Silly Season 2024

Kaulig Racing has its own Xfinity program and an empty seat in a chartered Cup car for 2024. Track house has neither.

I do not, however, discount Marks’ ability to pull a rabbit out of his hat.
Yep, Marks can lease a loose charter :idunno:
 
Kaulig Racing has its own Xfinity program and an empty seat in a chartered Cup car for 2024. Track house has neither.

I do not, however, discount Marks’ ability to pull a rabbit out of his hat.

Marks once bought a team that wasn’t even for sale.

So EXTREMELY bold prediction….

He buys Spire Motorsports, keeps Corey LaJoie in the renumbered 19. JGR dumps the 19 and bring back the 18. The 77 becomes the Project 91/SVG learns ovals car. SVG runs a full Xfinity schedule with Kaulig and Project 91 expands to include guys who want to come to NASCAR and run ovals.

Depending on when SVG is ready, Trackhouse dumps Corey in 2025 or 2026 and SVG goes full time in the 19 while Project 91 becomes a 36 race endeavor.

None of this is likely but neither was Marks buying CGR.
 
My prediction: Justin Allgaier finally gets a decent Cup ride
I think it would have to be an EXCEPTIONAL Cup ride, and a long term contract for him to even CONSIDER it. He's not a kid anymore, and he has one of, if not the best gig in the whole Xfinity Series. Most of the Cup guys are no longer making the kind of money that would have made the decision a no brainer twenty years ago.
 
My prediction: Justin Allgaier finally gets a decent Cup ride

Highly doubt that given his age and how dissimilar Xfinity cars and Cup cars are nowadays. Gragson, Burton, and Cindric were all amazing in Xfinity and have car control/talent yet they are all awful in Cup and driving at or below what their cars are capable of. Not like Legacy or Wood Brothers are powerhouse teams but you'd think Gragson and Burton could at least get a top 20 on a semi-regular basis, same with Cindric and top 10s.
 
Highly doubt that given his age and how dissimilar Xfinity cars and Cup cars are nowadays. Gragson, Burton, and Cindric were all amazing in Xfinity and have car control/talent yet they are all awful in Cup and driving at or below what their cars are capable of. Not like Legacy or Wood Brothers are powerhouse teams but you'd think Gragson and Burton could at least get a top 20 on a semi-regular basis, same with Cindric and top 10s.
It could be a Brandt thing too though. It's possible that with the sport bouncing back a bit that Brandt wants Cup exposure (again) and wants to take Justin with them. Who knows, just saying, these deals have all sorts of angles sometimes.
 
jordan bianchi on the run down strongly eluded to SHR not wanting to sell 2 charters and continue as a 4 car team.
So here's the thing. SHR runs four cars because of Ford, and their deal with Ford goes through next season. So they very well may be required to run four cars still right until their deal with Chevy begins. Maybe they're simultaneously putting feelers out there that they'll have two charters available after next season, because these things take time for a buyer to plan for.
 
Yeah, that and Tony's shots fired about the Driver Development Program a couple of years ago.
Many years before that Tony Left JGR when they switched to Toyota. Tony had a contract with Chevy for all of his various dirt sprint car teams at the time. So he and Haas started SHR with Chevy. Now Tony uses Ford stuff for his sprint car teams and they helped develop the motor with Ford.
 
So here's the thing. SHR runs four cars because of Ford, and their deal with Ford goes through next season. So they very well may be required to run four cars still right until their deal with Chevy begins. Maybe they're simultaneously putting feelers out there that they'll have two charters available after next season, because these things take time for a buyer to plan for.
Does that contract require four chartered teams, or just four teams?
 
That was a big part of it. I know money talks. But I don't see Stewart signing off on a switch to Toyota.

Did Smoke have an opposition to Toyota specifically? I always thought his opposition was because of his ties to Chevrolet, which is obviously a non factor now.
 
Did Smoke have an opposition to Toyota specifically? I always thought his opposition was because of his ties to Chevrolet, which is obviously a non factor now.
He basically said he had relatives that fought the Japanese in WWII and wasn't interested in driving for them. That was the year he grew his hair out and did some other things to show is disapproval of the switch.
 
He basically said he had relatives that fought the Japanese in WWII and wasn't interested in driving for them. That was the year he grew his hair out and did some other things to show is disapproval of the switch.
B.S.
 
In completely unsubstantiated things I've seen today was a Daniel Hemric to the 31 post
 
Sounds like Burton will be back in the 21 as that team and the 2 team have swapped crew chiefs for the rest of the season and next season.
 
Frankly I think both drivers in the 2 and 21 have underwhelmed this season. Imo, The seat should be getting warm for Cindric going into 24…but well you know last name and all
Cindric is going to end up like Trevor Bayne. Daytona 500 win will carry him for 5-8 years until the lack of performance is too much to ignore
 
Chris Rice is on with DBC this week.

Kaulig -
  • "We are not selling charters!!"
  • "Not even interested in selling charters"
  • "Matt kauligs in it for the long haul."
  • "Might be interested in buying a charter (kinda toungue and cheek)
 

Kind of. Austin having the 2 at least partially relies on Penske and Tim Cindric not having a falling out. At least in Menard's case, it was his family money carrying him.

There's also the possibility that the Captain gets tired of poor performance and moves him. As we saw with Cole Custer, having a family member as an executive only carries you so far. If Penske gets tired of watching the 2 run as a mid pack team, he might shift Cindric to the #21 and put someone else in the 2.
 
Big difference. Cindric's dad might be the head of Penske Racing, but he isn't a billionaire. Paul either left racing because he wanted to, or his dad wanted him to. Otherwise, he could have been driving decent Cup equipment until he was too old to pass the physical.
 
Austin Cindric was competitive in Xfinity. Then again, so was Cole Custer.

He wouldn't be the first dominant Busch/Xfinity driver to move to Cup and flop. Jeff Green was dominant in Busch and a bust at RCR, Scott Riggs was a competitive Busch driver who never got it going in Cup, Randy LaJoie, David Green...you get the point.
 
I expected more from Cindric this year as well, but the 12 and 22 teams also seem to have taken a step back so far this season. And I don’t expect him to really compete with either of his teammates, at least not for a few more years. There isn’t really anyone in the Ford or Penske pipeline that could be in line to replace him in the near future either.
 
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