The silly season for NASCAR can prove to be almost as entertaining as the season itself. It's always interesting to see different faces in different places. This "silly-season" has already been interesting with Dale Earnhardt. Jr. retiring, Alex Bowman replacing him, Matt Kenseth being ousted at Joe Gibbs Racing, Penske forming a third team and the looming question as to what will happen to Danica Patrick. So I'm going to attempt to play matchmaker here and predict what the 2018 Monster Energy Cup Series field will look like.
First off I'm going to make a few predictions: Danica Patrick will leave Stewart-Haas after this year and return to Indycar Racing. Sponsors are pulling from Danica and the results just don't warrant keeping her. I also think that Matt Kenseth will end up retiring. Kenseth is 45 years old and appears to be past his prime. There might not be a ride for Kenseth.
DISCLAIMER-I didn't include the #95 Leavine Family Racing Team or the #72 Tri-Star Motorsports Team. I personally wouldn't be surprised if both teams sold or leased their charter to another team.
#1 CAR (Chip Ginassi Racing)-Jamie McMurray
McMurray could become a free agent at the end of the year, but given his strong run in 2017, I don't see why Chip Ginnassi would part ways with him.
#2 CAR (Team Penske)-Brad Keselowski
Keselowski just signed an extension with Penske this week, so it's safe to say that he's not going anywhere.
#3 CAR (RCR)-Austin Dillon
As long as Grandpa is footing the bill, Austin Dillon will have a ride at RCR, whether his performance justifies it or not.
#4 CAR (Stewart-Haas Racing)-Kevin Harvick
Harvick is signed through at least the 2019 season.
#5 CAR (Hendrick Motorsports)-William Byron
This is the first bold prediction of this post, Kahne's win at Indy doesn't save him his ride, because sponsors are still backing out. Byron despite being only 19 years old appears to be the real deal. Hendrick has a history of wasting no-time giving young kids top notch rides. He did so with Brian Vickers, Kyle Busch and Chase Elliott.
#6 CAR (Roush-Fenway Racing)-Trevor Bayne
Bayne is under contract through 2019 and has shown some flashes of promise this year. I don't think he's going anywhere.
#10 CAR (Stewart-Haas Racing)-Kasey Kahne
As I mentioned earlier, I don't think Danica will be in NASCAR in 2018, nor should she be. This seems like a good fit for Kahne. Him and Stewart seem to be good friends and this still puts him on a serviceable team. I personally think there's pry one other name that Tony Stewart would rather have, but I don't think he will be available.
#11 CAR (Joe Gibbs Racing)-Denny Hamlin
Hamlin is locked up through 2020, so he's not going anywhere. I have a strange feeling that he's going to retire at JGR.
#12 CAR (Team Penske)-Ryan Blaney
This one was just announced yesterday, Blaney makes the leap over from Wood Brothers to jump into a new Team Penske Car.
#13 CAR (Germain Racing)-Brandon Jones
I don't think Ty Dillon will be in this car in 2018. Brandon Jones has held his own in the Trucks and Xfinity Series. This seems like a good fit.
#14 CAR (Stewart-Haas Racing)-Clint Bowyer
Barring something crazy happening, Bowyer isn't going anywhere
#17 CAR (Roush-Fenway Racing)-Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
This has been a breakout year for Stenhouse. No way he leaves
#18 CAR (Joe Gibbs Racing)-Kyle Busch
This one is a no-brainer.
#19 CAR (Joe Gibbs Racing)-Daniel Suarez
Suarez has struggled to be consistent, but he's shown flashes of promises.
#20 CAR (Joe Gibbs Racing)-Erik Jones
This is another move that's already been announced as Jones will make the move to JGR after spending his first season at Furniture Row Racing.
#21 CAR (Wood Brothers)-Paul Menard
Let's be honest, the only reason Menard got this ride is because he brings a sponsor.
#22 CAR (Penske Racing)-Joey Logano
Logano is locked up through 2023
#24 CAR (Hendrick Motorsports)-Chase Elliott
This one is a lock.
#27 CAR (Richard Childress Racing)-Ty Dillon
I wouldn't be surprised to see the number change, but Ty Dillon will end up running with his grandpa's team. They should change their name from Richard Childress Racing to Spoiled Unproven Grandsons Racing.
#31 CAR (Richard Childress Racing)-Ryan Newman
Newman should keep this ride unless Richard Childress has another grandson that none of us have ever heard about.
#34 CAR (Front Row Motorsports)-Landon Cassill
FRM's plans are uncertain right now, they could possibly expand to three teams. Not sure Cassill stays with this car number, but I look for him to stay with FRM.
#37 CAR (JTG RACING)-Chris Buescher
If Ty Dillon doesn't go to RCR, Buescher might, but I think he stays put
#38 CAR (Front Row Motorsports)-Bubba Wallace
Lots of moving parts in this one. Front Row Motorsports could expand to three teams and field cars for Cassill, Wallace and David Ragan, but it also sounds like Richard Petty Motorsports could field another team and give the ride to Wallace. However, in this scenario I think Wallace spends a year at Front Row Motorsports the same way Chris Buescher did.
#41 CAR (Stewart-Haas Racing)-Kurt Busch
I don't think Busch is going anywhere, however that could change depending on sponsorship
#42 CAR (Chip Ginassi Racing)-Kyle Larson
Sounds like Larson is content on staying with Ginassi. Chip should thank him. He's going to bring a ton of good publicity to his race team.
#43 CAR (Richard Petty Motorsports)-Aric Almirola
There's a chance that he's replaced by Bubba Wallace, and there's also a chance that given his recent back injury, he decides to walk away.
