A few days ago I rolled out something new and looked at drivers that have never raced in IndyCar, have only a few IndyCar starts and those drivers that were regulars but have been gone for a while and would be interesting to see return for one race and with what team should field that driver. Today, we are going to do the same with NASCAR.
Things are going to be different with NASCAR. Obviously the never started a race category remains the same but there are more NASCAR races and deciding between what is rare and what is a comeback is where things change. Anyone with fewer than say two full seasons in Cup would be considered "rare." That seems like a stretch but when you compare say 56 starts to a driver that made 400 starts, one is making a full-blown comeback and the other is just getting another opportunity.
As for the comeback category, it could be really boring, mostly because a lot of big names have retired but I didn't include any of those names. You are not going to see Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, Tony Stewart, Jamie McMurray, Casey Mears, Jeff Gordon or Dale Earnhardt, Jr. You got to keep it interesting and rehashing the same six or seven drivers would be boring.
One other thing: There aren't that many good teams in NASCAR. Joe Gibbs Racing, Team Penske, Stewart-Haas Racing, Hendrick Motorsports and Chip Ganassi Racing: That's the list and there are more teams I would not send a driver to than I would. A couple other teams are included in this but I wasn't going to send a driver to Front Row Motorsports or Richard Childress Racing. That wouldn't be worth it.
We will save the comebacks for the end and start with those who have never been in the Cup series before.
Nick Tandy
What: Team Penske Ford
Where: Richmond
Why: Tandy has voiced his desired to not only run a NASCAR race someday but a short track and I think if there is one place the Porsche factory driver and Le Mans winner should try it is Richmond. I think it would provide a challenge for him but it would not be completely foreign to him. Add to the equation a Team Penske Ford and Tandy would not be taking on this challenge with a weight around his neck. It would be the best scenario for him to make the attempt.
Scott McLaughlin
What: Wood Brothers Racing Ford
Where: Watkins Glen
Why: Because McLaughlin inevitably will end up in NASCAR. He is eventually going to win 70% of the races this Supercars season and he will likely win at least half of the races next year. He will be close to 50 victories in the blink of an eye and by 2021 he will be heading across the Pacific to the United States. He drives for Penske in Supercars but we got to mix this up a bit and we got to put him in a Wood Brothers Ford because it is Penske's reserve team and it would be nice to see a New Zealander drive for the Wood Brothers, similar to when Australian Marcos Ambrose first came to the United States. As for why Watkins Glen, because that short course is quick and I think it would suit McLaughlin quite nicely.
Will Power
What: Team Penske Ford
Where: Texas
Why: This is topical because Will Power was just on Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s podcast and said he would like to drive a Cup car on an oval and he specifically said he wants to run a 1.5-mile oval. Power has won at Texas, Penske needs to have more fun than just allowing the drivers to do videos for Twitter, put Power in an extra car at Texas. Obviously the autumn race would be the better option because at that point Power will have been off for six weeks but NASCAR has made it schedule really boring because of the playoff format and no one takes a chance to have some fun. These ten races become boring focusing on 16 or 12 or eight drivers. We need something else to watch in November and having Power fill the field at Texas would be great.
Colin Braun
What: Roush Fenway Racing Ford
Where: Michigan
Why: Braun has a very diverse résumé for someone who has just turned 30 years old. He has started in the 24 Hours of Daytona for half of his life and that is not an exaggeration. This year was Braun's 15th 24 Hours of Daytona start. He made his Le Mans debut in 2007 and, oddly, hasn't been back since. Ten years ago, Braun was a NASCAR development driver for Roush Fenway Racing. He was entering his second year in the Truck series and won at Michigan on his way to finishing fifth in the championship. He had a spell in NASCAR's second division but he never got an extended period in NASCAR. I think he could have made it to the Cup series and while he would likely succeed on a road course, why not bring him back to Michigan and with the team that supported him a decade ago?
Romain Dumas
What: Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet
Where: Daytona
Why: The Frenchman has raced everything and everywhere. Dumas has won the 24 Hours of Le Mans, twice, a world championship, won in the American Le Mans Series, he scored a point in the World Rally Championship, he has made multiple starts in the Dakar Rally and he has won the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb four times. The man has done a little bit of everything and he should add an oval to that. Why not the Daytona 500?
Plenty of great European-based drivers have raced in the Daytona 500. Jo Schlesser had a 13th place finish in his only Daytona 500 start in 1964. Vic Elford had an 11th place finish in 1969 and 10th in 1972. Pedro Rodríguez was 13th in his only Daytona 500 start in 1971. In recent years, Juan Pablo Montoya and Dario Franchitti each raced in the Daytona 500. Jacques Villeneuve failed to qualify for the Daytona 500. I think Dumas could do it.
