The Official 2024 NASCAR Championship 4 Weekend Discussion Thread

[Tommy Bedlam]

Justin Marks (Trackhouse owner) will be racing for Kaulig Racing in the Xfinity Series race on the Chicago street course. Marks has started 35 career Xfinity races, and won the 2016 Xfinity race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

 

[Tommy Bedlam]

All sorts of news getting dropped in the last couple of days. NASCAR has ruled that no Cup drivers will be allowed to race in the Xfinity series Chicago Street Race. Freaking LOVE that move. I think this street race is going to be an abject disaster, but it's gonna be even more fun since nobody is gonna have more seat time than anybody else.

 

[Hidden Blaze]

Worst kept secret

 

[Stellar]

The Josh Berry news isn't exciting to me honestly. Like, SHR right now has Briscoe, Almirola and Preece.... They need someone who isn't so vanilla. Josh Berry is a solid grab but SHR needs someone who has already shown a lot of promise in the cup series. I suppose those types of drivers aren't available and this is good for Berry for getting this opportunity in the cup series...but eh. I feel like as the old veterans retire the less interesting drivers there are. Especially at SHR where it was loaded with yearly proven winners. SHR as a whole needs to improve as they have been struggling this year but again, that's how I feel.

 

[Hidden Blaze]

I like it, because as Tony said, it’s not someone who bought their ride, and has put in tons of work to get here. Oldest rookie since 2007(when JPM drove his first season at the age of 32). Plus I’m a fan of Josh and happy to see him get a chance like I am with every JRM driver since well Jr doesn’t have a Cup team haha.

 

[Tommy Bedlam]

I like Berry, and think it’s a solid fit. Not to mention, having experience with Hendrick at the Cup level and getting Rodney Childers as a crew chief is like hitting the lottery twice.

The McDowell rumor as a potential replacement for Almirola is where I think they could be missing out. They do need a big time driver, and I don’t think MM is that. Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of young guys who are ready for a ride like that. Zane Smith would be the only non-Cup guy who I think would be a possibility, and I don’t think FRM let’s him get away. Bringing Custer back seems most likely, but again….meh.

 

[Hidden Blaze]

I seen some rumors floating around of Harrison Burton, but those same rumors had some weird stuff about Jeff Burton, Harvick, and Dale Jr buying into SHR So, doesn’t seem likely lmao

 

[Tommy Bedlam]

I seen some rumors floating around of Harrison Burton, but those same rumors had some weird stuff about Jeff Burton, Harvick, and Dale Jr buying into SHR So, doesn’t seem likely lmao

That’s wild lol. I’ve read some stuff that Burton might be on the hot seat, and he should be. They fired DiBennedetto for a guy who has done worse. But there’s no way that that group buys into SHR lol. Junior isn’t gonna go to Ford. And even then, who in the hell would want Burton?

 

[Tommy Bedlam]

This has prompted me to do some digging into contracts/free agents after this season. It's amazing how little concrete info there is out there about NASCAR contracts. But I'm working on something that I hope you all find informative.

 

[Tommy Bedlam]

So, this took far longer than it should have, but I enjoyed it. I bolded the free agents following this season, but like I said, NASCAR contract details aren't as public as other sports. Also, didn't include part-time drivers since that information is even harder to find.

#1: Ross Chastain-Signed through 2025
#2: Austin Cindric-No contract details available, but no indication that he won’t be with Penske
#3: Austin Dillon-No contract details available, but reports say he signed a multi-year extension…and his grandpa owns the team.
#4: Josh Berry-Just announced that he’s replacing Harvick. Haven’t seen contract details
#5: Kyle Larson-Signed through 2026
#6: Brad Keselowski-No contract details, but he owns part of the team.
#7: Corey LaJoie-Free agent after this season
#8: Kyle Busch-No contract details available, but no reason to think he’s going anywhere.
#9: Chase Elliot-Signed through 2027
#10: Aric Almirola-Could be retiring at the end of this season after planning to after last season. This is the last year of his contract, so this ride should be available.
#11: Denny Hamlin-Free agent after this season, but says he wants to stay at JGR. Worth noting that 23XI’s contract with Toyota expires after this year. Hamlin has said that he can’t drive for Toyota while owning a team that races another manufacturer. His contract is totally contingent on 23XI getting a deal done to stay with Toyota.
#12: Ryan Blaney-Conflicting information out there on this one. Some sources say his contract is up after this year, while others have it ending after 2024 and even 2025. Doubtful that he leaves Penske, and even harder to guess since we don’t know his contract details.
#14: Chase Briscoe-No contract details available. Jayski has his deal running through 2026, while Sportrac says it ends after this season.
#16: AJ Allmendinger-No details available, but it’s expected that Dinger returns to the 16 next season.
#17: Chris Buescher-Signed a multiyear deal in 2022, and it’s expected that he’ll be back next season. Fastenal, the primary sponsor, is signed through 2024. Has some good results this year. Some reports also said that Keselowski bought into the team because he really believed in Buescher, making it even less likely that he's gone.
#19: Martin Truex Jr.-Free agent after this season and has discussed retirement. If he comes doesn’t retire, will likely be at JGR.
#20: Christopher Bell-No contract details available.
#21: Harrison Burton-Free agent after this season. Underperformed last year and is statistically worse this year.
#22: Joey Logano-Signed through 2025
#23: Bubba Wallace-He’s either signed through 2024 or 2025.
#24: William Byron-Signed through 2025
#31: Justin Haley-Free agent after this season.
#34: Michael McDowell-Free agent after this season
#38: Todd Gilliland-Free agent after this season. Zane Smith is (or has) driven the car in 6 races in 2023.
#41: Ryan Preece-Free agent after this season. Apparently, SHR planned on possibly losing everyone after this season, and with their results…who could blame them?
#42: Noah Gragson-Free agent after this season
#43: Erik Jones-Believed to be signed through 2024 after signing a multi-year deal in 2022.
#45: Tyler Reddick-Believed to be signed through 2024 after joining 23XI this season.
#47: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.-Signed a multi-year extension in 2023.
#48: Alex Bowman-Signed through 2026
#51: Cody Ware (and some other people since he’s been suspended)-Ware’s Cup career is probably over, even though it’s his dad’s team.
#54: Ty Gibbs-No contract details available, but his grandpa owns the team.
#77: Ty Dillon-Free agent after this season. Worth noting that Spire is an affiliate of RCR…so Grandpa probably has a lot of say in whether Ty comes back.
#78: BJ McLeod (with Josh Bilicki and Anthony Alfredo)-McLeod is a co-owner in the team, so it’s unlikely that there will be any movement.
#99: Daniel Suarez-Signed through 2025

