NASCAR: 3 drivers who could pull a Tom Brady move
By Asher Fair
Several NASCAR drivers have competed for just one team as full-time drivers in the Cup Series. Who could pull a Tom Brady move?
After 20 seasons as the quarterback of the New England Patriots, six-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady decided that it was time to move on — not retire, but move on.
Brady opted to sign a two-year contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The former Michigan Wolverine is set to replace Jameis Winston, the number one overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft out of Florida State. Winston was the team’s starting quarterback for each of the last five seasons.
Many fans saw Brady retiring before he ever played for a team other than the Robert Kraft-owned, Bill Belichick-led Patriots, and pictures of the 42-year-old San Mateo, California native wearing a Buccaneers uniform almost look surreal.
But this outlines that in sports, anything is possible.
Which NASCAR drivers could pull off a Brady-esque move?
Several of the sport’s active drivers have only ever competed for one team as full-time drivers in the sport, including several who have been around for quite a while, not just those whose careers only began within the last year or so.
One of those drivers, the longest tenured of them all, is seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson, who has driven for Hendrick Motorsports throughout his entire 19-year career as a full-time driver. But he is slated to retire at the end of the season.
Here are three drivers who could position themselves to make moves to teams other than the teams for which they have driven throughout their entire full-time careers.