NASCAR: 3 drivers who could pull a Tom Brady
By Randy Smith
Tom Brady recently announced his plans to unretire, just over a month after the initial announcement was made. Which NASCAR drivers could do the same?
With Tom Brady announcing his plans to unretire and rejoin the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the 2022 NFL season, it’s hard to argue against the idea of certain NASCAR drivers following suit.
Plenty of drivers in the past who have claimed to be done have thought twice. Much like Brady, time went on and they found themselves back on the race track after having called their careers over.
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Mark Martin, Terry Labonte and Jeff Gordon all had retirement tours. Martin went on to drive years beyond his original retirement when he left Roush Racing, Labonte went on to drive for many smaller teams after competing for Hendrick Motorsports, and Gordon stepped in for Hendrick Motorsports when former teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. was sidelined with concussions.
Though unretiring in NASCAR doesn’t always result in a full-time ride, here are three drivers who could hop in for one last ride.
No. 1 – Matt Kenseth
Matt Kenseth is a prime example of the fact that when NASCAR drivers unretire, it’s not always for a full-time role. Kenseth found himself without a ride after being replaced by Erik Jones in the #20 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing following the 2017 season. But he found himself back where he made his name, driving part-time in the #6 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing the next year.
If fans thought that this would be the last time Kenseth would hop in a stock car, they were wrong. The 2003 series champion came back in the 2020 season to drive the #42 Chevrolet for Chip Ganassi Racing after Kyle Larson’s firing.
A full-time ride would now be out of the equation for Kenseth, as he told the Wisconsin State Journal: “I can say with almost 100 percent certainty that my days in professional racing — at least full-time professional racing — are over.”
“Almost” and “at least full-time” are the key words, and with a recent return to the sport in broadcasting plus an SRX appearance set for this summer, one more time around for the 50-year-old may not be out of the picture.