NASCAR: 3 possible landing spots for Kyle Larson in 2021
By Asher Fair
Kyle Larson 2021 landing spots: Hendrick Motorsports
After seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson announced last November that the 2020 season would be his final season behind the wheel of the #48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, Kyle Larson was immediately seen as a replacement candidate.
If it were up to social media, he would have had his Ally Financial firesuit delivered to him personally by Johnson and team owner Rick Hendrick mere moments after Johnson confirmed his impending retirement.
But over the offseason and throughout the early part of the 2020 season, this possibility faded somewhat due to Larson’s passion for dirt racing and Hendrick’s past reluctance to allow some of his drivers to run in non-NASCAR events.
However, at this point, Larson, who has never been shy about his passion for dirt track racing and continues to dominate even as he remains suspended by NASCAR, just wants to get back to stock car racing, and he is doing everything he can to make that possible.
He has recently been linked to Hendrick Motorsports again, and Hendrick has even stated that he already has a driver picked out but has not yet announced it because of the distraction that the announcement would cause while he still has drivers competing for the 2020 championship.
As for his severed ties with Chevrolet, it can’t be ignored that the manufacturer only suspended their relationship with him indefinitely. Like NASCAR, they did not ban him for life, so this is still an option. If it weren’t, a return wouldn’t even be possible at all.
Would he really turn down this seat if offered?
It’s hard to imagine a bigger cause of a potential distraction than signing a driver who was fired for using a racial slur to replace a seven-time champion.
But if Larson’s isn’t the guy, he may still get a shot to return next year.