NASCAR: 5 possible landing spots for John Hunter Nemechek in 2021

John Hunter Nemechek won’t be back with Front Row Motorsports in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season. Where will he end up instead?

John Hunter Nemechek announced earlier this week that he will not be back for what would have been a second year behind the wheel of the #38 Ford at Front Row Motorsports in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season.

His departure from the team following his impressive rookie year was reportedly his decision, and in his departure message, he stated that he appreciates the patience of the fans and that he does have “future plans to be announced at a later date”, indicating that he does have plans to continuing driving in 2021, plans worth giving up his current ride for.

While Front Row Motorsports aren’t the best of teams in the sport, stepping away from them just to end up nowhere else doesn’t make sense, although that is the gamble that other drivers have taken with other teams in the past (see Matt DiBenedetto and Corey LaJoie). Sometimes those gambles simply don’t pay off.

At only 23 years old, the Mooresville, North Carolina native has too much potential and too much talent to not be in the Cup Series next year. His departure message stated that he would be announcing his plans for 2021 at a future date. While that indicates on the surface that something else is in the works, there are no guarantees regarding the nature of those plans.

So where will he end up in 2021? Here are five possible landing spots.

Possible 2021 John Hunter Nemechek landing spots: #1 – Gaunt Brothers Racing

With Daniel Suarez leaving Gaunt Brothers Racing and signing with Justin Marks’s new team, Trackhouse Racing Team, for the 2021 season, Marty Gaunt’s team have a seat to fill behind the wheel of the #96 Toyota.

There has been talk of the team acquiring a charter and landing additional investors to the point where they can become as competitive as Furniture Row Racing, the 2017 champions and 2018 runners-up which had a technical alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing from 2016 until 2018 after they folded.

While they could look to move a young Toyota Racing Development driver behind the wheel of the #96 Toyota next year, Toyota Racing Development president David Wilson has recently stated that he doesn’t believed any of the organization’s young drivers are ready for Cup rides yet.

John Hunter Nemechek could make sense here, given the fact that he has proven what he is capable of and is a young driver with plenty of upside.