On this week’s edition of the Closing Laps podcast, the hosts dropped an interesting nugget of a rumor. According to things they’ve heard within the NASCAR industry, there is a prominent Xfinity Series driver who has a contract with Team Penske. The initial thought for many was to think of the Ford drivers. But hold your horses! Apparently, it is not, in fact, a Ford-sponsored driver. Team Penske has poached the driver from another manufacturer. This revelations leads to a lot of speculation as to who this mystery driver could be.
The only thing we know for certain is that the mystery signee is NOT currently a Ford Performance driver. In 2025, there are 5 fill-time Ford drivers in the series. We know it’s not Harrison Burton. Burton was relieved from his duties of driving the 21 car for the Wood Brothers late last year. The Wood Brothers are a Team Penske-adjacent team, so it wouldn’t make sense for Burton to return to the team that let him go in the first place.
The fact that it’s not a Ford driver also eliminates Sam Mayer, Sheldon Creed, and the Sieg brothers.
We also more or less know that the mystery Penske signee is not Connor Zilisch. Zilisch’s contract is with Trackhouse, and he is expected to replace Daniel Suarez in their No. 99 entry starting next season.
In a lot of ways, Nick Sanchez is the ultimate underdog in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. In the truck series, he enjoyed mild success that didn’t always translate to the Xfinity Series this year. He drives for a team that doesn’t have a Cup Series connection. So, it would make sense for him to look elsewhere if making it to the NASCAR Cup Series is his ultimate goal. Unlike all the other drivers on this list except one, Sanchez does have a win this year. He won at Atlanta a couple of years ago.
The one thing that might hold Sanchez back is his emotional maturity, or lack thereof. He’s a good driver but he’s also a young driver and can be a little hot-headed at times. While Team Penske is not opposed to hiring hot heads (he did hire Joey Logano, after all), some of his fights and antics have indicated that he might not quite be ready for the big leagues.
Another driver who has impressed this year in the NASCAR Xfinity Series is Taylor Gray. In fact, when it comes to the rookies in the JGR stable, Gray has greatly outshone William Sawalisch. And though he has yet to capture that first elusive win, he’s shown race-winning speed. He was even in the mix late at Martinsville earlier this spring before he was taken out by Sammy Smith.
One reason that I think Smith might be a potential candidate for this ride is just how crowded JGR’s Cup picture is at the moment. Briscoe, Bell, Gibbs, even Hamlin, I don’t see them going anywhere anytime soon. Denny Hamlin could retire, but I don’t see that happening for another few years. So, if Gray wants to go Cup racing, he’ll have to leave the Gibbs nest. And I think he knows that.
Carson Kvapil has his eyes on the prize. He wants to be a NASCAR Cup Series driver. But Dale Jr. has said in the past that his ride in the number 1 car for the team is far from guaranteed. JR Motorsports doesn’t currently have a full-time Cup seat open and likely won’t, considering the price of charters. JRM’s associate team is Hendrick Motorsports and Chase Elliott, William Byron, and Kyle Larson aren’t going to go anywhere. The only driver who could maybe be booted is Alex Bowman. But in the event of that, Corey Day is already eagerly waiting in the wings.
Could Team Penske have maybe offered Kvapil a deal he couldn’t refuse? Perhaps. He wouldn’t be the first driver of the No. 1 JRM car to jump ship to Ford…or even the first driver to leave and go to Penske, for that matter.
Sammy Smith has been racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for the last three seasons. He has three wins in the series, averaging one win a year. While Sammy might not be the most likely candidate, he is a viable option to jump ship for Team Penske. On average, he’s performed a little better this year, showing promise by winning the race at the Rock. Could he be Penske-bound?
This is a big one. Of all the drivers on this list, Jesse Love is easily the most Cup-ready. And he faces similar problems as many on this list. Currently, he drives for Richard Childress Racing. But on the Cup side of things, there just isn’t any room for him. I don’t see RCR expanding to a third car and paying that much for a charter when both their teams are running as mediocrely as they are. Austin Dillon doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. And Kyle Busch isn’t ready to retire yet. So, if Love wants to go Cup racing, he might just have to look elsewhere for opportunities.
Last week, Jimmie Johnson name-dropped him specifically when it came to drivers he’d like to recruit for a third LMC car. What if Roger Penske got to him first? Or, what if Penske heard JJ and decided to snatch him up before LMC had the chance? He’s among the most emotionally mature drivers in the series, and he impressed in his sparse Cup Series starts, keeping his nose clean and running all of the laps. Call me crazy, but he could be the one.
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