Rumor Mill: Are These the Top Candidates for Kaulig No. 10 in 2027?
What’s Happening? With talks that Dodge could be on its way back to the NASCAR Cup Series by 2027, a few…
With the 2027 NASCAR Silly Season heating up, fans are looking at the sport’s lower two National Series and asking which drivers could be in line for a promotion. Here are a few names that might be some of the most deserving names to keep an eye on as the 2026 season rolls on.
The Latest From 2027 NASCAR Silly Season:
What’s Happening? With talks that Dodge could be on its way back to the NASCAR Cup Series by 2027, a few…
One of the top names that most NASCAR fans would expect to see at the forefront of any Silly Season promotion conversations is Sam Mayer.
Last year (and even the year before that), there were plenty of rumors that Mayer wanted a promotion to the Cup Series, and for the most part, his stats backed that happening.
While there were no openings this past offseason, Mayer’s performance in year two at the Haas Factory Team has shown a steep decline, including a nearly five-place drop in average finish.
So, does this hurt his candidacy? Perhaps not, as if a team was looking for a fresh face, Mayer has more than enough experience for the job.
What’s Happening? With the list of 2027 NASCAR Cup Series Silly Season rumors growing, two more names are joining the fray…
Austin Hill is by far one of the most experienced drivers in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series to date, racking up an impressive 16 wins over five full-time seasons at Richard Childress Racing.
Due to the tragic and abrupt passing of RCR Cup Series veteran Kyle Busch, Hill is now in the position of racing full-time in both the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts and Cup Series in 2026.
This makes him a candidate for the No. 33 in 2026, and, given his sponsorship from brands like Bennett Transportation and Global Industrial, maybe even a few other rides in the long run.
Still, fans have expressed their hesitancy with a team offering Hill a full-time ride, as he is now 32 years old, the same age as veterans like Bubba Wallace, and just one year younger than Alex Bowman.
What’s Happening? With Jesse Love headed to Wood Brothers Racing’s No. 21 for 2027, another name is off the board of…
Front Row Motorsports has set the bar for developing a driver in the Truck Series and propelling them to Cup.
In fact, two of their three full-time drivers, Todd Gilliland and Zane Smith, have just 12 combined OAP Series starts to their name, all of which came from Smith.
Now Riggs faces the potential for a promotion, as his name continues to come up in Silly Season talks surrounding Noah Gragson’s No. 4.
Gragson (who has had a rough go of it in his time with the team) is rumored to be on the hot seat, and plenty of fans would like to see Riggs take over that spot in 2027.
Still, there are a lot of ‘ifs’ involved in this promotion. For one, neither Gragson nor FRM has officially announced any changes to the No. 4 for 2027. Either way, fans online have already pointed out that Riggs has shown a knack for racing well at new levels, impressing in his handful of NASCAR OAP Series starts in 2023.
What’s Happening? NASCAR driver Noah Gragson says his team, Front Row Motorsports, warned him that any post-race physical altercation with former…
If Gragson were to be on the hot seat, another name that’s hard to overlook for that seat is Chandler Smith.
Smith has climbed the NASCAR ladder time and time again just to get pushed back down when he’s at his best.
Just two seasons ago, Smith pieced together one of the best NASCAR OAP Series seasons in a long time, winning two races in 2022 with Joe Gibbs en route to an impressive 10.3 average finish over the course of the season.
Now back in the Truck Series, Smith has continued to show his skills, winning with FRM and looking like a true title contender in 2025. Given his sponsorship, if FRM were to move on from Gragson, Smith might be the type of guy the team is looking for.
Nonetheless, in his handful of NASCAR Cup Series starts, Smith has had a mix of good and bad luck, piecing together solid finishes in the few races he did not DNQ for.
Sammy Smith is one of the more interesting names on this list; still, as a well-sponsored driver, it’s no surprise that he could be a top candidate if a Cup Series ride were to open up.
The 22-year-old is currently having his best season to date in his third year at JR Motorsports, nearing a match to his career highs in top fives and top tens, while boasting a career-best average finish.
While his name has not circled the Cup Series Silly Season drain as much as the other drivers on this list, Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic introduced Smith’s name to the rumor mill just a few weeks ago when he mentioned he was “somebody to keep an eye on.”
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