NASCAR: 5 replacement candidates for Kyle Larson
By Asher Fair
Jamie McMurray
Jamie McMurray has emerged as an unexpected yet completely logical possibility to replace Kyle Larson and make an unexpected return to the NASCAR Cup Series after losing his ride with Chip Ganassi Racing to Kurt Busch after the 2018 season.
Like Ross Chastain did this year, he competed for the team through a partnership with Spire Motorsports in the 2019 season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway, but he has not competed in any races since.
But while the Joplin, Missouri native is now 43 years old, he has still never officially retired from NASCAR. He currently serves as an analyst for Fox NASCAR.
One of the main reasons why Chip Ganassi Racing ultimately decided to cut ties with Kyle Larson was because of the fact that primary sponsors Credit One Bank and McDonald’s cut ties with him, while also keeping their details with Chip Ganassi Racing intact.
This effectively forced Chip Ganassi’s hand, unless he wanted to lose millions of dollars in funding with little to no chance of bringing in any new partners willing to work with the now embattled Larson.
McMurray, who spent 12 of his 16 season as a full-time driver competing for Chip Ganassi Racing/Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, already has established relationships with the sponsors which axed Larson, among other big ones. Bringing him back to the team could do wonders in terms of smoothing things over with them following this whole ordeal.
It is worth noting that McMurray still hasn’t completely missed a Cup Series season since before he began competing in 2002, despite the fact that it has been over a year since he has driven a stock car. Obviously, this will eventually change. But perhaps 2020 won’t be the year it does.