NASCAR: Silly Season focus shifts after Corey LaJoie confirmation

The focus of NASCAR Silly Season has shifted following the confirmation that Corey LaJoie is set to return to Go Fas Racing for the 2020 Cup Series season.

For about the dozenth time over the last few months, we are one step closer to filling the driver lineup for the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season.

Go Fas Racing, which recently announced a technical alliance with Stewart-Haas Racing for the 2020 season, confirmed that Corey LaJoie is set to return for his second season driving the #32 Ford for the team next year, taking off the market what was arguably the most desirable ride available.

While Premium Motorsports and Spire Motorsports have yet to confirm the drivers of the #15 Chevrolet and #77 Chevrolet, respectively, and Rick Ware Racing are still in the process of confirming their two other full-time drivers alongside J.J. Yeley, the focus has now shifted onto one team, and that team is Front Row Motorsports.

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As of now, there are three open seats at the Ford team, as they have still not confirmed any drivers for the 2020 season. Michael McDowell was initially expected to continue driving the #34 Ford, but while that could still happen, he is not currently under contract.

Meanwhile, Matt Tifft and the team mutually parted ways after he suffered a seizure in late October and made the decision to prioritize his health over racing, and David Ragan retired after the 2019 season.

So all eyes are on what Bob Jenkins’s team will do next.

John Hunter Nemechek drove the #36 Ford in three of the four races that Tifft missed at the end of the year, and he has been tipped to sign a deal to drive full-time for the team next year.

Furthering this speculation is the fact that GMS Racing, the team for which he drove in the Xfinity Series in 2019, shut down their Xfinity Series program ahead of next year, which they had been rumored to do for several months.

An additional recent rumor suggested that Front Row Motorsports may scale back and become a two-car team again like they were before adding the rookie Tifft to their lineup in 2019.

Among speculated candidates to drive for the team next year is Daniel Suarez, who lost his ride at Stewart-Haas Racing and was replaced by Cole Custer. Suarez had been rumored as a possible candidate to drive for the Stewart-Haas Racing-affiliated Go Fas Racing, but that ultimately will not happen.

Suarez’s most likely landing spot remains at Richard Childress Racing in the Xfinity Series. But given just how close he was to staying at Stewart-Haas Racing from a sponsorship perspective, could he use some of that funding to remain in the Cup Series with Front Row Motorsports? If so, would the team field a third entry for McDowell, or would McDowell be without a ride?

Could McDowell simply return to the team and Suarez end up in the Xfinity Series or elsewhere, allowing Front Row Motorsports to field only two entries with minimal change (relatively speaking)? What other drivers could be in the mix to land with the team that haven’t been publicly discussed as possible candidates?

That all remains to be seen, and it is exactly why the weight of Silly Season has shifted to Front Row Motorsports now that Go Fas Racing have confirmed LaJoie for next year.

What will Front Row Motorsports’ driver lineup look like when the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season rolls around? Will John Hunter Nemechek be a part of it? How many drivers will be driving for the team?