Chip Ganassi Racing suddenly have a seat to fill for the rest of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season. Who will replace Kyle Larson?
There had been a lot of talk about Chip Ganassi Racing potentially having to replace Kyle Larson in the near future, given the fact that he was considered the top pending free agent on the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series driver market in a loaded class of free agents.
Now, after a bizarre sequence of events, Larson is suddenly unemployed, and the #42 Chevrolet that he drove since becoming a full-time Cup driver back in 2014 does not have a driver.
On Easter Sunday, Larson was competing in a virtual NASCAR race on iRacing at Autodromo Nazionale Monza when he used the N-word. That led to him being suspended by Chip Ganassi Racing without pay and suspended indefinitely by NASCAR until he at least completes sensitivity training.
But major primary sponsors Credit One Bank and McDonald’s cut ties with Larson while keeping their deals with Chip Ganassi Racing intact. Chevrolet suspended their relationship with the 27-year-old Elk Grove, California native as well, so Chip Ganassi’s hands were practically tied.
The team ended up firing Larson.
We are just four races into the 2020 season, although it is a bit of an awkward situation given the fact that the season has not seen any action in over a month due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Assuming the season does get back underway at some point, who will replace Larson behind the wheel of the #42 Chevrolet? Here are five possibilities.
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.
Daniel Hemric
Daniel Hemric is one of only two non-retired drivers who competed in the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season but did not return to the series in the 2020 season. He is the only one of those two drivers who is still competing in NASCAR at any level, as he signed a part-time deal with JR Motorsports before the season.
It isn’t highly likely, but this could be the perfect opportunity for the Chevrolet driver to get back in a Cup car and potentially make a case for a long-term deal.
With Chastain competing full-time in the Xfinity Series and sitting in fifth place in the championship standings driving for Kaulig Racing, there is no guarantee that he would give up his championship eligibility at NASCAR’s second highest level and declare for Cup Series points.
Hemric wouldn’t have that issue. While he is currently eligible for Xfinity Series points, he is not a championship contender, as his deal with JR Motorsports is for only 21 of the season’s 33 races.
The 29-year-old Kannapolis, North Carolina native was not super impressive in his rookie Cup Series season last year despite winning the Rookie of the Year Award, and it is worth noting that he still has zero wins across the Cup Series, Xfintiy Series and Truck Series.
But there were a few bright spots to his rookie year, and perhaps pairing him with a seasoned veteran in Kurt Busch could be what he needs to truly tap into his potential and set himself up for an extended return to the Cup Series.
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.
A.J. Allmendinger
Like Daniel Hemric and Jamie McMurray, A.J. Allmendinger was recently released from his full-time NASCAR Cup Series ride and unable to find another ride. He was released by JTG Daugherty Racing after the 2018 season and has since joined the NBC Sports broadcast team.
While Allmendinger is on the older end of the NASCAR driver spectrum at the age of 38, he never officially retired from NASCAR competition either, despite completely missing the 2019 Cup Series season, the first season he missed entirely since he began competing in 2006.
Additionally, he has since competed in several Xfinity Series races. He signed an eight-race deal to drive for Kaulig Racing this year after competing in five races for the organization last year and winning the race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway roval.
He clearly still enjoys competing, so if he makes himself available for Chip Ganassi Racing to sign, it could be a win-win for both sides.
It would give the team a veteran driver to hold them over until they can assess the driver market for the 2021 season, which they may have had to do anyway with Kyle Larson having been a pending free agent, and it would give Allmendinger a great opportunity he never could’ve imagined to cap off his Cup Series career.
A rotation
Let’s be 100% clear here: Ross Chastain is the most likely replacement candidate for Kyle Larson, in 2020 and potentially on a long-term deal in 2021. But the fact that this is the case for 2020 could lead to Chip Ganassi Racing to think outside of the box for the remainder of the season and utilize a driver rotation for several reasons.
First of all, Chastain has been subbing for the injured Ryan Newman at Roush Fenway Racing ever since Newman was sidelined following his nasty accident coming to the checkered flag at the Daytona 500 in mid-February. There is still no timetable on Newman’s return.
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Secondly, there is no guarantee that Chastain would compete for a championship behind the wheel of the #42 Chevrolet despite the fact that he would be eligible to do so since he has competed in each of the first four races of the season already. This is the case because of the fact that he is currently competing for points in the Xfinity Series.
And he is doing a solid job too, minus the fact that Kaulig Racing had to buy him a car after he failed to qualify for the season opener at Daytona International Speedway. He now sits in fifth place in the championship standings.
Would he really declare for points in a new series for the second consecutive season? He switched from Xfinity Series points to Truck Series points after 12 Xfinity Series races and eight Truck Series races last season. How would his sponsors at Kaulig Racing, particularly Nutrien Ag Solutions, respond to that?
And how would Kaulig Racing respond, especially after what they did for him at Daytona?
With Chastain, there is no guarantee that the #42 Chevrolet would even compete for the championship. This could prompt Chip Ganassi Racing to run multiple drivers to assess where things stand regarding a potential full-time offer for 2021. The #42 Chevrolet has a charter, so it is guaranteed an entry in every race already.
Chastain would certainly still be one of those drivers. Given Daniel Hemric’s schedule, he could fill in from time to time as well, and Jamie McMurray could also take advantage of the opportunity to return and compete in a few more Cup Series races.
As for A.J. Allmendinger, he could compete part-time like he has been doing in the Xfinity Series since losing his full-time Cup Series ride. There are probably several other drivers who could factor in as well.
Who will replace Kyle Larson behind the wheel of the #42 Chevrolet throughout the rest of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season? Who will Chip Ganassi Racing name his long-term replacement?