Matt Johnson
The NASCAR world is still mourning the sudden loss of Kyle Busch, with the Hall of Famer’s passing once again putting Richard Childress Racing in an unimaginable position. With a driver needed for the No. 33 car next season, there are reportedly two front-runners right now.
On an episode of Dirty Mo Overdrive this week, motorsports reporter Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic mentioned that Austin Hill and Noah Gragson are the “two names to watch” to drive the No. 33 car next season for Richard Childress Racing.
Related: RCR Announces Long-Term Plans for No. 8 Car in Cup Series
It is certainly not the position that Richard Childress’ team wanted to be in. As he revealed in a press conference a few weeks ago, RCR had a contract extension in place with Busch that would have kept him in the No. 8 car next season. The future Hall of Famer’s passing took all of that away, forcing RCR into the same position they found themselves in following the death of Dale Earnhardt.
For the remainder of the season, Hill will be racing the No. 33 car for the Cup Series. He will be running double-duty every weekend, giving him a chance to both compete for the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series championship and gain more experience in the Cup Series.
Related: Latest Buzz on Noah Gragson’s Future with Frotn Row Motorsports
While one might think the continuity factor would make Hill the favorite to drive the No. 33 next season for RCR, there is another factor to keep in mind. As Dale Earnhardt Jr. noted on his podcast, The Dale Jr. Download, earlier this week, Gragson has a great relationship with Bass Pro Shops and his personality is preferred by sponsors.
Gragson, who turns 28 in July, still has not won a Cup Series race in his career and entered the weekend with a 23.875 average finishing position with a single top-10 finish in 16 races behind the wheel of the No. 4 car for Front Row Motorsports this season.
Bianchi has previously reported that there is a 60-40 chance Front Row Motorsports brings Gragson back next season. If they decide to make a change, the team could offer a Cup ride to Josh Berry or look at promoting one of their own drivers, Layne Riggs or Chandler Smith, to the No. 4 car.
If FRM makes a change, RCR could strike quickly to bring in Gragson and bet on the young driver’s upside while having the added benefit of his great relationship with sponsors and excellent marketability. In that scenario, Hill would seemingly remain in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series as a perennial championship contender for RCR.
