NASCAR: The worst kept secret isn’t in the Cup Series
By Asher Fair
The 2021 NASCAR silly season has been full of poorly kept secrets, and those secrets are certainly not limited to the Cup Series.
Poorly kept secrets have defined this year’s NASCAR silly season, and there are still a number of those secrets that have not been confirmed for next year.
Among those confirmed, Brad Keselowski’s new deal comes to mind. His deal to leave team Penske and become a driver and co-owner of Roush Fenway Racing was reportedly a done deal in March. It was semi-leaked in May, but it took until July to confirm.
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As you can imagine, everybody was absolutely shocked when the news was confirmed (after Keselowski’s Team Penske replacement behind the wheel of the #2 Ford had already been named, by the way…).
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Among those unconfirmed, Kurt Busch’s future comes to mind. He has been rumored as the top option for 23XI Racing if they expand for 2022, and team co-owner Denny Hamlin is still working hard to make expansion happen. Just imagine the surprise when Busch is confirmed as a teammate to Bubba Wallace for next year.
But there is another poorly kept secret that isn’t garnering as much hype simply because of the fact that it isn’t a Cup Series secret. However, it could still have big championship implications.
Ty Gibbs competes part-time for Joe Gibbs Racing behind the wheel of the #54 Toyota, often referred to as the “star car”, in the Xfinity Series. Before this year, he had no experience in any NASCAR national series, yet he won on debut at the Daytona International Speedway road course back in February.
He has since added victories at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Watkins Glen International, giving him three wins in 11 starts. If he were a full-time driver, he would be in championship contention, and arguably the favorite to win the title.
At some point, Ty’s grandfather’s team is poised to confirm him as a full-time driver for next year. It’s inevitable.
As far as poorly kept secrets go, this one has to take the prize, even though it is not a Cup Series secret.
And when the deal happens, Gibbs is immediately going to become the favorite to win the title, especially with reigning champion and current title favorite Austin Cindric set to move from Team Penske’s Xfinity Series team to their Cup Series operation (as Keselowski’s replacement) for next year.
There is simply no reason whatsoever for this not to happen. In addition to the fact that Kyle Busch has retired from Xfinity Series competition, opening up the possibility for the #54 Toyota to have a full-time driver instead of a number of part-time drivers, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Harrison Burton is set to move from the Xfinity Series to the Cup Series as well.
Burton is set to vacate the team’s #20 Toyota and drive for Wood Brothers Racing as the replacement for Matt DiBenedetto behind the wheel of the #21 Ford.
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That leaves two cars for Joe Gibbs Racing to fill for next year at a minimum. Is Ty Gibbs really going to be passed up twice? Doubtful is an understatement.