Why Ganassi? We got to change it up but I am sure he would fit in.
Daniel Ricciardo
What: Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Where: Martinsville
Why: There had to be one Formula One driver of note but instead of cherry picking Lewis Hamilton, let's take Daniel Ricciardo. I think he would enjoy it more and I think he would just blend in. Ricciardo would be a kid in a candy store. He is nothing but smiles already but I think he would get joy out of everything. I don't know how many hot dogs he has had in his life but he would have four or five a day.
We have seen road course drivers go to Martinsville and acclimate well. It is not a high-speed oval and the nature of on and off the throttle could allow him to adjust quickly. Hendrick Motorsports has had some success at Martinsville and Chase Elliott has been close to victory at the track in the last few races. It would at least be a competitive car for the Australian.
Who should get a few more chances?
Brett Moffitt
What: Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Where: Atlanta
Why: Moffitt famously finished eighth in his first Cup race with Michael Waltrip Racing at Atlanta in 2015. It was his eighth career start. Four years later and Moffitt has only made 45 career Cup starts. He returned to the Truck Series and took a popular championship victory last year. This weekend at Talladega marks only his third start in NASCAR's second division.
Many have not forgotten what he did at Atlanta and outside of those few starts at MWR, the rest of his Cup career was at Identity Ventures Racing (what a terrible team name), Front Row Racing and BK Racing. He has been far from the best equipment but a shot in a Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota at Atlanta would be a chance for him to shine in a Cup car again. He won at Atlanta in Trucks last year and he finished fourth there this year. I think he could better that 2015 result under these circumstances.
Matt Crafton
What: Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Where: Charlotte
Why: Because Crafton has only made one Cup start and that is surprising! That one start was the 2015 Daytona 500 substituting for the injured Kyle Busch. It is quite a one start to have, NASCAR's grandest race and he didn't even have to qualify for it... well I guess with charters he doesn't have to worry about qualifying but he didn't qualify the car, nor did he run one of the qualifying races. Few drivers can say they started the Daytona 500 and didn't get behind the wheel of the car until race day and he finished a respectable 18th.
I want to see Crafton get his full shot at a Cup race. The only time he has been entered and participated in practice was at Indianapolis in 2014, failing to qualify for RAB Racing. The man has won two Truck championships and 14 races. I would love to see him get a shot at the Coca-Cola 600 and drive for Stewart-Haas Racing, partnered with his former boss Kevin Harvick. If he has one of NASCAR's big three races down, he mind as well get a shot at another.
Parker Kligerman
What: Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Where: Chicagoland
Why: Kligerman is active and he has a good schedule lined up this year with Gaunt Brothers Racing but he has only made 18 Cup starts entering this weekend. Kligerman is a drive who hasn't caught a break. He has had a few opportunities but none of any substance. He was a race winner and nearly a champion in ARCA. The Penske development deal didn't take him anywhere. He was unceremoniously fired from Brad Keselowski's Truck team and then went on to win a race that season on his way to a fifth place championship finish. He got one season in NASCAR's second division with Kyle Busch's team and then the funding ran out after he finished ninth in the championship.
Kligerman should be behind a race car more than he is on television but he has pieced together a nice career for himself and is living the best of both worlds getting to race part-time in the Cup and Truck series and having a full-time TV gig but I think he would do really well in a one-off Cup effort with Joe Gibbs Racing. It would be a big break for him and Chicagoland is a place he has run well. He has two top five finishes in his only two Truck starts at the track, he has two top ten finishes in his three Grand National Series starts and he has never driven a Cup car there. It may be a surprising place for him to succeed.
Ryan Truex
What: Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Where: Loudon
Why: Because Loudon is one of the Truex family's 32 home tracks and Joe Gibbs Racing because it would be nice to see him and his brother be teammates once. Add to that Truex has won at Loudon in the East series.
Patrick Long
What: Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Where: Sonoma
Why: I could not remember if Long had ever started a Cup race but I knew he had made some starts in the West series, one infamous because he spun Joey Logano and got the Ricky Rudd treatment, didn't receive the checkered flag and the officials dropped him to last car on the lead lap. Listen to the entire story in Long's Dinner with Racers interview.
Long did make one Cup start but I think you will have to forgive me for forgetting it because it lasted all of those two laps at Watkins Glen in 2012 with Inception Motorsports. I would love to see him get his shot at a Cup race and at Sonoma nonetheless. We have not seen many road course ringers in recent years and definitely not with a top tier team. I think Long would be running in the top ten.
