Today, NASCAR is all about young talent. Every team and team owner wants the next Dale Earnhardt. The next Dale Earnhardt is very hard to come by unless you give the young driver a chance in your equipment and to have that driver prove that they have what it takes to succeed. No other team currently in NASCAR has as much talent and young superstars coming up through NASCAR’s ranks than Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR). JGR has lots of young talent and a potential fourth Cup ride which could be driven by any of JGR’s new and young talent.
Over the past few seasons, JGR has been adding new drivers and especially new and young drivers. From Darrell Wallace Jr., to now Erik Jones; JGR is stacking up on the young talent. Through JGR’s partnership with Kyle Busch, JGR is able to put their young talents including Wallace Jr., and Jones in Kyle Busch Motorsports rides. This allows JGR to continue stacking their driver lineup by adding new drivers. JGR has used various drivers over the years to run a race or two in a JGR Nationwide Series car and those drivers are then loyal to JGR and they will stick around while they wait for something more from JGR. All of these talents are progressing right now and soon, they could be going after a fourth JGR Cup car.
JGR has said nothing about having a fourth Cup car but, with all of the drivers they currently have running in their lower-series’, why not throw out the potential of getting a fourth Cup car up and running with sponsorship permitting? One of the multiple drivers JGR currently has under their belt surely will emerge as the next Cup Series hopeful and then JGR will attempt to put them in the team’s fourth Cup car. While JGR’s young talent emerges, it would be a smart thing for Joe Gibbs and everyone at JGR to start thinking about a fourth Cup car.
Many people will ask, why not just replace a current JGR Cup driver with one of these young and new talents? One problem in this situation is that JGR has too much talent in the Cup Series right now to just go give one of those drivers away. In the near future, JGR shouldn’t be giving away Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin or Matt Kenseth for the reason being they are currently three of the best drivers in the Cup Series. For one of JGR’s prospects to move up to the Cup Series when they are ready, JGR will need to field a fourth car. It’s easy to say but, much harder to accomplish since money is the one thing separating JGR from having three Cup cars and having four.
The current prospects at JGR could be great marketing prospects and therefore, JGR could probably easily find a sponsor for one of them. Darrell Wallace Jr. is a very marketable since many view him as a role-model since he has been one of the few African-American’s to succeed in NASCAR. To add to that, Wallace Jr. has a great personality that could easily promote someone’s product. Wallace Jr. seems like a great marketing deal just waiting to happen and once Wallace Jr. can gain some more NASCAR experience, he could easily find a sponsor and be put in a fourth JGR Cup car.
The Cup stable at JGR is bound to grow in the near future. With the young talent JGR has acquired and put in the lower NASCAR ranks, they should definitely have a future Cup superstar emerge from the vast list of driver’s names they currently have. Money could be the one thing holding JGR back from entering four Cup cars but, many of the drivers in their stable could be great marketers for a product. By the time these young drivers gain some more valuable NASCAR experience that no one can ever take away, they will be ready for the Cup level. JGR may have a fight between these drivers on their hands for that fourth Cup car but, this a good fight since it could involve a tremendous amount of talent. Watch out for one of these young drivers JGR has to be in Cup one day and giving JGR a fourth shot at the championship each season.
Actually I think JGR has mentioned that a 4th car will be running at Talladega this year with Elliott Sadler.