Bell, Buescher on the Move in 2020

As the playoffs continue and the 2019 season winds to a close, silly season is beginning to move fast and furious as teams prepare - and improve - for 2020.

Christopher Bell will be promoted to the No. 95 car
next season (Google Images)

In a move that surprised literally no one, news broke earlier this week that Christopher Bell would be replacing Matt DiBenedetto in the Leavine Family Racing No. 95 Toyota. JGR and Toyota needed a landing spot for Bell, lest they risk losing him to another team with a Monster Energy Cup Series ride open (all four of the current Gibbs cup drivers are filled through next year). As a Gibbs satellite team, LFR was the only logical landing spot for the Xfinity Series title contender.

Yes, fans were more than a bit distraught to see DiBenedetto lose his ride in the No. 95, but he has since landed in the Wood Brothers No. 21 Ford to replace a retiring Paul Menard.

Rheem, Bell's current Xfinity Series sponsor, will be moving up with him next year. They will join current LFR backer Procore as a primary sponsor on the car in 2020. Likewise, crew chief Jason Ratcliff will join the 24-year-old Norman Okla. native at NASCAR's top level year, along with the rest of his Xfinity crew. Current crew chief Mike Wheeler will move to LFR competition director.

“Since I was young, I wanted to make a career out of racing,” said Bell. “To take this next step and race in the NASCAR Cup Series with the support of LFR, JGR and Toyota is just a dream come true... Having been under the JGR banner these past seasons in the Xfinity Series and with TRD for as long as I can remember, having their continued support as I transition to LFR is extremely comforting and will be a tremendous benefit to me. I can’t wait to close out this season in the Xfinity Series with a strong run, and I’m looking forward to the challenge that awaits in 2020.”

While Bell's talent is expected to significantly elevate the performance of LFR's Toyota, the move also comes with a substantial increase in technical, engineering, and financial support from the JGR mother ship.

“I’ve said from the start, I want this team to be competitive,” said team owner Bob Leavine. “Christopher is one of the most talented drivers we’ve seen come up through NASCAR’s ranks and together, with JGR and Toyota’s support, I’m confident our team will continue to grow, just as it has this past year. We’re certainly happy to continue to progress our relationship with both JGR and TRD as the technical partnership takes the next step forward.”

Stenhouse Jr (L) will be replaced in Jack Roush's No. 17 by
Chris Buescher (R) in 2020 (Google Images)

Now that this news had officially been announced, many felt that this would set other dominoes in motion. Perhaps RCR would tell us that Tyler Reddick is replacing recently ousted Daniel Hemric, or SHR would say where Cole Custer will be driving next year. But then Roush Fenway Racing came out of left field with a story that no one in the industry saw coming.

Late last week, RFR announced that they will be replacing Ricky Stenhouse Jr in the team's No. 17 Ford with 2015 Xfinity Series champion Chris Buescher. Similar to the DiBenedetto to Wood Brothers Racing story from a few weeks ago, this was a very well-kept secret. It even caught the ownership at JTG Daugherty Racing off guard.

“We were in the final strokes of the contract when learning that Chris has gone in a different direction,” said Geschickter said in a statement. “We appreciate all of the efforts from Chris through the past three seasons at JTG Daugherty Racing. When the dust settles, we will begin the process of searching for our next driver to fill the No. 37 seat for the 2020 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.”

While Stenhouse Jr won two Xfinity Series titles for RFR, he has long had a reputation as a hard-charging driver. That has won him quite a few races in NASCAR's top two series, but more often than not, it's also gotten him in trouble. Before his days as a championship contender at the Xfinity level, Stenhouse was parked by Roush for tearing up too many race cars, a move many felt settled him down and contributed to his back-to-back titles in 2011 and 2012. Signed through 2021, the dirt racer from Olive Branch, Miss. has had some rough luck this year, including spinning leader Martin Truex Jr at Richmond last weekend (a mistake that cost Stenhouse a potential top ten finish). Team principal Jack Roush had a small window to sign Buescher, who was on loan to JTG, and told the media that his reputation for being easier on equipment factored into his decision.

Stenhouse Jr (C) won two Nationwide (now Xfinity) Series
titles for Roush Fenway Racing (Google Images)

“We had so much trouble getting speed out of our cars,” Roush said. “With Ryan (Newman) and with Matt Kenseth’s help last summer we identified some things we should be working on which had not been on our radar and worked on those things. When we put Ryan in the car, he fell right in line with what Kenseth had thought were the priorities and we see Chris falling in the same line.

"I look forward to having cars that are more similar for both drivers that we can develop from race to race by not having so many wrecks. Ryan’s done really well about keeping his car together and Chris has a history of doing the same thing."

Stenhouse Jr said that, while he was blindsided by RFR to release him, he also understands that his cup series results haven't been what anyone expected and that he's looking forward to his final few races in the No. 17 car, as well as seeing what his options are for next season.

“It was fun, a little emotional with the relationship Jack and I have," said Stenhouse. "It’s the only team I’ve ever been at, so I’m looking forward to see what’s next. Like I said, there’s a lot of work to do on that, but, all in all, I’m definitely looking forward to these last eight with the great partners that we have, everybody on the 17 team. I’ve worked with a lot of them since my Nationwide days, so it will be tough, but it will be a fun eight races with them.”

“I still feel like I’ve got unfinished business in this series,” he added.

