Once upon a time, Hendrick Motorsports’ roster was filled with experienced drivers, with impressive resumes. Jimmie Johnson. Jeff Gordon. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Cup Champions. Most Popular Driver. Daytona 500 winners.
A few years ago, however, with the retirements of HMS’s “old guard” of Johnson, Gordon, and Earnhardt came a new era. Names like Chase Elliott, William Byron, Alex Bowman, and finally Kyle Larson now grace the roster of Hendrick Motorsports in the Cup Series. Chase Elliott and William Byron made their Cup series debuts with Hendrick Motorsports after coming up through JR Motorsports, while Bowman had cups of coffee with other, less-funded teams and Larson came up through Chip Ganassi’s race team. As we pass the halfway mark of the 2022 season, all four drivers, once considered the young guns of NASCAR, are some of the established and experienced drivers in Cup, with championships, major wins and awards to their credit.
Rick Hendrick and his teams proved that, with the right equipment – not to mention talented drivers – one didn’t need a decade (or more) of Cup experience to compete for championships. And it won’t necessarily take several years of falloff in terms of performance while you got the youngsters up to speed about what it takes to succeed at NASCAR’s top level.
With the crop of young but now experienced drivers, Hendrick Motorsports is always discussed when it comes to which team currently rules the roost in Cup. Another one of those teams is Joe Gibbs Racing. JGR, it might be argued is where Hendrick was in 2014, with many drivers closer to retirement than their debut. Kyle Busch has lost his main sponsor (M&Ms) and has said a lot by saying a little when it comes to his future with Joe Gibbs. Martin Truex, Jr. has said he will be deciding his future plans in the next two weeks. Never mind his future at Joe Gibbs Racing, Truex is thinking about his future in NASCAR. With the rise of 23XI, it’s pretty clear than Denny Hamlin, one of the established statemen of NASCAR, is more concerned about the team he owns than the team he races for. I’m guessing he’s running out the clock on his current contract and then could take over the #45 car once Kurt Busch retires.
I can foresee a situation where, by the end of 2023, Joe Gibbs Racing may have lost at least two, if not three, of their Cup drivers.
So where does that leave JGR? With a youngster named Christopher Bell who was brought up with a lot of hype and then slotted into the fourth most important driver on the Cup roster. He has a win to his credit but has been overshadowed by his more experienced teammates to the point where he is in no position to lead a top team like JGR in their absence.
Meanwhile, I sincerely doubt that JGR would be willing to cut back to a one car team after years of multiple cars on the Cup starting grid every Sunday so there’s three spots open.
With the money and technology that JGR is able to put behind their drivers, there should be no shortage of resumes that will flood their Hiring Manager’s In box. The only question will be: in what direction does JGR go? Do they fill those seats with well-established veteran drivers who will bring sponsorship and a fanbase with them or do they take a page from HMS and help build the future of the company and the sport.
One might argue that the star of Joe Gibbs Racing’s “Youth Movement” is already waiting in the wings. There can certainly be no doubt that Ty Gibbs is being groomed as Kyle Busch 2.0. Gibbs is going to be moving into the #18 car once Busch leaves, whether it be at the end of this season or in 2024, should Busch sign a one-year extension (as has been rumoured).
However, that’s one solution for one car. If Truex retires and Hamlin leaves for 23XI Racing (or retires altogether), there will be still two seats left to fill. If JGR decides to completely deplete their current Xfinity roster, they could bring Brandon Jones up to Cup. However, that gives JGR two problems: (1) Who fills the fourth Cup seat and (2) Who drives for them in Xfinity?
Additionally, a Cup roster of Ty Gibbs, Brandon Jones and Christopher Bell would knock JGR several spots down the rankings of the teams in Cup, something Joe Gibbs is not going to stand for. For that fourth team, I think the complete overhaul of JGR to usher in a “Youth Movement” needs to be put on hold.
Instead of scrounging around the Truck Series (and don’t forget, JGR probably loses Kyle Busch Motorsports and vice versa) or the ARCA series for some young driver who would need at least another year or two (or three) of seasoning before coming to Cup, perhaps Joe Gibbs finds a veteran driver who could provide some experience.
The next question is: who? In checking the NASCAR Cup roster, there’s no one in that sweet spot of being a veteran without being ready to retire at the end of their current contract. No one jumps out at you as being the guy who could give Gibbs, Jones, and Bell that leadership they need.
(This will segue nicely into my next column, discussing how, without anyone coming out and saying it, NASCAR has seen a changing of the guard. Long story short, the veterans are either gone or will be within a year or two. The drivers who seemed to be debuting mere days ago are now those veteran drivers.)
But all may not be lost. Could JGR convince Busch, Hamlin or Truex to stick around for another year or two and be the veteran leader? Of the three, Truex is probably the one who would be most likely to take on such a role. We’ve seen what having a veteran can do to the successful development of young drivers by taking a glance over at Kaulig Racing in the Xfinity Series. A.J. Allmendinger has definitely committed to that role, and it’s not like he hasn’t had his own share of success in the meantime.
And if we’re going to use Kaulig as an example, perhaps Corey Lajoie could be JGR’s answer to Landon Cassill, a talented driver with a fair amount of experience that could certainly benefit from having a top-notch full-time ride for the first time in his career. I’ve been excited to see what Cassill will do in Xfinity now that he’s with Kaulig and would be equally as intrigued to see Lajoie taking a seat in one of Cup’s top rides. If Brandon Jones isn’t deemed Cup level ready (or someone can tell Joe Gibbs that his grandson isn’t either) perhaps Lajoie fills the gap.
At the same time, if JGR could promote Christopher Bell up a few notches in the Cup roster rankings, he might be able to truly shine without being left in the shadows of his more experienced and storied teammates.
There is certainly some argument to be made that JGR may be on the verge of paying for the years of putting Cup drivers’ egos over the development of their next generation of drivers. However, if JGR plays their cards right, they may just find their way through the departure of their top stars.
Hendrick Motorsports did it. Joe Gibbs Racing must do it.
johnmilner.ca 