NASCAR: New frontrunner in the Bubba Wallace sweepstakes?

A new frontrunner has unexpectedly emerged in the Bubba Wallace sweepstakes for the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season: Gaunt Brothers Racing.

When Daniel Suarez announced on Tuesday that he would not be returning to Gaunt Brothers Racing behind the wheel of the #96 Toyota for the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, not much thought was initially given to it.

However, this could turn into a lot more than a driver, one who has switched teams quite frequently as of late, simply leaving a backmarker team after just one season, a season that has yet to see him finish a race in the top 17 through 27 starts.

Bubba Wallace recently announced that he will not be returning to Richard Petty Motorsports for what would have been a fourth season as the full-time driver of the #43 Chevrolet in 2021.

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Wallace has already been offered a deal by Chip Ganassi Racing, but that was announced over a month ago. He has also been named as one of the many candidates in the running to replace Jimmie Johnson at Hendrick Motorsports.

Now a new frontrunner has reportedly emerged to sign the 26-year-old Mobile, Alabama native. Last weel, just days after it was rumored that Germain Racing could be sold to Denny Hamlin, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver who has been heavily linked to team ownership in recent weeks, and turned into a Toyota team before signing Wallace, Motorsport’s Jim Utter reported that Gaunt Brothers Racing is the new favorite to land Wallace for the 2021 season. He even went as far as reporting that this would “likely” be Wallace’s new home next year.

A move to Gaunt Brothers Racing would make sense in many ways for Wallace, even as an alternative to signing with an already competitive team such as Chip Ganassi Racing.

Now we know that Ross Chastain is set to replace Matt Kenseth at Chip Ganassi Racing and not Wallace, so the move makes even more sense.

Most notably, Toyota have the capacity to expand their support next season given the fact that Leavine Family Racing, one of only two other Toyota teams in the series, have been sold and will not operate after 2020. Joe Gibbs Racing are currently the only chartered Toyota team in the 2021 lineup.

Gaunt Brothers Racing only began competing full-time in the Cup Series this season after running a part-time scheduled from 2017 through 2019, and they do not own a charter. In addition to increased support from Toyota, they are reportedly eyeing the purchase of a charter and seeking several new investors, which is where Hamlin could very easily come into play.

In other words, they are seriously exploring anything and everything that could make them a competitive team and an attractive option for Wallace to the point where he would forego the opportunity to drive for Chip Ganassi Racing in order to sign.

Despite a rule that prevents drivers who compete for four-car teams from owning a separate car, which initially prompted rumors that Hamlin could actually step away from Joe Gibbs Racing after this year, NASCAR president Steve Phelps has reportedly left the door open for Hamlin to do just that, provided his car does not effectively become the fifth car of Joe Gibbs’s organization.

NBA legend Michael Jordan could also be involved. His spokesperson previously stated that there was “no truth at all” to the rumor of him investing in a Cup Series team, but that was specifically pertaining to an investment in Richard Petty Motorsports.

As has been well-documented, Wallace is no stranger to Toyota, despite only ever having driven for Ford and Chevrolet in the Cup Series since making his debut for Richard Petty Motorsports as the replacement for the injured Aric Almirola in 2017.

He drove full-time for Kyle Busch Motorsports in the 2013 and 2014 Truck Series seasons and part-time for Joe Gibbs Racing in the 2012 and 2014 Xfinity Series seasons. He also drove for Rev Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing in the 2011 and 2012 K&N Pro Series East seasons, respectively.

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The Gen 7 car is not slated to be introduced until the 2022 season, as its debut was pushed back by one year due to the coronavirus pandemic, which could make things less than ideal for Toyota to begin increase their support to this organization. But with a focus on the long-term, as team owner Marty Gaunt indicated clearly in the announcement about Suarez leaving the team, it is a move that could easily be justified.

If it is a move that does indeed end up being made, look for Wallace to be the new driver of the #96 Toyota.

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