NASCAR: 5 Cup teams with open seats for 2023
By Asher Fair
Several teams still need to make some big decisions regarding their NASCAR Cup Series driver lineups for next year. Who still has an open seat?
The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series driver lineup is slowly but surely coming together, but there are still several teams that need to find drivers to fill their open seats.
Some teams have just one seat to fill, while others need to extend multiple contracts and/or bring in multiple new drivers.
Here are five teams with open seats for 2023.
Teams with open seats for 2023: No. 1 – Stewart-Haas Racing
Stewart-Haas Racing have had an open seat for 2023 since even before the 2022 season began, as Aric Almirola announced that he would be retiring following the season.
As a result, Stewart-Haas Racing need to replace him behind the wheel of the #10 Ford. While there have been recent rumblings that Almirola may not be totally finished driving, he has been adamant that he is done competing full-time.
Will the #10 Ford have a new full-time driver next year, or perhaps a new part-time driver in addition to Almirola?
Then there is the #41 Ford, which is currently driven by Cole Custer. While Cole is the son of team executive Joe Custer, questions about his performance need to start being asked, as it has been more than two years since he finished a race higher than ninth place.
Sure, Stewart-Haas Racing haven’t been as great as they usually are over the last two seasons, but all three of his teammates have found victory lane during that span. Is his time at the Cup level running out?