The Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota portion of silly season — for both the NASCAR Xfinity and Cup series — may be the most interesting part to watch as we look toward 2023.
The crux of the 2023 driver lineup lies in Cup with Martin Truex Jr. Does he return to the No. 19 JGR Toyota for the 2023 Cup season, or does he leave? That decision will trickle down to Toyota’s lineup of drivers in Xfinity competition.
Trevor Bayne can be a beneficiary of not only his good fortune, but also Truex’s decision to leave or stay.
If Truex decides to return, the entire Toyota picture could become easier to fill out. Ty Gibbs returns to the No. 54 Toyota in the Xfinity Series, and Brandon Jones will likely return to the No. 19, which leaves the No. 18 and possibly a fourth JGR Toyota up for grabs. Then there is the seat — or possibly two — at Sam Hunt Racing.
SHR has run considerably better this season with John Hunter Nemechek, Chandler Smith and Jeffrey Earnhardt at the wheel. Leadership at SHR and Toyota will need to decide whether that team will have one full-time driver or two in 2023.
If JGR decides to expand back to four teams, leaving one for a full-timer and another as the all-star car, and SHR decides to run a single driver, there are several drivers from whom the teams could pick from.
“[…] I don’t know what comes of this,” Bayne told NBC Sports. “I don’t know if I end up back in a Cup car full time or an Xfinity car contending for championships. That’s what I would love to see happen.”
When looking at potential candidates to sign for a full-time drive, Bayne is one to consider. When his deal with JGR to drive the No. 18 was announced in February, seven races were announced, with an eighth at Atlanta Motor Speedway added later.
Bayne has tallied three top 10s and two top fives through four starts. The lone blemish was a 28th at Atlanta, where he was running second before being caught up in the Big One. But keep in mind that he’d been running in the top 10 for most of the race.
There’s a universe where Bayne won his second start of the season at Phoenix Raceway. He was the fastest car but got busted for speeding during the stage two caution and restarted the final stage at the rear of the field. The race ran green for the final 101 laps, with no chance for him to reclaim the lead during a restart. He drove through the field, though, finishing fourth.
Atlanta was going to be a toss-up with its superspeedway-style racing, but…
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