NASCAR Cup Series: 3 possible Team Penske drivers for 2021
By Asher Fair
Who will be Team Penske’s third driver in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season after they extended Ryan Blaney’s contract with another multi-year deal?
Entering the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season, Joey Logano was the only driver not in a contract year with Team Penske, as he signed an extension back in January of 2017 to remain with the organization through at least the 2023 season.
That left two potentially open seats at the three-car team following the 2020 season. But now that number is down to one, as the team confirmed earlier this month, just three races into the season, that Ryan Blaney, who signed a multi-year deal with the team ahead of the 2018 season, had signed a multi-year extension.
The exact length of the contract was undisclosed, but Team Penske tend to give three-year deals, as that is the length of Blaney’s current contract. As a result, he is likely signed through 2023 as well. But given the fact that it is a multi-year extension, at least 2022 is a safe bet.
Three years is also the length of the contract extension that Brad Keselowski signed back in July of 2017, just before Blaney signed with the team for the 2018 season. It is his #2 Ford that does not yet have a confirmed driver at the three-car team for next year.
Who will be the common teammate to Logano behind the wheel of the #22 Ford and Blaney behind the wheel of the #12 Ford in 2021? Will Keselowski be back, or will Team Penske look elsewhere?
Here are three possible candidates.