After doing round two for IndyCar earlier this week, NASCAR gets its second go-round on the eve of the Cup season restarting this weekend at Darlington.
This is the same concept as IndyCar, what would be a good combination of driver, team, track and reasoning to give five drivers a Cup debut, give five drivers with minimal Cup experience another shot and give five Cup veterans a comeback. We are looking for variety in tracks and teams. This is not going to be an exercise where nine drivers are getting a shot at the Daytona 500 and they are all driving for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Rules for driver selection are the same as well. You are not going to see the obvious guys getting debuts and this is not going to be filled with Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart getting a comeback.
We start with the unexperienced first and will work our way to the more experienced drivers.
Never:
Scott Dixon
What: Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet
Where: Watkins Glen
Why: I was actually thinking when Ganassi terminated Kyle Larson that the safest and most affordable replacement was already in house. Is there any driver Ganassi trusts more than Scott Dixon? Dixon is a proven winner, arguably the best driver Ganassi has ever had and one of the greatest IndyCar drivers of all-time. With five championships, 46 victories and Indianapolis 500 glory already in the bag for Dixon he could walk away from IndyCar and have no regrets.
Of course, none of that has happened, Ganassi opened his wallet and brought in Matt Kenseth, Dixon will get another year to add to his IndyCar accolades and it will be business as usual. With his 40th birthday approaching in July, Dixon has accomplished a lot from IndyCar to sports cars, but he has yet to dip his toe in the NASCAR water and I think Ganassi should arrange a little birthday present for his longest-tenured driver. Dixon has a knack for getting around Watkins Glen and while it would not include "The Boot," I am sure it will not take long for him to get a hang for the NASCAR course.
Jack Hawksworth
What: Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Where: Sonoma
Why: Last year, Hawksworth made his NASCAR debut at Mid-Ohio in the Grand National Series race and he was doing pretty well before he got knocked off the road. This opportunity came partially due to his Lexus ties and he had won two races in 2019 before this attempt. After helping Kyle Busch acclimate to the Lexus RC F GT3 for this year's 24 Hours of Daytona, I think Hawksworth's bonus should be a Cup outing.
Hawksworth knows the Sonoma layout pretty well and it would be a nice gesture from Joe Gibbs Racing.
Jeroen Bleekemolen
What: Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Where: Bristol
Why: Bleekemolen made his oval debut last year at South Boston Speedway in a late model race and with that short track experience I think that is enough to get him a race at Bristol. He has put together an impressive sports car career and has found a solid home in IMSA's GTD category. Prior to that he had won races in A1GP, has an LMP2 class victory at Le Mans and won consecutive Porsche SuperCup championships. Let's just see what happens.
Why Stewart-Haas Racing? It is a good team. Bleekemolen drove a Ford GT at Le Mans last year when Ben Keating got his hands on one for the GTE-Am class. That was a bittersweet race, as Keating Motorsports won on the road but were disqualified a day later for exceeding permitted fuel capacity. This should go better than that day.
Doug Coby
What: JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet
Where: Loudon
Why: One of the less recognized names in NASCAR regional racing is Coby, who has won six of the last eight NASCAR Modified championships. In an 18-year career, he has won 28 races, picked up 93 top five finishes and 141 top ten finishes out of 236 starts and he has finished in the top five of the championship for nine consecutive seasons.
Despite Coby's success, he has never gotten an opportunity to compete in a NASCAR national series race. He made one start in the NASCAR East Series at Thompson in 2017 and finished fourth. When you look at Coby's record and then look at the one Cup driver that came from a modified background, Ryan Preece, you wonder what Coby could do at the national level. Let's put Coby on a track he knows in equipment level to Preece and see who comes out on top.
Alex Tagliani
What: Team Penske Ford
Where: Charlotte Roval
Why: While Tagliani has become a road course ringer over the last decade in the lower two national series, he has never made a Cup start and that is kind of surprising. You would have thought one seat would have opened up for a Cup opportunity. That has never come but Tagliani is ready for it.
Team Penske gave Tagliani a lot of road course starts, and the French-Canadian had a few victories slip through his fingers, but he put together some impressive drives. It would be fitting if Penske gave Tagliani his Cup debut and with the other two road course already taken it would have to come at the one track Tagliani has no experience at, the Charlotte roval. I don't think Tagliani would mind.
Rare:
Jeb Burton
What: Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet
Where: Darlington
Why: Burton has had a disoriented NASCAR career. After showing promise in the Truck series in his early 20s, he leaped over the Grand National Series to Cup in a BK Racing seat for the 2015 season. As you can imagine that did not go well and for the last five years his career consists of nothing but part-time rides.
