NASCAR silly season has shown no signs of slowing down.
We’ve already seen Ryan Newman change teams, Martin Truex Jr.’s team announce plans to cease operations and a slew of other drivers connected to possible seat changes on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. It’s been a wild, somewhat baffling couple months.
That brings us to A.J. Allmendinger and Ryan Preece.
JTG Daugherty Racing on Tuesday announced that Allmendinger would not return to the team next season. The former IndyCar driver has raced full-time for JTG since 2014.
NEWS: @JTGRacing to make a driver change in 2019. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/ebx2DHbORx
— JTG Daugherty Racing (@JTGRacing) September 25, 2018
Preece, a Connecticut native who is a former NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion and two-time winner in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, has been connected to the No. 47 Chevrolet for months. And now that Allmendinger officially is out at JTG, there is only one more shoe to drop.
Check out these reports:
.@JTGRacing has a statement coming out shortly, though it's unclear exactly what will be announced.
âž– @RyanPreece_ replacing @AJDinger in the No. 47 @Chevrolet next season has been talked about in the garage as a likely move for months. pic.twitter.com/D7jstqDp28
— Adam Stern (@A_S12) September 25, 2018
AJ Allmendinger will not return to JTG Daugherty Racing next year, the team announces. JTG does not name a replacement driver for the No. 47, though Ryan Preece is the leading candidate per multiple sources.
— Jordan Bianchi (@Jordan_Bianchi) September 25, 2018
NASCAR Silly Season is fun. Sounds like…
Ryan Preece to the 47
Daniel Hemric to the 31
Daniel Suarez to the 41. https://t.co/cxqKOpgfwF— Mike Clay (@MikeClayNFL) September 25, 2018
For the sake of clarity: Mike Clay is referring to Daniel Hemric possibly replacing Newman at Richard Childress Racing and Daniel Suarez potentially replacing Kurt Busch at Stewart-Haas Racing.
Many have speculated that Suarez could move to the No. 41 SHR Ford to make room for Truex at Joe Gibbs Racing. You know, because the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota soon will be extinct and the reigning Cup champion needs somewhere to drive, man.
Have we mentioned this silly season has been extra silly?
