RELATED: Kenseth uncertain on future, but doesn’t think it’s with JGR
Matt Kenseth all but confirmed Friday at Kentucky Speedway that this season would be his last with Joe Gibbs Racing, and his longtime teammate Kyle Busch hinted strongly at who would replace him later that evening on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.
After Kenseth, who has been with Joe Gibbs Racing since 2013, told reporters that he does “not think (he) will have the option to return to race at JGR next year, unfortunately,” Busch was asked about the news on host Claire B. Lang’s radio program.
And he was pretty clear about who he thinks will be in the No. 20 Toyota in 2018.
“Erik Jones, I would believe, they’re going to announce him going into that car,” the 2015 champion said. “I can’t say that’s the fact, but … I certainly wish that we didn’t have the cap of four (full-time cars per team) and that we could grow and be a bigger company than what we are right now.”
Jones, the former Kyle Busch Motorsports driver, essentially is on loan from JGR to the aligned Furniture Row Racing team on a one-year deal to drive the No. 77 Toyota. If Jones is indeed set to return to the organization, it appears Kenseth is the odd man out.
RELATED: Jones on 2018: ‘I don’t know’
“Matt, he’s been a tremendous teammate; I’ve loved having Matt as a teammate,” Busch said. “Actually, Denny Hamlin and I, we coerced on figuring out how to get Matt over to our team (from Roush Fenway Racing) back when we were looking for that guy and we’ve been grateful to have him over the last four, five years. It’s been a lot of fun.”
As it stands now, Kenseth does not have a ride for the 2018 season. He has been linked him to the impending open No. 88 seat at Hendrick Motorsports currently inhabited by Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Earnhardt, too, was asked Friday about the prospect of Kenseth racing next year, to which he replied, “Matt’s going to have a job. I don’t think he’s going to have to worry about that.”
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We just know now that — unless something changes — that job won’t be with JGR.
“I don’t know all the specifics and I don’t know exactly what’s going on,” said Busch. “I haven’t been told 100 percent, but some people in Silly Season are pretty smart and they can kind of see how it’s all going to fall and they can figure out how it’s going to line up, so don’t be too shocked, that’s all I’ve got to say.”