Changes in NASCAR forthcoming

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — There were two early warning signs that NASCAR was heading into its most unpredictable “silly season” in decades.

Former series champion Brad Keselowski accepted a one-year extension with Team Penske and rookie Tyler Reddick renewed with Richard Childress Racing with barely a glance at other options.

Those moves were a wakeup call: The economics that have changed the landscape of NASCAR’s two lower series have finally reached the Cup level.

The pandemic has accelerated the inevitable: The driver market bubble, pushed to its limit with multimillion-dollar salaries for nearly two decades, is about to burst. A major reset has arrived and team owners have all the power. They can pick and choose between drivers who bring sponsorship dollars (Bubba Wallace) or drivers who have won races (Erik Jones).

When the music stops, the Cup Series lineup will look radically different. Left standing? It doesn’t look good for Jones, a one-time Kyle Busch protege with a Truck Series title, two Cup playoff appearances and a Southern 500 winner who is being replaced at Joe Gibbs Racing.

“It’s a tough environment. There’s definitely teams that are struggling to find sponsorship and find money,” Jones said. “There’s rides obviously open out there. I don’t bring anything but my butt, I guess, to put in the seat. It’s challenging.”

SIGNED FOR 2021

Alex Bowman at Hendrick Motorsports and Ryan Blaney at Penske signed extensions before the pandemic. Keselowski agreed to a smaller deal with Penske, a gamble that his value will still be high and the market will have improved in 2022. Aric Almirola renewed at Stewart-Haas Racing, Reddick took the option at RCR, William Byron was extended at Hendrick and Ross Chastain got the seat at Chip Ganassi Racing vacated when Kyle Larson was fired in April for using a racial slur.

That No. 42 had been considered a top available ride and Ganassi awarded it to an eighth-generation watermelon farmer with five combined victories at NASCAR’s lower levels. Chastain is something of a unicorn in that he doesn’t bring sponsorship and doesn’t have a proven Cup record.

STILL AVAILABLE

Wallace has an estimated $18 million in sponsorship to bring with him when he leaves Richard Petty Motorsports at the end of the season. Jones is being replaced by Christopher Bell, and former Xfinity Series champion Daniel Suarez said last week he is looking for his third team in three years. Corey LaJoie is leaving GoFas Racing, Ty Dillon’s team owner, Bob Germain, wants to sell his charter, and Xfinity Series drivers Chase Briscoe and Austin Cindric both want promotions.

And don’t forget Larson.

He was supposed to be the top free agent this year but was banished to sprint cars after his firing five months ago. Larson has won 35 races since, is awaiting the appropriate time to apply for reinstatement to NASCAR and, if sponsors agree to forgive him, he should get a job.

The top prize is a seat at Hendrick Motorsports, which will replace seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson. It’s the job opportunity of a lifetime and LaJoie made a run at it back in January when he hand-delivered a letter to Rick Hendrick at the Hall of Fame ceremony.

WHAT COULD HAPPEN

Every indication is that Hendrick is the only logical place for Larson, though the team has not said if he is a contender for Johnson’s No. 48. That could be because Larson instead could land the No. 88 with Bowman moving to the No. 48.

Denny Hamlin is on the verge of announcing some sort of ownership group as the three-time Daytona 500 winner prepares for his future. All of NASCAR’s top-tier teams have said they aren’t in play for Wallace, so it seems obvious that Wallace and his sponsorship dollars are part of Hamlin’s effort. Hamlin is believed to be closing in on the Germain Racing charter.

Stewart-Haas Racing said it doesn’t expect to change its fourcar lineup and Clint Bowyer is the only driver still unsigned. Briscoe, who has seven Xfinity Series wins for SHR this season, wants a promotion; it is not clear what he will do if Bowyer is extended for another year.

Richard Petty Motorsports said it plans to be on the grid next season with a replacement for Wallace and Suarez is a potential fit. It will be difficult because Wallace, the only Black driver at NASCAR’s top level, was RPM’s sponsorship draw.