NASCA Rrides out raucous ‘Silly Season’

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ASCAR has never seen a “Silly Season” like it experienced during and after the 2018 season. From the start of the rumors last summer to the last driver signing a week ago, it was one of the most tumultuous Silly Seasons on record. This was one wild adventure as one championship-caliber team completely folded and another title team lost the only sponsor it has ever known. Even though the car-owner pool has shrunk dramatically over the past decade, there was still amajor shuffling of drivers from team to team, including several brand-name competitors. The earthshaking news for the Cup Series garage arrived late in the summer when car owner Barney Visser, whose No. 78 Toyota was wheeled by Martin Truex Jr., announced the closing of the team despite winning the 2017 championship. Visser, who went deep into his pockets to start the Denver-based team, said he didn’t have the proper sponsorship funding to field a team in 2019 capable of winning another crown. Despite the bad news, Truex made it to the Championship Round and finished second in the points standings. Meanwhile, Furniture Row Racing is now part of NASCAR lore. In a similar situation, seven-time

NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson was broadsided by the news that Lowe’s Home Improvement would exit the sport at the end of the 2018 season. Fortunately, car owner Rick Hendrick was able to find a replacement for the hood and fenders of the No. 48 Chevy with Ally Financial. Still, the team that dominated Cup racing for a decade was rattled by poor performance. The only crew chief Johnson has ever worked with in Cup, Chad Knaus, was transferred over to the No. 24 Chevy wheeled by sophomore William Byron for the 2019 season. And that takes us directly into the driver changes. Before 2018 was finished, Jack Roush showed 2011 Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne the door and hired veteran Ryan Newman to race the No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford. Newman left Richard Childress Racing, which announced Daniel Hemric would drive the No. 31 RCR Chevy in 2019. “It’s going to be an honor to continue down this path over the next couple of years and just to be able to give it a shot,” Hemric seemed to say with a gulp. Since there is no Furniture Row team, Truex bounced into the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, which sent Daniel Suarez packing. In 11th- and 12th-hour moves, Kurt Busch and his sponsor (Monster Energy) left Stewart-Haas Racing to take the wheel of the No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevy. On Jan. 7, Stewart-Haas announced Suarez, who had been bumped by Truex at Gibbs Racing, was tabbed as Busch’s replacement in the No. 41 Ford. Suarez has the support of tech company Arris. “We’ve all seen how competitive Stewart-Haas Racing is,” Suarez said. “This is the opportunity every driver wants, and now I have it. I want to deliver for this team. We have everything we need to be successful.” Matt DiBenedetto quite possibly has the most powerful rabbit’s foot in the universe. Just after midseason, he said he was leaving Go Fas Racing to find a more competitive wheel, with no plans in place. It was a leap of faith that paid off. When Kasey Kahne announced he was leaving stock-car racing and Leavine Family Racing, DiBenedetto got that ride. Yes, it was a step up, but LFR took it up a notch higher when it announced it would replace the No. 78 team as a factory-backed Toyota and get support from Gibbs Racing. Truex won the 2017 title driving that Gibbs Racing sister car. Joining Bayne on the sidelines for 2019 are AJ Allmendinger, who signed on at NBC Sports plus has a sports-car ride, and Jamie McMurray, who’s out of Ganassi’s No. 1 car and now part of the Fox broadcast team.

[AP/TIMOTHY D. EASLEY] The No. 78 Toyota team, which won the 2017 NASCAR Cup championship, no longer exists, and Jimmie Johnson (48) will have a new sponsor forthe first time since 2002.