Burton has 33 Cup starts and 33 Grand National Series starts. Last year, he made seven starts with JR Motorsports, picking up two top five finishes and six top ten finishes. It is a small sample size but outside of two seasons in Trucks he has never had lengthy time in good equipment anywhere.
Why Ganassi? He is auditioning drivers. Why Darlington? Family history. His father Ward won twice at the track. His uncle Jeff won twice at the track, both rain-shortened races. It could be the place where something wonderful happens.
Jacques Villeneuve
What: Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet
Where: Daytona
Why: Remember when Villeneuve was going to be a NASCAR driver and that came to a crashing halt when he failed to qualify for the Daytona 500? Villeneuve has added a few NASCAR starts to his resume. He made his Brickyard 400 debut in 2010, his last Cup start was Sonoma in 2013. From 2008 to 2012, he made nine starts in the Grand National Series with four top five finishes, three of which at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, where he also won a pole position.
Villeneuve competed in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series last year and was eighth in that championship. For a driver who has won one race in the last 22 years, it would be kind of nice to see Villeneuve add his name to the list of the drivers with Indianapolis 500 and Daytona 500 starts. Richard Petty Motorsports is the team that likes this kind of partnerships. The team hired an Andretti and a Fittipaldi once upon a time. It is the best option for a such a stunt to take place.
Timothy Peters
What: Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Where: Martinsville
Why: Peters pieced together a respectable Truck career with 11 victories, 59 top five finishes and 128 top ten finishes from 247 starts. He was runner-up to James Buescher in the 2012 championship by only six points. However, Peters has been part-time for the last three seasons. On top of that, he has made a combined nine starts between the other two national series. His lone Cup start was at Talladega in 2018 and his last start in the Grand National Series was 2007.
Martinsville has been the site for eight top five finishes and 18 top ten finishes in Peters' Truck career, by far the best in each category. His first career Truck victory was at the track in 2009. I am sure he could hold his own in a Cup car and seeing at how underwhelming Richard Childress Racing has been for almost 20 years. I bet Peters could inject some life into the team.
Mattias Ekström
What: Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Where: Richmond
Why: I was at Ekström final Cup start at Richmond in September 2010 when Red Bull Racing rotated drivers substituting for the blood-clot ridden Brian Vickers. It was not a spectacular showing. He started 42nd and finished 31st, four laps down but he didn't get in the way. He kept his nose clean and it was respectable oval debut.
Ten years later, how about another round for Ekström at the 3/4-mile oval? He is no longer full-time in DTM. He has dabbled with some rallycross stuff but for the most part is out of racing. He is only 41 years old and turns 42 this July. How about we pair him with fellow Race of Champions alum Jimmie Johnson?
Nelson Piquet, Jr.
What: Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet
Where: Las Vegas
Why: Piquet, Jr.'s career is quizzical. He was second to Lewis Hamilton in GP2 but put up quite a challenge and took the championship to the finale. His Formula One career is largely remembered for his deliberate crash in the inaugural Singapore Grand Prix, which has clouded out his one and only podium finish at Germany the year before and blackballed him from the series. He came to America, entered stock car racing, won in the Truck series and Grand National Series, joined rallycross and won a round before landing in Formula E.
He took the inaugural Formula E championship but failed to score another podium finish in his next three and a half seasons. After scoring 144 points in year one, he scored 93 points over his next 40 starts. Since his Formula E exit, Piquet has been running in the Stock Car Brasil series. He also has the distinction of having run two Indy Lights races but never run in IndyCar despite his Formula One and Formula E experience.
Included on Piquet, Jr.'s perplexing resume is one Cup start at Watkins Glen in 2014 driving for Randy Humphrey Racing. It ended it a 26th place finish from 32nd on the grid. He completed all 90 laps. Similar to Villeneuve, let's make this a stunt and have a Piquet drive for Petty. Piquet, Jr. won at Las Vegas in Trucks in 2012. He mind as well run where he is comfortable.
Comeback:
Bobby Labonte
What: Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Where: Atlanta
Why: One guy that has stood out during this iRacing period is Labonte. He ran is place of Martin Truex, Jr. and scored respectable results. He competed in Fox Sports' Wednesday night iRacing series and even won a race. The 2000 Cup champion last started a Cup race in 2016 for GoFAS Racing. Though it was probably the right decision to walk away at that point, how about one more race with the team that give him so much at the track he won at more than any other?
