NASCAR: 3 possible replacements for Kurt Busch
By Asher Fair
Possible Kurt Busch replacements: No. 3 – John Hunter Nemechek
As noted in the first slide about Ty Gibbs, Denny Hamlin has stated that he has a contingency plan in place if Kurt Busch doesn’t return for another season in 2023, and John Hunter Nemechek is believed to be that contingency plan.
Interestingly, Hamlin had previously admitted that Nemechek, not Gibbs, was the original replacement driver 23XI Racing had in mind for an emergency scenario, such as the one they encountered with Kurt Busch at Pocono Raceway.
It doesn’t appear that the team have given up on the possibility of Nemechek competing for them either, as he recently tested for them at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Nemechek is facing an uncertain future, with his current Truck Series team, Kyle Busch Motorsports, set to leave Toyota and presumably align with Chevrolet given Kyle Busch’s move to Richard Childress Racing.
With Nemechek being a Toyota Racing Development driver after reuniting with the manufacturer in 2021, it makes sense that 23XI Racing would want to keep him close. If Busch doesn’t return in 2023, he is certainly under consideration for the seat.
But even if Busch does return in 2023, it’s possible that Nemechek could replace him in 2024. While we already know that Reddick is set to join Bubba Wallace at the team (and now potentially in 2023), and 23XI Racing have reportedly been pursuing a third charter. So it’s not necessarily Reddick who will be replacing Busch, even with him supposedly set to join the team a year early.
Kyle Busch says what everybody else is thinking. dark. Next
Who will end up replacing Kurt Busch, whether he retires from NASCAR Cup Series competition after 2022 or 2023? Could he perhaps even make the surprising decision to return in 2024?