seven regular season races would have been a better option for Kyle Busch’s team.

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