Greg Biffle
What: Roush Fenway Racing Ford
Where: Michigan
Why: Biffle made a surprise return to the Truck series last year at Texas and won driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports. Biffle's career ended rather suddenly in 2016 and he has not been one to venture to lower rides and keep adding starts to his stat line. However, with Mat Kenseth coming back and Biffle's Truck victory last year, wouldn't it be nice for one final Cup start with his old team at Michigan, one of his better tracks?
Dave Blaney
What: Team Penske Ford
Where: Talladega
Why: I think it would be cool if Dave Blaney had one Cup start with his son and if they could be teammates that would be even more special.
The Blaneys almost ran a Cup race together for Ryan's debut at Kansas in 2014. Ryan drove an extra car for Team Penske and qualified 21st. Dave was driving for Randy Humphrey Racing and was the slowest of the cars that had to qualify on time. Forty-four cars had entered, meaning Dave was the only car going home despite running a time faster than four cars that were locked in on owner's points.
Dave made his final Cup start at the Bristol night race later that season. They just missed each other but it could happen. I am not going to pretend Dave Blaney lit up the Cup series, but he was a World of Outlaws champion and won the Knoxville Nationals and I have never heard a bad thing about the guy. I think he and his son deserve this moment.
Johnny Sauter
What: Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Where: Texas
Why: Sauter has been around for a while and had a brief Cup career but I didn't realize he had only 85 Cup starts to his name. Unfortunately, he has failed to qualify at 33 races while amassing one top five finish (a fifth at Richmond in September 2007) and three top ten finishes (a pair of ninth place finishes, both at the spring Phoenix race in 2005 and 2007 respectively).
His Grand National Series career was somewhat encouraging, having won with Richard Childress Racing and Phoenix Racing but he has shined in the Truck series for over a decade, scoring 24 victories, 107 top five finishes and 170 top ten finishes in 268 starts with the 2016 championship topping it all off. In 11 full Truck seasons, Sauter has eight top five championship finishes with his worst championship finish being ninth.
Sauter is another in a line of guys who found a groove in the Truck series but never struck the right note in the other national series. His last Cup start was the 2015 Daytona 500. He is not going to be an ultra-late bloomer but with all his Truck success, one more Cup race at the track he has won the most at in Trucks, with one of the two best Ford teams would be a nice gesture.
Cole Whitt
What: Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Where: Indianapolis
Why: Whitt made 161 Cup starts and never finished in the top ten. Not really the prime contender for someone to get one more Cup shot but Whitt's career never saw him in decent equipment. He made his first two starts with Red Bull Racing in an extra entry at the final two races of 2011. The team shut its doors that December. That was the best equipment Whitt got in his Cup career.
Over the next seven years, Whitt's career consists of starts at Turn One Racing, Circle Sport Racing, Swan Racing, BK Racing, Front Row Motorsports, Premium Motorsports and TriStar Motorsports. That is a lot of lateral moves at the bottom of the pile. He never qualified better than 17th and his only finishes in the top 15 are 11th at Daytona in July 2016, 12th at Indianapolis in 2017, 13th at Talladega in May 2015 and 15th at Talladega in October 2014.
Whitt was a promising USAC Midget driver and was the youngest champion in series history in 2008. Once in stock car racing, his development was hurried. He made his Cup debut while wrapping up his rookie year in Trucks, a good year with two top five finishes and 11 top ten finishes and a pole position at Darlington. His lone full season in the second division was with JR Motorsports in 2012. He had four top five finishes and 14 top ten finishes. Once Red Bull was out of NASCAR, no one was guiding his career and it led to Cup back-marker after Cup back-marker.
His final start was at Phoenix in 2018. Whitt is 28 years old and retired and that is a shame. I would like to see him get one race in good equipment. I am sure his old team owner Dale Earnhardt, Jr. could pull some strings and get him in a Hendrick Motorsports car at Indianapolis.
Similar to IndyCar, this is difficult to piece together, mostly because the options are either too obvious and unoriginal or just bad. Does anyone want to see a Michael Waltrip, Ken Schrader or Scott Speed comeback? Is anyone itching to see David Starr, Justin Marks or Patrick Carpentier get another Cup start? The never category is always the easiest. The other two require years to build and it is getting harder to do because we do not have as many fun one-offs with road course ringers or drivers from other disciplines dabbling in NASCAR, at least not at the Cup level. We might need to take three to five years off before we do this again.
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