NASCAR: The 2022 promotion that seems inevitable
By Asher Fair
With Harrison Burton moving to Wood Brothers Racing, Joe Gibbs Racing’s new full-time driver for the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series season seems like a given.
In a somewhat surprising announcement, it was confirmed that Harrison Burton is set to leave Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota and move from the NASCAR Xfinity Series to the Cup Series as the replacement for Matt DiBenedetto behind the wheel of the #21 Ford for Wood Brothers Racing next year.
It had been determined late last year that Team Penske Xfinity Series driver Austin Cindric would replace DiBenedetto after the 2021 season, but Cindric is instead set to move straight to Team Penske’s Cup Series operation with Brad Keselowski vacating the #2 Ford for a new driver/team ownership role at Roush Fenway Racing.
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But Burton’s unexpected promotion to the Cup Series for 2022 and vacation of the #20 Toyota effectively turn another expected promotion into a guarantee.
Does anybody really not expect to see Ty Gibbs at Joe Gibbs Racing’s Xfinity Series team full-time next year?
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The grandson of team owner Joe Gibbs had never made a start in any one of the three NASCAR national series when he competed in the race at the Daytona International Speedway road course back in February.
Yet the 18-year-old Charlotte, North Carolina native took the checkered flag behind the wheel of the #54 Toyota for his grandfather’s team. Gibbs currently competes part-time in his grandfather’s “star car” at NASCAR’s second highest level, and he has done a fine job through 11 starts.
He added victories at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Watkins Glen International, and he has finished in the top five in five of his other eight starts. In a full-time role, what he has done so far this season would easily have him in championship contention and among the favorites.
Only one full-time driver has a better average finish than he does (8.1), with that being the points leader and reigning series champion Cindric (7.0).
But this performance isn’t just a flash in the pan for Gibbs, which is why anything less than a full-time Xfinity Series ride in 2022 would be seen as restricting arguably the most talented driver not yet at the sport’s top level.
He finished in second place in the 2020 ARCA Menard Series East championship standings with one win and four other top five finishes in six races. He also finished in fifth in the 2020 ARCA Menard Series championship standings despite the fact that he only competed in 16 of the 20 races on the schedule. He won six of those races 16 and finished in the top five in six others.
This season, the Xfinity Series isn’t even his main focus. He is running full-time in the ARCA Menards Series, and he leads the championship standings with seven wins and five other top four finishes through the season’s first 13 races. He has also competed in two ARCA Menard Series East races. Not surprisingly, he is two for two in the wins category.
Even without Burton’s promotion to the Cup Series, Gibbs was under strong consideration to move to Joe Gibbs Racing’s Xfinity Series team in a full-time role next year.
We already knew that Kyle Busch is done competing in his maximum allowable total of five races per season, so will the “star car” simply become a fourth car for a full-time driver?
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The #54 Toyota was already an option, and now so is the #20 Toyota with Burton out. So the idea of Gibbs being passed up for somebody else for not one but two rides is almost laughable at this point.