NASCAR Cup Series: 3 possible Team Penske drivers for 2021

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.

Brad Keselowski

The easiest and most likely scenario for Team Penske for the 2021 season would be bringing back Brad Keselowski. While there are rumors that he will replace retiring seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson at Hendrick Motorsports behind the wheel of the #48 Chevrolet, there are a few reasons this may not come to fruition.

First of all, Keselowski has won at least three races per season every year since 2016, and he is still in a good situation at Team Penske despite early-season talks of frustration. He is a perennial championship contender capable of winning anywhere.

Secondly, Team Penske and Discount Tire extended their relationship together in a multi-year agreement last August to continue sponsoring Keselowski, and Ally Financial is already lined up as the full-time sponsor of the #48 Chevrolet through 2023.

While Discount Tire’s official commitment is with Team Penske, their relationship with Keselowski is greater than it is with any of the organization’s other drivers.

Considering Keselowski would be covered sponsor-wise at Hendrick Motorsports with Ally Financial anyway, this shouldn’t be the be-all and end-all of a deal not going through, but it could play a role in it.

Thirdly, there were also rumors that Ryan Blaney would be on his way to Hendrick Motorsports to replace Johnson. We know how that turned out.

Finally, it seems like everybody under the sun has been rumored as Johnson’s replacement. Keselowski certainly fits the mold given his experience and skill, especially given that Rick Hendrick had been interested in him several years ago but simply didn’t have the opportunity to sign him.

But Mr. H has had multiple opportunities to sign the 36-year-old Rochester Hills, Michigan native since then, and he has not taken them. Would that really change in 2021?

Let’s say it does; who would Team Penske sign to replace Keselowski?

Austin Cindric

The departure of the “Big 3” of Tyler Reddick, Cole Custer and Christopher Bell from the NASCAR Xfinity Series left Team Penske’s Austin Cindric as one of the championship favorites heading into the 2020 season, his third season as a full-time driver in the series, his third season with the team and his second season as a full-time driver with the team.

The son of Team Penske president Tim Cindric, Austin broke a lengthy win drought to start his career last season by winning two races in a row to vault himself into championship contention. An even stronger 2020 season could prove he is ready for a bigger opportunity.

Promoting Cindric would be the logical choice for Team Penske, especially in the midst of a youth movement which has featured several drivers such as their very own Ryan Blaney come to the Cup Series and have success at a young age.

But given the fact that Cindric is only 21 years, it may make sense for Team Penske to either keep the Columbus, Ohio native in the Xfinity Series or promote him to the Team Penske-affiliated Wood Brothers Racing also.

After all, Blaney spent two full seasons with Wood Brothers Racing and won a race before he was promoted to the flagship Team Penske organization at the age of 24 back in 2018.

In case either one of those two scenarios plays out, who would replace Keselowski?

Matt DiBenedetto

If Brad Keselowski leaves Team Penske and Team Penske do not promote Austin Cindric to their NASCAR Cup Series team right away, this would open the door for Matt DiBenedetto to have his best career opportunity yet.

DiBenedetto signed with Wood Brothers Racing after Paul Menard made the unexpected decision to retire after the 2019 season, a decision he announced in September. He told the team to sign DiBenedetto, who was slated to be replaced by Christopher Bell at the Joe Gibbs Racing-affiliated Leavine Family Racing.

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The 28-year-old Grass Valley, California native has made the most of his opportunities thus far in the Cup Series, even though he is now with his third team in three years. With his current opportunity as the driver of the #21 Ford definitely being his best one yet, he still has a lot to prove before Team Penske think about giving him a ride alongside Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney.

But if Keselowski leaves and DiBenedetto does well enough in 2020, signing DiBenedetto could also give Team Penske the additional flexibility to either keep Cindric in the Xfinity Series or allow him to do what Blaney did at Wood Brothers Racing in the hope of landing an opportunity with Roger Penske’s team in the future.

DiBenedetto is far more experienced than a young driver such as Cindric and has proven what he can do when given the right opportunity during his time at some of the smaller teams.

More of the same in 2020 would bode very well for him and put him in a position that he has never been in before, one that includes ride security with, at the very least, a decent team for the coming year.

When the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season rolls around, will Team Penske’s lineup look like it does now with Brad Keselowski alongside Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney, or will Keselowski leave for Hendrick Motorsports and be replaced? If he is replaced, would he be replaced by Austin Cindric, Matt DiBenedetto or somebody else? It’s only March, but Silly Season is already starting to heat up thanks to Blaney signing his extension with the Captain’s team.