Much of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series driver lineup is set, but there are still several notable free agents left on the market. Here are the top three.
The offseason between the 2020 and 2021 NASCAR Cup Series seasons picked up right where the 2020 season left off: with more drivers being confirmed in the 2021 lineup.
Most recently, Ryan Preece announced that he is set to return for a third season with JTG Daugherty Racing and a second behind the wheel of the #37 Chevrolet.
John Hunter Nemechek also announced that he will not be back with Front Row Motorsports following his rookie season, and he was then signed by the Kyle Busch Motorsports Truck Series team. Finally, Corey LaJoie announced that is set to drive for Spire Motorsports as their first ever full-time driver.
But there are still a few free agents left on the market for next year. Here are the top three.
Top 3 remaining free agents: No. 3 – Brennan Poole
Brennan Poole made his Cup Series debut in the 2020 season and competed as a full-time driver for points for Premium Motorsports behind the wheel of the #15 Chevrolet.
After the first four races of the season, Rick Ware Racing acquired Premium Motorsports, so Poole effectively competed for Rick Ware in his final 31 starts of the season (he missed the playoff race at Bristol Motor Speedway).
He finished in 16th place in his Daytona 500 debut before going on to finish in 15th at Daytona International Speedway later in the year. His superspeedway success continued with a career-high ninth place finish at Talladega Superspeedway in the playoffs.
With Rick Ware Racing set to run four chartered entries next season and having not yet confirmed drivers for any of them, it’s hard to see the six-time ARCA race winner not returning in some capacity next year.
Top 3 remaining free agents: No. 2 – Michael McDowell
Despite not finishing a single race in the top five after recording a career-high two top five finishes in 2019, Michael McDowell had a career season with Front Row Motorsports behind the wheel of the #34 Ford in 2020, which was his third consecutive season with the team.
He recorded four top 10 finishes, and most notably, all came in non-superspeedway races. He had entered the season without a single top 10 finish in a non-superspeedway race since 2016, when he finished in 10th place at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
He had also never previously recorded more than three top 10 finishes in a two-year span, much less four and much less in a single year.
In 2020, he finished in eighth place at Pocono Raceway, a season-high seventh at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, 10th in his first start at the Daytona International Speedway road course and 10th at Bristol Motor Speedway.
McDowell finished in a career-high 23rd place in the championship standings with a career-best average finish of 20.9, besting his previous career-highs of 26th (2017 and 2018) and 22.2 (2017), respectively.
While nothing has been confirmed, he is expected to return for a fourth season behind the wheel of the #34 Ford, especially with John Hunter Nemechek out and the team already having the #38 Ford to fill in his absence.
Top 3 remaining free agents: No. 1 – Ty Dillon
Ty Dillon knows for a fact that he won’t be back with the team for which he drove for in the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season in 2021.
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Germain Racing sold their charter to Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan to run the #23 Toyota for their new team, 23XI Racing, before shuttering operations after the 2020 season.
This news came after it was announced that GEICO, which signed to serve as one of the four Premier Partners of the NASCAR Cup Series under the new sponsorship model prior to the 2020 season, announced that they would not return to serve as the primary sponsor of the #13 German Racing Chevrolet in 2021. The Maryland-based auto insurance company had been the team’s full-time primary sponsor for more than a decade.
As a result, the driver of the #13 Chevrolet from the last four seasons does not have a ride to compete next year, as 23XI Racing went with Bubba Wallace as the driver for their one-car operation.
Dillon’s only ever full-time Cup Series ride has been with Germain Racing, and he flew somewhat under the radar when it came to his solid performances with the one-car team throughout his four-year stint there.
But he is the grandson of Richard Childress Racing team owner Richard Childress, so there has been speculation of this link potentially leading to a future full-time ride, even if only in the Xfinity Series for the time being.
Where will Brennan Poole, Michael McDowell and Ty Dillon end up competing in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season?