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NASCAR: 5 replacement candidates for Jimmie Johnson in 2021

By Asher Fair

FORT WORTH, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 01: Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Ally Chevrolet, practices for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on November 01, 2019 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)
FORT WORTH, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 01: Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Ally Chevrolet, practices for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on November 01, 2019 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images) /
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HOMESTEAD, FLORIDA – NOVEMBER 16: Tyler Reddick, driver of the #2 Tame the Beast Chevrolet (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
HOMESTEAD, FLORIDA – NOVEMBER 16: Tyler Reddick, driver of the #2 Tame the Beast Chevrolet (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) /

Tyler Reddick

Tyler Reddick was at one point well-positioned to replace Jimmie Johnson, effectively in the same position that Noah Gragson is in now: driving the #9 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Reddick even won the championship in his rookie season.

But before he won the 2018 title, he decided to switch to Richard Childress Racing for the 2019 season. He had more success as a whole there than he did at JR Motorsports, and he capped off the year with his second consecutive title.

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While that move may have paid off for him on the Xfinity side, questions abound about his Cup Series future even before his tenure as a full-time driver has begun. He is set to replace Daniel Hemric behind the wheel of the #8 Chevrolet next year, but Richard Childress Racing have not been the competitive force that they once were on the Cup level in recent years.

Hendrick Motorsports haven’t been as dominant in recent years as they have been known to be either, but they still win races on a fairly regular basis, having taken seven victories in the last 51 races going back to 2018 after going on a 37-race win drought.

With the new Camaro ZL1 1LE set to debut in 2020 following two seasons of an overall struggle for the Chevrolet teams with the Camaro ZL1, a struggle that resulted in only Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott winning more than one race with six victories, Richard Childress Racing and Hendrick Motorsports should theoretically be better off next year than they have been in recent years.

But if Hendrick Motorsports maintain their competitive advantage over the team that completely missed the playoffs for the first time 2009 this year, don’t be shocked to see Reddick jump at the opportunity to switch to a more competitive team.

It’s not like he hasn’t done it before, and having won a championship driving for the Rick Hendrick co-owned Xfinity Series team shouldn’t hurt his case, even though he did leave the team after 2018.

Next. Top 10 NASCAR drivers of all-time. dark

Who will be Jimmie Johnson’s replacement behind the wheel of the #48 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports for the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season with the 2020 season slated to be his last? Will it be one of the five drivers discussed in this article, or will it be somebody else?

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