Who's Face Will Chase Replace?
4/25/2014
Kevin Abraham
This
year we have seen something rare in the Nationwide Series. We have seen a Nationwide driver win 2 races
in a row. The driver is none other than
Chase Elliott. Elliott has shown that he
can adapt quickly to the Nationwide series cars, and
has people looking at where he will end up at Hendrick Motorsports. Today I want to share my thoughts on this
subject. The
most logical move would be to have Elliott drive in the Nationwide
series for two seasons, and then move him up to Sprint Cup in 2016. All this will depend on sponsors and what the
current Hendrick drivers do. Why wait
until 2016, and not move him up earlier?
Simple answer is that Chase Elliott needs seat time, and does not need
to be rushed to Sprint Cup. Let’s take a
look at the current drivers and their situations. The
first driver I want to look at is Kasey Kahne.
Kahne is the newest driver to the Hendrick stable, joining the
organization in 2012. Kahne has shown
flashes of brilliance in his two plus seasons at Hendrick, but he has not been
the most consistent with many wrecks in his time with the organization. Currently Kahne is signed to a contact until
the end of 2015, and the simple answer for Hendrick would be to not re-sign
Kahne after 2015 and place Elliott in the flagship car. Kahne could be sent to Stewart-Haas Racing or
to Ganassi Racing and stay in the extended Hendrick Family. The
second option is to wait for Jeff Gordon to retire. Gordon has been quoted to say that he would
retire a champion. If he wins a
championship in the next two years, look for Chase Elliott to be given the keys
to the No. 24. Otherwise Elliott needs
to be patient and wait for Gordon to retire, as he has stated he does not want
to race as long as Mark Martin, the driver that cost Hendrick Brad Keselowski
in the No. 5 car. I do see Gordon
‘taking one for the team’ and retiring so Chase Elliott stays at Hendrick. The
third option for Chase Elliott would be to switch rides with Dale Earnhardt
Jr. This option in know will make Jr.
Nation come after me with pitchforks, but Dale Jr. has been quoted as saying
that he would like to retire to a few years in the Nationwide Series. To keep a talented driver at Hendrick, I
could see Dale Jr. either stepping out of his contract early for Chase Elliott,
or running a Sprint Cup Team for Elliott as Hendrick cannot have more than four
Sprint Cup teams. Since Hendrick can run
a Fifth team part-time for a rookie, I could see them reviving the No. 25 for Chase
to run a limited Sprint Cup season to prepare him for the move up., similar to
what they did with Brad Kieslowski in 2009.
The
most intriguing option would be for Jimmie Johnson to retire or leave the team
after the 2015 season. As of this writing
I have not heard of any contract extension being discussed. This is a far-fetched idea, but what about
Johnson retiring and Chase Elliott taking the wheel of the No. 48, with Chad
Knaus as the crew chief? The only reason
I even suggest this idea is because Chase Elliott and Jimmie Johnson have one
thing in common: Spotter Earl Barban.
Make a person think about the true plan for Chase Elliott. What would the NASCAR community do if Johnson
announced 2015 would be his last year in Sprint Cup? One
option I did not mention is that two current Hendrick drivers could go to
part-time status and share a ride and compete for a Sprint Cup owner’s
trophy. This would give Chase Elliott a
full time ride, and keep all drivers in the HMS family as well. Time will tell
what will happen. As you can see, there
are many options for Chase Elliott in Sprint Cup at Hendrick Motorsports after
the 2015 season. Do not look for Elliott
in Sprint Cup with Hendrick Motorsports until 2016, unless one of the current
drivers retire or is unable to race. It
also makes you think of what the future of Hendrick is going to look like, as
the drivers are all older drivers, compared to those coming up through the
Nationwide and Truck Series. What are your thoughts
on this subject? Which option do you
think will occur? Is there an option that I did not mention? Please mention your thoughts below. I am on Twitter @kevdogg329