NASCAR: 5 replacement candidates for Kyle Larson
By Asher Fair
Ross Chastain
The obvious choice to replace Kyle Larson behind the wheel of the #42 Chevrolet is Ross Chastain, who already has a deal with Chip Ganassi Racing for the 2020 Cup Series season through a partnership with Spire Motorsports and has been tied to the team for the last few seasons.
The 27-year-old Alva, Florida native competed in the season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway for the team, and he is set to compete in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway as well.
Chastain made his debut for the team in the 2018 Xfinity Series season, and that immediately put him on Chip Ganassi’s long-term radar. He took his first career pole position in his team debut at Darlington Raceway and dominated the race before losing what was practically a sure victory in a late wreck involving Kevin Harvick.
The next race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, he was even more dominant and actually won, leading 90% of the laps en route to securing his first career NASCAR victory. At Richmond Raceway, he never led the race, but he still placed second.
Chastain had been lined up to compete for the team full-time in the 2019 Xfinity Series season, but legal issues involving primary sponsor DC Solar caused the team to close down.
He has competed in all four races of the 2020 Cup Series so far, running in the most recent three as the replacement for the injured Ryan Newman at Roush Fenway Racing, so he could theoretically compete for the championship driving the #42 Chevrolet. He does compete for points in the Xfinity Series for Kaulig Racing, however, which could make things interesting.