Ex-Chip Ganassi Racing driver Kyle Larson is eyeing a comeback to the NASCAR Cup Series in 2021 after his firing. Where might he end up?
Entering the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season, we all knew that Kyle Larson was the top pending free agent on the market.
But none of us saw his “free agency” taking the turn it took back in April to get to where it is now in early October.
The six-time race winner was fired by Chip Ganassi Racing after Chevrolet and several sponsors, including McDonald’s and Credit One Bank, cut ties with him over his use of a racial slur during a virtual NASCAR race on iRacing, which was being live streamed on multiple Twitch channels on Easter Sunday.
He was initially only suspended indefinitely by NASCAR and Chip Ganassi Racing, but keeping Larson on the team having multiple sponsorship losses was not a financial situation which Chip Ganassi could afford.
Just four races had been contested in the 2020 season when Larson was fired. He sat in a seventh place tie in the championship standings through four races with three top 10 finishes, including a top finish of fourth in what ended up being his final start of the year at Phoenix Raceway.
Larson, who wants to be back in NASCAR as soon as possible, won’t be back with Chip Ganassi Racing next year. He was replaced by 2003 champion Matt Kenseth for the rest of 2020, and Ross Chastain has been confirmed as the full-time driver of the #42 Chevrolet for next year. But that doesn’t mean he won’t be back in NASCAR.
Where might he end up in 2021?
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.
Kyle Larson 2021 landing spots: Stewart-Haas Racing
Stewart-Haas Racing was seen as Kyle Larson’s most likely landing spot for the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season entering the 2020 season, even before he was fired by Chip Ganassi Racing, for a number of reasons.
Team co-owner Tony Stewart has always been fond of Larson’s abilities, and the two drivers share illustrious dirt track racing backgrounds.
Stewart even tried to sign Larson as his replacement for the 2017 season when he announced in 2015 that he would be retiring following the 2016 season, but Larson’s deal with Chip Ganassi Racing at the time prevented him from being able to do so.
Additionally, Stewart-Haas Racing have altered their driver lineup after each of the last four seasons, and they have yet to make a change for next year despite the fact that their four-car lineup has not yet been completely solidified. Clint Bowyer is in a contract year and has not had his deal extended for next year. He hasn’t won a race since June of 2018.
Asked about signing Larson, Stewart was supportive of the team’s current lineup and added that he doesn’t feel as though there is a need to bring him on board, and even if their lineup does end up changing for what would be a fifth consecutive year, he noted that Stewart-Haas Racing Xfinity Series driver Chase Briscoe is well-positioned for a promotion to the Cup Series.
But he has also been vocal in his support of Larson’s return, telling NASCAR to “get off their ass” to make it happen. Could he be the team owner to make it possible?
It’s still an option, but it’s no longer seen as being as strong of an option as Hendrick Motorsports.
Kyle Larson 2021 landing spots: Nowhere
“Nowhere” is a relative term and simply means “nowhere” in NASCAR, due to the fact that there is no guarantee that Kyle Larson will be able to return to stock car racing next year.
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In terms of the big picture, however, it’s all but a lock that “nowhere” in NASCAR would translate to Larson continuing to compete in (and win) dozens upon dozens of dirt races across the country, as he has done as soon as he was allowed to return to competition back in the spring.
Larson has yet to apply for reinstatement by NASCAR, and while there is the belief that he has no need to do so (a) since he won’t be back in 2020 regardless and (b) since he hasn’t confirmed a deal with a team for 2021, there is still the looming cloud of uncertainty surrounding sponsorship and the negative PR hit that a team and sponsors would take by signing him, even if only initially.
While a return is seen as increasingly likely with every passing day, Larson being back in NASCAR next year is by no means a certainty, even as we near the heart of Silly Season.
Where will Kyle Larson end up next year? Will he be back in the NASCAR Cup Series, or will he remain out of the sport and continue to rack up wins in dirt track racing? If he does return to the highest level of stock car racing, will he make a return with Hendrick Motorsports or Stewart-Haas Racing?
Slowly but surely, the original hottest pending free agent post-2020 has finally become the biggest story of 2020-2021 Silly Season free agency.