Top 5 free agents for 2022: No. 1 – Kurt Busch
Kurt Busch has worked his way up to becoming the top free agent on the market for the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season over the last several months, and what a journey it has been.
Before the season, he was featured in a video by long-time primary sponsor Monster Energy in which he indicated that he would be content if the 2021 season was his last. However, he stopped short of confirming retirement.
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If you remember what he said in 2019 when he signed his two-year contract extension with Chip Ganassi Racing, you’d know that he just might not actually be content without returning in 2022, whether he said it was a “50-50” chance or not.
The reason he signed for two more years was so that he would get the opportunity to pilot the Next Gen car in 2021. But due to the COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions, the launch of that car was pushed back to 2022, leaving the 2004 series champion without the guarantee of being able to drive it.
However, all signs now point to Busch returning to the Cup Series on a full-time deal in 2022, and all signs point to him competing at a high level. By winning at Atlanta Motor Speedway, he made the 2021 season his eighth consecutive winning season and locked up his ninth consecutive playoff berth, two streaks that appeared to be in serious jeopardy just a few weeks prior.
He has already emerged as the preferred candidate for 23XI Racing if they expand to two cars, and he is one of the preferred candidates for Trackhouse Racing Team in their second car.
Where will these five drivers land for the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season? Will all of them be back in the series? Will the ones who aren’t guaranteed to leave their current teams be back with their current teams, or will they end up elsewhere?