NASCAR: 4 possible teammates for Bubba Wallace in 2022
By Asher Fair
23XI Racing still want to expand to multiple cars for the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season. If that happens, who will be Bubba Wallace’s new teammate?
NBA legend Michael Jordan and Joe Gibbs Racing NASCAR Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin teamed up last year to form 23XI Racing, which made their Cup Series debut this season with Bubba Wallace as the full-time driver of the #23 Toyota.
But even before the #23 Toyota turned a lap, Hamlin had made clear that he wanted the new team to expand to multiple cars as soon as possible, either with an experienced veteran or a young Toyota driver in an additional car.
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We’ve already seen Trackhouse Racing Team, another new celebrity-owned team started this season, expand to two cars for next year, so it seems to be a matter of “when” as opposed to “if” for 23XI Racing. If it is indeed a “when”, when will Wallace’s teammate be announced, and who will it be?
Possible Bubba Wallace teammates: No. 1 – Kurt Busch
Kurt Busch is the clear top option in a second 23XI Toyota, should that car exist next season. It was reported that he was their top choice to pair alongside Bubba Wallace for 2022 even before it was announced that he would not be back with Chip Ganassi Racing, with Trackhouse Racing Team set to acquire Chip Ganassi’s Cup Series operation after the 2021 season.
It was thought that Busch would be signed by Trackhouse Racing Team to pair alongside Daniel Suarez next year, as they too had contacted him about being a second driver even before their expansion plans were set, but they ended up signing Ross Chastain, Busch’s current teammate instead.
With Chip Ganassi Racing and Trackhouse Racing Team out of the equation and retirement presumably out as well, it seems like Busch is destined for 23XI Racing and Toyota, the lone manufacturer for which he has never driven in the Cup Series.
Just to illustrate the assumption that many fans have, the one question many are asking is this: will Chastain signing with Trackhouse Racing Team be the cause of Busch signing with 23XI Racing, or is it perhaps the effect of a deal that is already done/in the works?