It’s Speedweeks, and the ink is drying on the first entry lists of the 2024 season across all 3 NASCAR National Touring Series. Unfortunately, there are some notable absences that, at least for now, have been left out of NASCAR Silly Season. Here are the best drivers that were not able to secure any rides for the 2024 NASCAR season.
Matt DiBenedetto’s saga of an off-season ended with a whimper. He does not have any ride lined up for 2024, but it certainly was a twisty road to get here.
It started off by announcing in the middle of a Playoff run that he would not return to Rackley W.A.R. for 2024, then he was released from the team 3 races early. Another ugly exit from a race team similar to DiBenedetto’s exits from Go Fas and The Wood Brothers.
Then there was the “pen emoji” DiBenedetto tweeted out in December, only to later say that he had to back out of a previously signed sponsor deal. He later elaborated on the situation saying that the sponsor “lied”.
Through a combination of questionable PR decisions and unfortunate circumstances, DiBenedetto is out of a ride for 2024. Many are sad to see this because there truly is driving talent there, but, DiBenedetto will be out of a race car for the foreseeable future.
Brett Moffitt has had one of the most bizarre NASCAR careers in recent memory, and this most recent chapter just adds to that story. He has shown multiple times what kind of talent he has, but, he just cannot stay with a race team consistently.
After struggling to find a full-time ride throughout the 2010s, Moffitt finally broke through in 2018, winning the Craftsman Truck Series Championship for Hattori Racing Enterprises. Only to lose his ride after the season because of a lack of sponsorship, and he had to move on to GMS.
He won 4 races at GMS in 2019 before jumping ship again to Niece and winning one race in 2020. As the move to Niece was happening, he competed in the Xfinity Series on a part-time basis for Our Motorsports for 80 races between 2020 and 2022. He finally received his first full-time Xfinity Series seat in 2023 with AM Racing, where he was fine, but not spectacular.
Moffitt was kicked to the curb for Hailie Deegan for 2024. He did win a one-off race at Talladega in the Truck Series for Front Row Motorsports, but, he was passed over in favor of Layne Riggs for the full-time ride. Again, another strange chapter in the bizarre career of Brett Moffitt.
Trevor Bayne has been trying to work his way back into NASCAR since taking a hiatus from the sport from 2017 through 2021. He’s had some modest success in his Xfinity and Truck Series starts throughout that time, but, it seems sponsorship issues have plagued him.
Bayne told Kelly Crandall of RACER in May of 2023 that he had a deal lined up to race full-time before a sponsor backed out. He made 3 Xfinity Series starts for JGR and 1 Truck Series start for Rackley W.A.R., recording only 1 top-10 between them.
Bayne could potentially return to Gibbs on a part-time basis in 2024. They specified that John Hunter Nemechek and Aric Almirola would race in the #20 Xfinity Series car for a “majority” of the races. If there are races open, Bayne could slot into that car.
Regardless, Bayne still has some work at Fox as a studio analyst, so, he’s still around the sport. Even if he’s not driving a race car, fans will see plenty of Bayne in 2024.
After 3 full-time Truck Series seasons between 2020 and 2022, Derek Kraus was relegated to part-time duties in 2023 with nothing for 2024. He made 8 Xfinity starts for Kaulig Racing with 3 top-10s and 3 Truck Series starts between Young’s Motorsports and Spire Motorsports, with one top-10 for Spire at Milwaukee.
With those connections, it seemed there could be a place for Kraus in 2024. Spire was expanding to a full-time Truck Series operation, so, maybe he could go there. Kaulig was shuffling the deck with Daniel Hemric moving to Cup and Chandler Smith moving on to JGR.
Unfortunately, nothing materialized for Kraus. Now, he is left with no current ride for 2024. Maybe he could slot into the Spire All-Star Truck or the Kaulig All-Star Car, but, that’s about all he has left.
While he has shown flashes in his career, he has yet to show consistent performance, and that’s likely what’s keeping him out of a full-time ride aside from sponsorship. Can he find somewhere to go in 2024?
Myatt Snider, like Kraus, was relegated from full-time to part-time for 2024. Snider had some solid performances including a 5th-place finish in the Xfinity Series season opener at Daytona in 2023, but, he failed to parlay that into a full-time ride.
One interesting note is that Snider has pulled himself out of a part-time slump before. He spent 2018 with ThorSport Racing in the Truck Series, finishing 9th in the points standings before losing his ride. He sat out most of 2019 aside from 3 Truck Series starts for ThorSport.
In 2020, he put together a full-time Xfinity Series season with multiple teams before moving to Richard Childress Racing full-time in 2021. While he did win a race in 2021, he was forced to move on to Jordan Anderson Racing for 2022 before being booted again.
Snider has made a comeback like this before, but, he still has no official announcement for 2024 as of right now. Things are looking bleak for him.
These drivers will be the ones to watch if there are open seats throughout the season. They may be good candidates for one-off starts throughout the year, but, their hopes for a full-time ride are dashed for now.