Weekend Wrap-up: Darlington

Jones Wins Southern 500, 100th Cup Start

After a nearly four hour rain delay and a race that ran into the early hours of Monday morning, Erik Jones was able to silence his critics and lock himself into the 2019 playoffs with a victory at NASCAR's oldest and most challenging superspeedway. While his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates have won a dozen races total this year, the Byron, Michigan native has been rumored to be the odd man out and headed to JGR satellite  Levine Family Racing, as Xfinity Series phenom Christopher Bell waits in the wings.

Erik Jones celebrates his second career win (Google Images)

It also didn't help that in 99 Monster Energy Cup Series starts, Jones' only win came at last year's Coke Zero 400 at Daytona; a difficult track to be sure, but one where a car's placement in the draft and a lot of luck can sometimes overrule the driver's ability. But the Bojangles' Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, NASCAR's Official Throwback Weekend, has been a driver's track since it opened in 1950. It is, after all, "the track too tough to tame."

This was very much a statement win for the third-year cup series driver, who raced a paint scheme throwing back to a livery he ran on a late model early in his career. Kurt and Kyle Busch won the race's first and second stage respectively and led almost two thirds of the race between them. But, after leading twice for 79 laps, Jones grabbed the top spot for the final time on lap 283 and was able to hold off Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson for his second career victory.

“It was a lot of pressure,” said Jones, who claimed his first victory of the season and the second of his career. “Kyle (Busch) is a great race car driver. I’ve raced him a lot, and obviously you want to beat him to win, right? I was just locked in, man. I stayed focused. I really thought it was our night when we got out front."

As with many races this year, the Southern 500 highlighted the strengths of the new 2019 cup series' aero package. There was three wide racing all over the track, 13 lead changes among eight different drivers. This was anybody's race and it was well worth trying to stay up to see who took the checkers and it was clear to see why this event became the third grandstand sellout this season.

The playoff picture was also impacted, as Daniel Suarez and Ryan Newman will go into next week's regular season finale at Indianapolis tied for the final playoff spot. Clint Bowyer was also able to slide up to 15th in the standings, while 7-time champion Jimmie Johnson saw a potential top-five run evaporate when he was collected in a six car pileup with 91 laps to go. However, Johnson still remains in the playoff fight, just 18 markers outside of 16th place.

Jones, Larson, and Kyle Busch were the race's top three finishers, with Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski rounding out the top five. Bowyer came home sixth, Kurt Busch was seventh, Matt DiBenedetto had another strong showing in eighth, Paul Menard was ninth, and Austin Dillon was tenth.

The Monster Energy Cup Series heads to the Brickyard this weekend for the final race of the regular season. Kyle Busch has already clinched the regular season title with his third place run in Darlington, but the final playoff spot is still up for grabs. Tune in this Sunday at 2:00 pm ET on NBCSN, ISM Radio Network, or SiriusXM NASCAR Radio to see who makes the cut to run for the championship.

Custer Declared Darlington Winner After Hamlin DQ

After going to a backup car and starting the Sports Clips Haircuts VFW 200 at the rear of the field, it looked as if Denny Hamlin was in line to collect his sixth victory in the event. That is, until the Virginia native was disqualified for not meeting minimum height requirements in post race inspection, which handed runner-up Cole Custer his sixth win of the season.

Custer and his team celebrate at Darlington (Google Images)

“It’s a really strange feeling, honestly—obviously,” Custer said after being declared the winner without having led a single lap. “You don’t want that way, but it is what it is. We all play by the same rules. Was that the deciding factor? No.

“But it is what it is. We get the points. We get the money. We get the trophy. I guess it’s a way to win.”

In addition to Hamlin, who led 27 circuits, the only other drivers to spend time out front on the day were Ryan Blaney and series title contender Tyler Reddick, who led 50 and 70 laps respectively.

“We did not have the best car by any means, but luckily, the techniques I’ve learned over so many years kind of (helped) us there,” Hamlin said before learning of the disqualification. “They guys did a great job getting this car ready.”

The event was also highlighted by the return of Dale Earnhardt Jr. The two-time Xfinity Series champion-turned-broadcaster planned on running this race for months in a paint scheme that was a tribute to the blue and yellow No. 8 Dodge Charger that his legendary father ran in his first cup series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1975. But after he and his family were involved in a terrifying plane crash just two weeks ago, those plans were in jeopardy.

Thankfully, aside from a bruised back, Earnhardt Jr was not injured in the accident and was able to run the race. What's more, despite not turning a competitive lap in a race car since Richmond last fall, the two-time Daytona 500 winner ran inside the top ten all day long and was credited with a top five finish at the end of the day.

“I love this place,” said Earnhardt. “We love Darlington… You never know how good you are till you come back and try it.

“All these guys are elite. All these guys do this every single week, and they’re very, very talented. To think you can take a year off and come back and be good… you just never know. But we did all right!”

With Hamlin's disqualification, Reddick, Blaney, and Christopher Bell all moved up one position, with Earnhardt Jr moving up to fifth. Chase Briscoe was bumped up to sixth, Brandon Jones came home seventh, Noah Gragson finished eighth, Justin Allgaier was ninth, and Austin Cindric rounded out the top ten.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series will join the Monster Energy Cup Series at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend, with coverage beginning tomorrow, September 7, at 3:00 pm ET. The Indiana 250 can be seen on NBCSN and heard on the ISM Radio Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.