NASCAR: The most shocking confirmation of 2020 Silly Season

Several changes have taken place over the course of Silly Season leading up to the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season. Which one was the most shocking?

The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series driver lineup is nearly set, as there are just two remaining confirmed full-time entries without confirmed drivers. A total of 34 full-time drivers have been confirmed for next year.

It is worth noting that there is still a chance for an additional full-time entry from MBM Motorsports with Timmy Hill, but that may depend on whether or not Hill qualifies for the season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway in mid-February.

However, the two confirmed full-time entries without confirmed drivers will likely have multiple part-time drivers as opposed to full-time drivers, and they are at Rick Ware Racing and Spire Motorsports, two of the backmarker teams of the Cup Series.

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With that in mind, all of the major confirmations ahead of the 2020 season have already been made.

Which was the most shocking?

Last year, 33 drivers competed full-time. Of those 33 drivers, 26 are set to return in 2020, with 23 set to continue driving for the same team and 22 set to continue driving the same car.

Eight drivers who did not compete full-time in 2019 are set to enter the series full-time in 2020, with six rookies set to replace six of the seven outgoing drivers and two other drivers set to drive full-time in cars that were driven by multiple drivers in 2019. One of the seven outgoing drivers was not replaced, with his former team simply downsizing by one car.

Let’s take a look at some of these moves.

Chris Buescher and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. are set to swap teams, with the former moving to Roush Fenway Racing and the latter moving to JTG Daugherty Racing. This move did come as somewhat of a shock since Stenhouse “confirmed” that he was under contract with Roush Fenway Racing through 2021.

Rookie Cole Custer and rookie Tyler Reddick are set to replace Daniel Suarez and Daniel Hemric at Stewart-Haas Racing and Richard Childress Racing, respectively.

Neither move came as too much of a shock considering Custer and Reddick have finished in the top two in the Xfinity Series standings in both of the last two years and Suarez and Hemric did not perform that well in their first seasons with these two teams.

Rookie Christopher Bell is set to replace Matt DiBenedetto at Leavine Family Racing. While DiBenedetto performed well in his first season at the team, it was clear even before the 2019 season began that his deal would likely only be for one year with Bell lurking.

Leavine Family Racing have a technical alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing, and Bell spent two very successful seasons driving for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Xfinity Series leading up to his promotion.

DiBenedetto, meanwhile, is set to replace the retired Paul Menard at Wood Brothers Racing. David Ragan also retired, and he is set to be replaced by rookie John Hunter Nemechek at Front Row Motorsports, which cut Matt Tifft’s entry completely after Tifft left the team after suffering a seizure in late October.

Then there are the two backmarker teams of Premium Motorsports and StarCom Racing. Rookie Brennan Poole is set to replace Ross Chastain at the former while rookie Quin Houff is set to replace Landon Cassill at the latter. Neither move sent any seismic waves through the field.

Finally, there is the backmarker team of Rick Ware Racing, which had two full-time entries but no full-time drivers in 2019. J.J. Yeley and Joey Gase are set to drive full-time for the team in 2020 while a third full-time entry is confirmed but without any confirmed driver(s).

Which move was the most shocking?

In general, moves such as these are expected from season to season. But this particular year, one really stood out, and that was DiBenedetto’s replacement of Menard.

In July, a report emerged that Menard planned to return to Wood Brothers Racing in 2020, and that did not really catch anybody by surprise.

The next month is when Leavine Family Racing confirmed that DiBenedetto would not be back behind the wheel of the #95 Toyota next year. There were doubts about whether or not the 28-year-old Grass Valley, California native would get the opportunity to return to the Cup Series in 2020 with a limited supply of competitive full-time rides available.

Several possible landing spots were discussed, including a few in the Xfinity Series, especially when DiBenedetto drove for Joe Gibbs Racing in an Xfinity Series race at Road America the following weekend.

Wood Brothers Racing wasn’t even in the back of anybody’s mind, much less the front.

Then came Tuesday, September 10. Menard announced that he would instead retire after 2019 and that DiBenedetto would be his replacement behind the wheel of the #21 Ford. Wood Brothers Racing have had a technical alliance with Team Penske for five seasons now, so this is undoubtedly the best opportunity of DiBenedetto’s career.

The following day, it was revealed that Menard made the decision to retire several weeks prior and that he was the one who told the team that they needed to tab DiBenedetto as his replacement.

Who saw that one coming?

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With the big-name confirmations for the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series driver lineup out of the way, what was the most shocking announcement of this Silly Season? The 2020 season is scheduled to get underway in about a month and a half with the 62nd annual Daytona 500 on Sunday, February 16. This race is set to be broadcast live on Fox from Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET.

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