NASCAR: 5 drivers most likely to switch teams for 2022
By Asher Fair
NASCAR silly season is beginning to heat up amid the summer months. Which five drivers are most likely to depart from their current Cup Series teams after 2021?
We are getting to the point in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season where silly season chatter will ramp up with several notable drivers currently sitting without contracts to compete next year.
Alex Bowman, arguably the top pending free agent on the market, re-signed with Hendrick Motorsports to continue driving the #48 Chevrolet through the 2023 season. But that was always seen as a formality. However, throughout the rest of the field, there are several drivers whose returns to their current teams are less likely.
Here are five pending free agents most likely to switch teams after the 2021 season.
Must Read. Dale Earnhardt Jr. still annoys Martin Truex Jr.. light
Drivers most likely to switch teams: Honorable mention – Brad Keselowski
Brad Keselowski’s future in the NASCAR Cup Series, especially with Bowman now officially off the market, may very well be the worst kept secret of the year. So we’re listing him as an honorable mention, only because there yet hasn’t been a 100% confirmation of his “done deal” move.
Keselowski has only ever competed for Team Penske (as a full-time driver, that is), and he is in his 12th season with the team. But this may very well be his last. He signed an extension last season, but he signed only a one-year deal.
Earlier this year, a report emerged that the 2012 champion is likely to make the move to Roush Fenway Racing to drive the #6 Ford, which is currently driven by Ryan Newman. This deal would also give Keselowski an ownership stake in the team, making them Roush-Fenway-Keselowski Racing.
Keselowski has long been interested in team ownership, and with the future at the front of his mind, this move could come at an ideal time with the Next Gen car set to launch in 2022. It would provide him with a great opportunity to experience some of what team ownership is like at the Cup level while he is still able to compete.
Speaking of Newman…