With the final checkered flag of the 2021 NASCAR season now being waved, the focus will quickly shift to 2022, and with team owners looking to secure their existing drivers or draft in new talent for the following year, it is time to start the negotiations.
Negotiations that will mean the ability to earn a bumper payday for bumping bumpers and with Kyle Larson being crowned the winner of this year’s NASCAR Cup Series, he will once again be part of an awesome foursome of Chevrolet pilots.
A quartet of men who find themselves driving under the Hendrick Motorsport banner and with this team containing not only champion Larson but also another of the drivers who made it all the way to the Championship 4, this really is a team to be feared.
As the 29-year-old Larson took the spoils at the Season Finale 500, teammate Chase Elliott was left to rue what might have been and with the 25-year-old having to make do with fourth in the overall standings, he will look for better fortunes in 2022.
While the same could be said for the teams that were left behind by Hendrick Motorsports in 2021 and with their rivals already plotting how to do better next time around, it will be left to the likes of Joe Gibbs Racing to pick up the fight.
Just like their Hendrick-employed rivals, Joe Gibbs Racing also placed two of their drivers in the Championship 4 and with both Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin pushing Kyle Larson all the way, there was no shortage of drama at the recent Season Finale 500.
While that drama was certainly conveyed to those watching from the comfort of their armchair at home and with fans of NASCAR being ready and willing to place a wager on the outcome of the championship, any advantage would have come in handy when getting in on the action.
Especially as trying to pick the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series winner, was almost akin to a flip of a coin, and the only decision to make was whether the victor would come from either the Hendrick Motorsport camp or the Joe Gibbs Racing stable.
So even though this season has come to an end there are still a few races to go in F1 which have seen the same type of drama between the top teams. A Draftkings odds boost is something you should check out if you’re feeling lucky. Because with the F1 championship race heating up between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, the same flip of a coin may be required when deciding which of the two to put on your upcoming online betting slip.
Of course, we already know how the NASCAR coin flip panned out and it was Hendrick Motorsports that eventually collected the year-end spoils and although they and Joe Gibbs Racing have been head and shoulders above the rest of the pack, they are not the only entities to keep an eye on for 2022.
The beauty of this great auto racing discipline is that any driver can win on any given Sunday, and although that might not lead to overall championship honors, it will always lead to at least one moment in the sun.
A moment that was collected on two occasions by Team Penske and with Ryan Blaney leading his number 12 Ford to victory, it gave the legendary motorsport name a taste of what they want to feast on next year.
Because when it comes to Penske, everything they usually touch turns to gold and you only have to look at their success in disciplines such as IndyCar or Supercars in Australia, to know what they are all about.
Although for some reason, they have not quite got the rub of the NASCAR green as of late, and although critics will point to the fact that the Ford is not as competitive as its Chevrolet or Toyota counterparts, Penske have an incredible amount of nous when it comes to engineering.
Nous that should at least get them closer to the podium and on a more regular basis and especially if Ryan Blaney can find more of the winning form that he showed in 2021, the form that excited fans both at the track and at home.
While such is the appeal of NASCAR on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, that Loris Hezemans from the Whelen Euro Series will be appearing stateside in a new team and one that will also see Jacques Villeneuve act as a teammate.
The team that will be operated by Reaume Brothers Racing, will see the 1997 Formula One World Championship link up with Hezemans at Team Hezeberg, and with the Canadian not racing in NASCAR since 2013, this will be a rather welcome return.
Although it is only a part-time entry for both he and Hezemans in 2022, they are already looking at a full-time schedule for 2023 and if results can go their way during their limited plans for next year, then sponsorship to aid their plans will likely follow.
There’s no doubt that running a NASCAR team does not come cheap, especially those with multiple driver line-ups and although some teams have had to slim down their efforts for the next edition of the NASCAR Cup Series, all the entrants are already looking forward to another great year of racing.
