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Hendrick Motorsports has not decided on Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s replacement
Hendrick Motorsports isn’t rushing to line up a replacement for Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2018.
NASCAR’s most popular driver said Tuesday that the 2017 season was going to be his last in the Cup Series. His departure after 18 full-time seasons leaves a void in the Cup Series and an opening at Hendrick, one of the strongest teams in NASCAR.
While Junior made the decision public Tuesday, he said he told HMS owner Rick Hendrick about his retirement plans in March. Despite the heads up, Hendrick said there haven’t been any moves to fill Earnhardt Jr.’s seat already.
“No, we’ve got a lot of people to consider, meaning partners, like our sponsors, and we’ve just been talking to them,” Hendrick said. “Priority one is to get everything prepared, get the day over with, and then we’ll take time to decide what we do there.”
Hendrick seemingly has multiple options without a clear-cut choice. The team could elevate a driver like Alex Bowman or William Byron; both drivers are already in the Hendrick ranks.
Bowman helped fill in for the No. 88 team when Junior missed the second half of the season. Junior has spoken highly of the 24-year-old, who had three top-10 finishes in 10 starts last season. Bowman, who ran a full season for Tommy Baldwin Racing in 2014 and 2015, decided to stick with Hendrick in a backup role in 2017 instead of potentially driving for another team.
Byron is in his first season with JR Motorsports in the Xfinity Series. He signed with Hendrick as a development driver in August and was a blown engine away from competing for the Truck Series championship in November for Kyle Busch Motorsports.
But 2016 was Byron’s first in the Truck Series. A move to the Cup Series would be a three-level jump in three seasons. Yeah, he’s a precocious talent, but would a move to Cup be too soon for him? Byron has been sponsored by Axalta, a longtime sponsor of Hendrick drivers Jeff Gordon and Earnhardt Jr., this season. So he does have a good relationship with them.
Outside of Bowman and Byron, the team would likely have to go outside of the Hendrick umbrella to look for a driver. Both Justin Allgaier and Elliott Sadler seem suited perfectly for constant competitiveness in the Xfinity Series and JRM driver Michael Annett recently moved down from the Cup Series where he was 36th in the standings each of the past two seasons.
Kyle Larson is going to be an obvious name bandied about as Junior’s replacement. Junior spoke highly of the Chip Ganassi driver during his retirement press conference and Larson, the points leader, has been of to a sizzling start. But he’s signed for at least another year at Ganassi and the team would be really hard pressed to let go of Larson. And given the beginning to 2017 that Larson has had — a start possibly fueled by an increased technical relationship with Hendrick Motorsports — it’d be hard for him to leave too.
Matt Kenseth’s contract is up at Joe Gibbs Racing at the end of the season. Team owner Joe Gibbs said last week he hoped Kenseth would be back with the team in 2018. And Erik Jones, a driver who has subbed for three of JGR’s four cars over the past three seasons, is on a one-year deal at Furniture Row Racing. Would Kenseth be a candidate for the No. 88? It seems crazy — but if Kenseth really would be switching teams, common sense would have to dictate some mutual interest if Hendrick was looking outside the organization.
Carl Edwards could be a wild card too. Edwards hasn’t used the “retirement” word since he announced his departure from the Cup Series in January. Could Edwards come back to a high-profile ride in 2018 if the itch hits? Edwards joked with NBC that he was recruiting Earnhardt to come drive a tractor with him.
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of Dr. Saturday and From the Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