Andy Lally
What: JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet
Where: Charlotte Roval
Why: Lally was the 2011 NASCAR Cup Rookie of the Year driving for TRG, granted he was the only full-time rookie that season. He has not made a Cup start since 2011 but in recent years he has been a road course ringer in the Grand National Series and he has picked up some impressive results with smaller teams, notably he has finished in the top five with SS-Green Light Racing at Mid-Ohio and top ten finishes with King Autosport and DGM Racing.
I would live to see Lally get another shot at Cup but I think it would be great to see what he could do in a B-level team and JTG Daugherty Racing fits that description. The team has had road course success with AJ Allmendinger and I think it would be suitable for Lally. With Watkins Glen and Sonoma take he will have to settle for the Charlotte roval.
Who should back a comeback?
Regan Smith
What: Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Where: Darlington
Why: Smith is in a similar boat to Kligerman; economics is keeping him from competing full-time and he has supplemented the lack of driving with television but the difference is Smith has had multiple full seasons in Cup and the Grand National Series.
Despite Smith's success in both series, highlighted with a Southern 500 victory, he should still be competing. He is only 35 years old. He should at least get another shot at Darlington and he has proven he could do wonders in a Hendrick car.
Justin Allgaier
What: Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet
Where: Dover
Why: Because Allgaier has shown he should be back in a Cup car. His career has been other up and down. He had success with Team Penske but got jumped in the pecking order when the team could snatch Brad Keselowski from Hendrick Motorsports. Allgaier moved to Turner Motorsports and kept up the results. It led to a Cup opportunity but with HScott Motorsports and after two difficult seasons, he went back down to the Grand National Series with JR Motorsports.
Since returning, he has finished third, third and seventh in the championship. He won four races last year. At 32 years old, he could still have an extended Cup career and while Kurt Busch has been respectful this year in his first year for Chip Ganassi Racing would you rather have had Busch for maybe three or four years tops or had Allgaier for close to a decade? I think Allgaier has proven he has that ability to be a competent race car and what does Chip Ganassi always say? "I like winners." Last I checked, Allgaier has won quite often meanwhile, Kyle Larson can't pull out a wind if his junk depended on it and Kurt Busch hasn't finished in the top five of the Cup championship since 2009.
Dover has been one of Allgaier's better tracks, having won there last year and having five top five finishes in his last six starts.
Sam Hornish, Jr.
What: Wood Brothers Racing Ford
Where: Phoenix
Why: Because Hornish, Jr. is too young to be retired. He is obviously comfortable with being on the sidelines. He doesn't want to pay for a full season. I am not sure he wants to run 38 weeks of racing. He doesn't have any interest in an IndyCar return even if just for the Indianapolis and he is fine with the occasional race in NASCAR's second division.
His Cup record might not be stellar but Hornish improved from when he first got in a stock car to his later days in NASCAR and Phoenix was the location of his first Grand National Series victory in 2011. I am only putting him at the Wood Brothers because it is a halfway decent team and the Wood Brothers have had A.J. Foyt, Parnelli Jones and Bobby Rahal drive for them and that would add just another Indianapolis 500 winner to the list.
Elliott Sadler
What: Wood Brothers Racing Ford
Where: Bristol
Why: Because Sadler deserves a better send off and it should come full circle.
Sadler spent the final eight years of his career full-time in the Grand National Series and he probably should have spent most of that time in the Cup series. It is a shame that second break never came but he had a good career.
He last raced in the Cup series at 2017 with three starts driving for Tommy Baldwin Racing. He won his first race with the Wood Brothers at Bristol. What a better place to end it?
Juan Pablo Montoya
What: Team Penske Ford
Where: Indianapolis
Why: Montoya had a few brutal losses in the Brickyard 400 and we call that unfinished business.
He is the best driver of his generation. If there is any driver that could hope into the Brickyard 400, win it and not give a damn it is Montoya. It would have to be with Penske and it should be the least Penske should do considering he has not had any room for Montoya in the Indianapolis 500. He could make some room for him at the Brickyard.
Jeremy Mayfield
What: StarCom Racing Chevrolet
Where: Kentucky
Why: Because I needed one that would stir the pot.
Mayfield has been out of NASCAR for ten years. He wouldn't get a top team to take a chance on him and nor should a team but if Stanton Barrett can return to competition out of nowhere I think Mayfield could hold his own in a StarCom car and run multiple laps down without being a hazard to other competitors. He would get to race in his home state, something he never got to do in his Cup career and it would be something fun for fans to keep an eye on. He wouldn't be competing for a victory but he would be out there.
It is a little harder to do NASCAR at least when it comes to the comeback category but I would not rule out doing this again. It just might be a while.
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