NASCAR: Is there a new ‘worst kept’ secret for 2022?
By Asher Fair
With Ross Chastain set to move to Trackhouse Racing Team for the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season, is Kurt Busch’s destination a foregone conclusion?
Just over a month after announcing that they will be acquiring Chip Ganassi Racing after the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, Trackhouse Racing Team confirmed that Ross Chastain is set to join the team as their second driver next year.
Chastain is set to drive the #1 Chevrolet alongside Daniel Suarez, who currently drives the #99 Chevrolet in what is the Justin Marks and Pitbull-owned team’s first season competing in the Cup Series.
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Chastain is one of the two current Chip Ganassi Racing drivers, meaning that he was left without a deal to compete next year when the big acquisition was announced.
His teammate, Kurt Busch, was thrust into a similar position.
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The 2004 season champion was also considered for the second Trackhouse Racing Team seat.
With his Chip Ganassi Racing contract set to expire at the end of the 2021 season anyway, he had even had talks with the team about making the move there for 2022 before the news broke about the upcoming acquisition. Even at that time, Trackhouse Racing Team had been clear about their intent to expand to two cars.
But at the end of the day, Busch will not be competing for Trackhouse Racing Team in the 2022 season. This likely means one thing: if 23XI Racing expand, their second seat is practically his.
The “if” in that statement is really seen by many as a “when”. The Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan-owned team have said for months that they want to expand to two cars as soon as possible, and that is still the case. They currently own just one charter, but that could very well change.
And even if it doesn’t, running two cars isn’t completely out of the question.
It was reported earlier in the season that Busch is the top candidate to pilot a second car for 23XI Racing alongside Bubba Wallace in the #23 Toyota, and Trackhouse Racing Team had been the only other team to which he had been linked in the meantime.
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While there were retirement rumors surrounding Busch earlier this year, it is evident that he no longer plans to hang up his firesuit just yet, especially with the 2022 season slated to see the debut of the Next Gen car. So be on the lookout for a big announcement in the near future to confirm what appears to be yet another poorly kept secret in this year’s silly season.