Kyle Larson is set to be one of the hottest free agents on the market following the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season. Where will he end up in 2021?
The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season is Kyle Larson’s seventh season as a full-time driver in the series, and it is his seventh season driving for Chip Ganassi Racing, as the 27-year-old Elk Grove, California native was confirmed by the team in July to drive the #42 Chevrolet once again this year.
However, the 2020 season is set to be a contract year for Larson, who is slated to become one of the hottest free agents on the market for the 2021 season.
Larson has only won one race in the last two-plus seasons, but he has shown that he is capable of more throughout his career, winning a career-high four races in the 2017 season. While he won only one race in 2019, he advanced to the round of 8 in the playoffs for the first time and finished in a career-high sixth place in the championship standings.
Through the first four races of the 2020 season, he sits in a seventh place tie in the championship standings with three top 10 finishes, a top finish of fourth place and an average finish of 11.00.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a team that wouldn’t want to sign Larson if given the opportunity to do so.
So where will he end up in 2021? Here are three possible landing spots.
Chip Ganassi Racing
Slated to be one of the hottest free agents on the market after the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series, Kyle Larson won’t be limited to signing with Chip Ganassi Racing. With that being said, he has driven for the team since he entered the Cup Series on a full-time basis the 2014 season, and he may feel a loyalty toward team owner Chip Ganassi.
Additionally, Larson has stated on multiple occasions that he wants to compete in the Indianapolis 500 one day, and Chip Ganassi Racing could give him the opportunity to do that.
There are only two teams that compete in both NASCAR and IndyCar, and Chip Ganassi Racing are one of those teams.
Kurt Busch, who drove for the team for the first time in the 2019 season, signed a multi-year contract extension to continue driving the #1 Chevrolet through at least the 2021 season.
He has stated that he would like to make a return to IndyCar in the near future, and he knows that Chip Ganassi Racing is the right place to be at in order to do just that. Busch is the most recent driver to attempt the Memorial Day Double having done so back in 2014.
Given his dirt racing background and the fact that he still competes around the world in dirt track races, Larson’s main focus in racing has never been NASCAR. He has made that clear on numerous occasions.
While Chip Ganassi Racing may not be the absolute fastest team on the grid, he still has the opportunity to compete for race wins, and above all, the opportunity and freedom to continue competing in races in other series as he desires.
Hendrick Motorsports
If social media determined driver lineups, Kyle Larson would already be in line to replace seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson ahead of the 2021 season after he retires.
Johnson announced just days after the 2019 season ended that the 2020 season will be his 19th and final season as a full-time driver in the Cup Series and that it will feature his fourth and final attempt at becoming the first eight-time champion the sport has ever seen.
As a result, the #48 Chevrolet is open for the 2021 season.
Ally Financial already signed a three-year contract extension with Hendrick Motorsports to continue serving as the full-time primary sponsor of the #48 Chevrolet through the 2023 season, so Hendrick Motorsports are in a unique position of truly picking the driver who they feel is the best available to replace one of the all-time greats.
Larson could be that driver.
Larson already drives a Chevrolet, and he already drives for a team that receives support from Hendrick Motorsports. In fact, he hasn’t driven anything other than a Chevrolet in the Cup Series, and he hasn’t driven anything other than a Chevrolet in NASCAR since he won the 2012 K&N Pro Series East championship driving a Toyota for Rev Racing.
With that being said, Hendrick Motorsports have limited drivers from competing in other forms of racing in the past, and that could potentially prevent Larson from being willing to sign given how involved he is in motorsports, particularly dirt racing, outside of the Cup Series.
Stewart-Haas Racing
If Stewart-Haas Racing team co-owner Tony Stewart would have gotten his way, Kyle Larson would have been behind the wheel of the #14 Ford in the 2017 season, and the 2021 season would likely be his fifth season with the four-car Ford team.
Alas, that did not pan out.
In 2015, Stewart announced that the 2016 season would be his final season competing in the Cup Series. He wanted Larson to be his replacement, but the timing did not work out given Larson’s contract with Chip Ganassi Racing. Larson was unable to sign a deal with another team at that time, per the specifics of that contract.
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Instead, Stewart named Bowyer his replacement, and Bowyer still drives the #14 Ford. But the 2020 season is set to be another contract year for the 40-year-old Emporia, Kansas native after signing a one-year contract extension in 2019, one that many thought would not come.
Bowyer had a breakout year in 2018, winning for the first time since 2012 and finishing the season with two victories and a trip to the round of 8. But after a winless 2019 season, a winless 2020 season could prompt Stewart-Haas Racing to replace him, especially with Larson available.
Bowyer is Stewart-Haas Racing’s oldest driver aside of 44-year-old Kevin Harvick, but Harvick is still performing at a championship level and has not shown any signs of slowing down. He has qualified for five of the six Championship 4s, including the last three, and he has already signed with the team through the 2023 season.
Even if Bowyer does end up back at Stewart-Haas Racing in 2021, there is no guarantee that Aric Almirola will be back after he, too, had a winless 2019 season after winning a race in 2018 and advancing to the round of 8. Perhaps Larson will end up behind the wheel of the #10 Ford in 2021.
Additionally, it is worth noting that when Kurt Busch attempted the Memorial Day Double back in 2014, he did so with Stewart-Haas Racing. Stewart himself has attempted the feat as well, and Larson could very well be the next to do it should he join the team.
Don’t forget the fact that Stewart-Haas Racing have switched out one of their four drivers on a yearly basis after each of the last four seasons as well.
Where will Kyle Larson end up in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season? Will he stay with Chip Ganassi Racing, move to either Hendrick Motorsports or Stewart-Haas Racing? Could he end up somewhere not discussed in this article?