TL;DR:
LaJoie, Almirola, Hamlin, Truex, Burton, Haley, McDowell, Gilliland, Preece, Gragson, Ware, and Ty Dillon are all slated to be free agents after this season.

 

[Tommy Bedlam]

Spitballing some early predictions based on that list.

I think LaJoie leaves the 7 car at the end of the season. He's done as good as he can possibly do in Spire equipment. Unfortunately, there isn't any great equipment available for a guy who's getting "older" by today's NASCAR standards. My guess is that Harrison Burton gets bumped out of the 21 and LaJoie goes there. Unlike some other potential FAs, LaJoie isn't really "tied" to Chevy or any manufacturer. Over the course of his career, he's driven for all three of the current manufacturers. Burton, IMO, needs to head back down to the Xfinity series to get some experience. He's 20 (maybe 21?) and clearly got rushed up the ranks. I've read some stuff that says Burton's sponsorship with DEX Imaging could make this complicated, but I don't think that's the case. DEX has a long-standing relationship with Penske who essentially runs Wood Brothers' Racing. DEX will stick around and Corey will bring some sponsorship with him.

I'll take Austin Hill to replace LaJoie in the 7 because they're an RCR affiliate. He's 29 and second in the Xfinity standings. RCR needs to get him up to the Cup Series to see what he's got.

 

[Stellar]

Ill give Ty Dillon credit on something. The man somehow manages to find rides even though he doesn't perform well. The guy is like a cat. He has 9 or more lives in NASCAR and he hasn't gone back to racing for his grandfather yet. Deserves credit for his determination.

I don't know how Noah Gragson feels about Ford but I do wish that the stars would align for him to land in a better ride like at SHR.

I get why some drivers rush to go to the cup series but at the same time after they have underperformed in the cup series for a long time at some point they need to follow Cole Custer and go back to the Xfinity Series. Not including Noah Gragson in that but like Ty Dillon and Harrison Burton.....

Also PLEASE MTJ don't retire yet.

 

[Tommy Bedlam]

Ill give Ty Dillon credit on something. The man somehow manages to find rides even though he doesn't perform well. The guy is like a cat. He has 9 or more lives in NASCAR and he hasn't gone back to racing for his grandfather yet. Deserves credit for his determination.

NASCAR, like most other walks of life, are all about who you know. Richard Childress is his grandpa and has an affiliate deal with Spire. If Gramps wants Dillon in that 77 car next year, he'll be there. I need to do some research on the 77 and some potential replacements, though. I could see Childress pulling Ty from that car and putting him in Austin Hill's Xfinity ride if my above scenario pans out, but I'm still not sure. It already has to make things a bit awkward that Childress kept Austin at RCR and let Ty go. Can he really demote him to the "minor leagues?"

 

[Tommy Bedlam]

Tonight's random prediction concerning next season (as an aside, I really need us to get back to racing so I have something to talk about on a week-to-week basis)

Almirola retires, thus freeing up the 10 car. Todd Gilliland gets the ride while Michael McDowell stays put at FRM. McDowell is 38, and FRM seems pretty content with his results. They had some extension talks in January/February but nothing got done. Zane Smith has already partially replaced Gilliand. So Gilliland to the 10, McDowell stays in the 34, and Zane Smith moves up to the 38 fulltime starting in 2024.

 

[Tommy Bedlam]

Today's scan through the free agent list.

Denny Hamlin gets a deal done to stay at JGR. Toyota isn't gonna let 23XI go and leave themselves with JGR and Legacy Motor Club, so that deal's gonna be done, and Hamlin has said multiple times that he wants to stay at JGR.

I won't be surprised if Truex retires. He doesn't seem like the kinda guy who would want a year-long farewell tour and all the attention that comes with it. If he does retire, John Hunter Nemechek is the only viable replacement.