#47 CAR (JTG Racing)-A.J. Allmendinger
All signs point that Allmendinger will return in 2018.
#48 CAR (Hendrick Motorsports)-Jimmie Johnson
Jimmie will retire at Hendrick. No doubt.
#77 CAR (Furniture Row Racing)-Christopher Bell
I think Stewart-Haas Racing would love to have Bell, but due to his affiliation with JGR, I think he ends up in this ride much like Erik Jones did. Bell is the real deal, he reminds me a lot of Kyle Larson
#78 CAR (Furniture Row Racing)-Martin Truex. Jr.
Truex isn't going anywhere.
#88 CAR (Hendrick Motorsports)-Alex Bowman
This move has already been made official. Bowman will replace Dale Earnhardt. Jr. He showed flashes of promise while assuming this ride last year while Dale was injured.
Thursday, July 27, 2017
It's win or be fired for these five coaches
USC decided two years ago that it was time to move on from the short Steve Sarkisian experiment. The Trojans decided to replace him with an Interim Head Coach Clay Helton. Helton took over and appeared to be on the hot seat after a sluggish 1-3 start, the Trojans then rattled off nine straight wins and a Rose Bowl victory and our seen as championship contenders going into this upcoming season.
So which major programs will be forced to make a change this offseason? I have some ideas. Here are five coaches that must win if they want to be at their respective program in 2018
Kliff Kingsbury, Texas Tech
Record:24-26
Many pundits applauded the Red Raiders when they hired Kingsbury in 2013, the former Texas Tech gunslinger called the shots for a Texas A&M offense that was led by Heisman winner Johnny Manziel. Kingsbury showed promise during his first year in Lubbock, starting the season 7-0. The Red Raiders were ranked No. 10 in the AP Poll before dropping five of their last six games to close out the year. It's been rough sailing for Kingsbury since then going 17-26 since that amazing start. While he has produced an electrifying offense, and a first round draft pick Quarterback (Patrick Mahomes) Kingsbury's defenses has done very little. His defenses have given up just over 2,000 points in 50 games.
What Should Keep His Job: 7-5, the defense looking like it exists
Jim Mora, UCLA
Record: 41-24
Last year, many people thought UCLA at the very least contend for the Pac 12 South title and maybe even be a sleeper to make the college football playoff. Boy were they wrong, the Bruins went 2-7 in conference play only managing to pick up wins against lowly Arizona and Oregon State. The Bruins also got a really disappointing season from quarterback Josh Rosen, who came into the season off of a strong 2015 campaign and was a pre-season dark-horse to win the Heisman Trophy. Rosen suffered a shoulder injury just five games into the season. Derailing the Bruins. UCLA returns 15 total starters from last year including nine offensive starters. So there's no reason to believe they can't bounce back, but with USC looking like a championship contender and Colorado coming off an impressive season nothing will be guaranteed for the Bruins. Another season like last year might cause the boosters to grow thin with Mora.
What Should Keep His Job-Making a bowl game
Rich Rodriguez, Arizona
Record: 36-29
Remember when Arizona surprised everybody by going 10-4 in 2014? The Wildcats actually finished the regular season 10-2 before dropping the Pac 12 Championship game to Oregon and losing the Fiesta Bowl to Boise State. The Wildcats started the 2015 season off 3-0, but have since gone 7-15 including a dismal 3-9 season last year that included an eight game losing streak, the Wildcats lost seven of those games by 10 or more points including a 69-7 thrashing at the hands of Washington State. This is Rodriguez' sixth year in Tucson and while he had made a bowl game in his first four seasons he has also been a dismal 1-7 against division rivals USC and UCLA, he certainly needs to have a bounce back year, otherwise he could end up suffering the same fate he did at Michigan.
What Should Keep His Job: 6-6, win over UCLA, USC or Washington
Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M
Record: 44-21
You wouldn't expect Sumlin to end up on this list considering that he's produced a Heisman trophy winner, a number one draft pick, has made a bowl game every year and has twice as many wins as losses, but it sounds like patience is wearing thin for Sumlin in College Station. Since Manziel, Sumlin has been blessed with highly touted QB's Kenny Hill and Kyler Murray, both wound up transferring. Sumlin has had lots of NFL talent including Mike Evans, Miles Garrett and Cedric Ogbuehi, but he hasn't had quite the results Aggie supporters would like. His teams have started out 5-0 or better each of the last three seasons, but still ended the year with five losses. Sumlin has failed to beat LSU in his five tries and has lost four in a row to Alabama. He might have one of the best wide-outs in the 2018 draft class (Christian Kirk) but Sumlin has to at least make a step forward if he wants to stay in College Station.
What Should Keep His Job: 10 wins, 9 if he beats Alabama or LSU.
Brian Kelly, Notre Dame
Record: 59-31
To be fair, Kelly does have one of the toughest jobs in college football. The environment and academic prowess of Notre Dame puts him in a situation that takes a certain type of coach to handle. Kelly doesn't need to win 10 games like Sumlin probably does or even make a major bowl game. He just can't afford to go 4-8 again. Notre Dame has some tough opponents on their schedule this year (as always) taking on Georgia, USC and Miami, but they also have some winnable games-Temple (who has a new coach), Boston College, North Carolina (new QB). The Fighting Irish return 15 starters (8 offensive, 7 defensive) and have a first round talent offensive lineman in Mike McGlinchey, but they will more than likely be handing the reigns over to sophomore quarterback Brandon Wimbush who has only thrown seven passes in his career so far. How quick Wimbush learns and how much he can win may decide if the Fighting Irish have a new coach in 2018.
What Should Keep His Job: 8-4
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