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NASCAR Cup Series: Top 5 open seats for 2021

By Asher Fair

FORT WORTH, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 03: Kyle Larson, driver of the #42 McDonald's Chevrolet, leads Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Ally Chevrolet, during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on November 03, 2019 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)
FORT WORTH, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 03: Kyle Larson, driver of the #42 McDonald's Chevrolet, leads Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Ally Chevrolet, during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on November 03, 2019 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images) /
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DAYTONA BEACH, FL – FEBRUARY 17: Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Ally Chevrolet, races Aric Almirola, driver of the #10 Smithfield Ford (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images)
DAYTONA BEACH, FL – FEBRUARY 17: Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Ally Chevrolet, races Aric Almirola, driver of the #10 Smithfield Ford (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images) /

With several drivers slated to become free agents after the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season, there are several notable potentially open rides for 2021. Here are the top five.

The 2021 free agent class is set to be arguably the most loaded that the NASCAR Cup Series has seen in quite some time, meaning that there are several rides that are slated to become available among the sport’s top-tier teams.

As of now, assessing the sport’s top five teams (Joe Gibbs Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing, Hendrick Motorsports, Team Penske and Chip Ganassi Racing), there are 17 drivers under contract for the 2020 season, of whom 16 drove for these teams in 2019.

However, only nine of these drivers have been confirmed by their respective teams for the 2021 season. It had been eight, but Silly Season got off to an early start when Ryan Blaney re-signed with Team Penske on a multi-year contract extension.

While some, most notably Stewart-Haas Racing rookie Cole Custer and Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman, will likely be in position to return and others including Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski may also have no reason to leave, there are several potentially open seats within these teams that remain particularly intriguing as far as the the 2021 driver lineup is concerned.

Here are the top five seats to keep your eye on as Silly Season progresses for 2021 throughout the 2020 season.

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