Key players in Silly Season 2018

By Staff Report | Monday, January 7, 2019

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Daniel Suarez will be on the move to Stewart-Haas Racing to pilot the No. 41 Ford after two seasons with Joe Gibbs Racing in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. The 2016 Xfinity Series champ turned 27 on January 7 and replaces Kurt Busch in the ride and rounds out SHR's four-car lineup for 2019.

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Chip Ganassi Racing revealed on Dec. 4 that Kurt Busch would be the new driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet, replacing Jamie McMurray. Busch spent the past five seasons with Stewart-Haas Racing, where he had six wins and qualified for the playoffs each season. Before that he had stints driving for Furniture Row Racing, Phoenix Racing, Roger Penske and Jack Roush. The 2004 champion has 30 wins in his Monster Energy Series career.

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While Kurt Busch is taking over the No. 1 Chevrolet for Chip Ganassi Racing, the team owner is hopeful that Jamie McMurray will stick around in some capacity. Ganassi has said that he's offered the veteran a car for the 2019 Daytona 500 and a position in the organization. McMurray will also be joining FOX Sports' NASCAR coverage.

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JTG Daugherty Racing announced on Sept. 25 that the team would be making a driver change for 2019 and that AJ Allmendinger would be parting ways with the team. Allmendinger's 2014 Watkins Glen victory stands as the company and his lone Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win. In December, NBC Sports Group announced that Allmendinger was joining the network's motorsports coverage in 2019.

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Richard Childress Racing announced Sept. 28 in a press conference that Daniel Hemric will will drive full time in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in 2019. The Kannapolis, North Carolina, native has qualified for the playoffs in his two years driving for RCR in the Xfinity Series. In December, the team revealed that the No. 31 car was being renumbered to be the No. 8 for Hemric.

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John Hunter Nemechek has landed a full-time ride in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with GMS Racing and the No. 23 Chevrolet team for the 2018 season. Nemechek ran a partial season in the Xfinity ranks for Chip Ganassi Racing in 2018 – making 18 starts and scoring his first win in that series at Kansas in October. He also made 18 Truck starts for family-owned NEMCO Motorsports.

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After a three-win, Championship 4-making season in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series, Justin Haley will take the next step up the NASCAR ladder. The 19-year-old will join Kaulig Racing to pilot the team's No. 11 Chevrolet in a multi-year deal, it was announced on Dec. 1. He made three Xfinity starts with GMS Racing in '18 -- including a near-win at Daytona in July.

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After splitting time in the No. 60 Roush Fenway Racing Ford NASCAR Xfinity Series entry in 2018, Chase Briscoe has been named the full-time driver of the No. 98 Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing with Fred Biagi in the Xfinity Series for 2019. Briscoe made five starts in the No. 98 in '18, winning the inaugural Xfinity Series race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway road course.

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After two full-time seasons in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Matt Tifft is making the move up to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. He will be part of an expanded three-car lineup for Front Row Motorsports that also includes David Ragan and Michael McDowell, the team announced on Nov. 27. Tifft will pilot the No. 36 Ford.

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Harrison Burton, the son of 21-time Cup winner Jeff Burton and the 2017 NASCAR K&N Pro Series East champion, will drive full-time in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series in 2019 for Kyle Busch Motorsports. He will pilot the No. 18 Toyota with primary sponsorship from Safelite. Burton has run partial seasons with KBM for the past two years and made his series debut in 2016.

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Martin Truex Jr., the 2017 Monster Energy Series NASCAR Cup champion, will drive for Joe Gibbs Racing in 2019, the team announced on Nov. 7. Crew chief Cole Pearn will come along as well to lead the No. 19 team. Truex won the 2017 title with Furniture Row Racing. Team owner Barney Visser announced on Sept. 4 that 2018 would be the final season for his team.

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Chad Knaus will be the crew chief for William Byron and the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team in 2019. In 17 seasons with Jimmie Johnson, Knaus has compiled seven Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championships and 81 wins. Kevin Meendering will take over as the crew chief for Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 team in 2019. He comes over from JR Motorsports where he was the crew chief for Elliott Sadler for the past three seasons.

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Austin Cindric will pilot the No. 22 NASCAR Xfinity Series Team Penske Ford on a full-time basis in 2019, the team announced on Nov. 8. Cindric was in the cockpit in three cars over the course of 2018 — including the No. 22 — as he made the playoffs in his rookie season.

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Tyler Reddick will move to Richard Childress Racing in 2019 to drive in the team's Xfinity Series program. The move was announced on Oct. 31 while Reddick remained in the 2018 Xfinity Series playoffs with JR Motorsports. At the time, he had one win with the No. 9 team.

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Matt DiBenedetto will join Leavine Family Racing for the 2019 season following a two-year stint with Go Fas Racing. The move is not the only change for LFR, which will switch manufacturers from Chevrolet to Toyota and receive technical support from Joe Gibbs Racing. DiBenedetto's best finish in the premier series is a sixth-place result at Bristol in 2016 with BK Racing.

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Kasey Kahne revealed on Aug. 16 that the 2018 season would be his last as a full-time driver in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. He announced Oct. 9 that he would not race again in 2018 as he continued to fight dehydration during competition. Kahne's final season was with Leavine Family Racing driving the No. 95, a ride that will be filled by Matt DiBenedetto next year.

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JTG Daugherty Racing announced Sept. 28 that Ryan Preece will drive the No. 47 Chevrolet, taking over the seat from AJ Allmendinger. Preece is the 2013 Whelen Modified Tour champion and has been a runner-up in the series four times. Preece, 27, has driven on a part-time basis for Joe Gibbs Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series the last two seasons.

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Matt Kenseth was mum on Aug. 31 when asked if he would consider taking over a different ride in 2019 should it become available. Kenseth, who was driving part time in the No. 6 for Roush Fenway Racing in 2018, said he was focused on improving this year. The 39-time winner in the Monster Energy Series had three top-15 finishes in his first 10 races this year, including a season-best 12th-place finish at Indianapolis.

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Elliott Sadler announced on Aug. 15 that the 2018 season would be his final one as a full-time driver in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Sadler, 43, had 13 wins in Xfinity, three in the Monster Energy Series and one in the Camping World Truck Series. He drove the No. 1 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports.

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Noah Gragson revealed on Sept. 25 that he will make the move up from the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series to the NASCAR Xfinity Series for the 2019 season. The Truck Series title contender will pilot the No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet for Dale Jr.'s race organization replacing the retiring Elliott Sadler in the seat.

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Jack Roush told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that Trevor Bayne will not return to Roush Fenway Racing in 2019. The 27-year-old driver had four top fives with Roush in four seasons. The previous three years were full seasons, but he shared the ride with Matt Kenseth in 2018.

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Ryan Newman revealed via social media on Sept. 15 that he was leaving Richard Childress Racing. Then on Sept. 22 he announced his move to Roush Fenway Racing to drive the No. 6 Ford in 2019. Newman spent five seasons at RCR -- finishing second in the standings in 2014 and recording a victory in 2017 at Phoenix.