NASCAR: All eyes on Bubba Wallace after Ross Chastain deal

By Asher Fair | Sep 21, 2020

Bubba Wallace, Richard Petty Motorsports, NASCAR (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /

Ross Chastain, not Bubba Wallace, is set to replace Matt Kenseth at Chip Ganassi Racing for the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season. Wallace had been offered the seat.

In a move that many believed would be made back in April when Kyle Larson was fired after losing multiple sponsors due to his use of a racial slur during an iRacing event, Chip Ganassi Racing confirmed Monday that Ross Chastain is set to drive the #42 Chevrolet in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season.

Chip Ganassi unexpectedly tabbed 2003 champion Matt Kenseth to replace Larson for the remaining 32 races of the 36-race 2020 season, but he noted that he still “had a plan” for Chastain, who competed for the team in three Xfinity Series races two years ago and has maintained his ties with the organization.

However, Bubba Wallace entered the mix for the #42 Chevrolet over summer. In fact, he publicized that he had been offered a deal with the team, indicating that he could basically have the seat if he wanted it.

More from NASCAR Cup Series

Wallace then proceeded to confirm that he wouldn’t be back with Richard Petty Motorsports for what would have been a fourth season behind the wheel of the #43 Chevrolet, and all of a sudden, it looked as though Chip Ganassi Racing’s team was the top option.

Then Ganassi confirmed Chastain as Kenseth’s replacement alongside 2004 champion Kurt Busch in the team’s two-car lineup next season.

So what’s up with Wallace?

The 26-year-old Mobile, Alabama native won’t be back at Richard Petty Motorsports, and he won’t be with Chip Ganassi Racing, either.

What is he waiting for?

He had been rumored as a potential replacement candidate for seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson at Hendrick Motorsports, but those talks have faded in recent months, and there are quite a few other drivers who are in better positions to land that ride.

Again, what is he waiting for?

A report from Motorsport last week indicated that Wallace is most likely to make the move to Gaunt Brothers Racing and that they are set to acquire multiple new investors and attain additional support from Toyota to the point where they can become as competitive as 2017 champions Furniture Row Racing, which folded after their runner-up campaign in 2018.

This report came after Daniel Suarez announced that he will not return to Gaunt Brothers Racing next year, officially freeing up the seat of the #96 Toyota.

This move would come after Leavine Family Racing, one of only two Toyota teams aside of Gaunt Brothers Racing at NASCAR’s top level, announced that they would be sold after the 2020 season, leaving only Gaunt Brothers Racing and the four-car Joe Gibbs Racing in the Toyota stable for 2021.

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin has long been linked to an investment in a Toyota team, and Wallace has long been linked to competing for whatever team that ends up being. NBA legend Michael Jordan has also been linked to owning this prospective team.

The fact that Chip Ganassi Racing, by far the most competitive team from which he has ever had an offer, is now off the table goes to show that this is a scenario that makes sense for Wallace and could very well be the reason why he didn’t accept that opportunity.

Next. Top 10 NASCAR drivers of all-time. dark

The main question now appears to be when, not if, and additional questions surround the details of this prospective deal and what it would mean for all parties involved moving forward.

Home/NASCAR Cup Series