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As the 2024 season begins, “Silly Season” is already creeping into conversations. Daniel Suarez’s win at Atlanta stirred the pot on his future, but, what are some other drivers on the hot seat this season? Here are the drivers in the Cup Series that just might be on the hot seat.
Harrison Burton is on the hottest of hot seats in 2024. He had only 4 top-10s and 1 top-5 in his first 2 seasons with The Wood Brothers, and he is back with the team in 2024. His start to 2024 has been up and down as well with a 39th-place finish at Daytona only to rebound with an 11th-place result at Atlanta. If Burton wants a long-term contract, he needs to show significant improvement this season.
His saving grace might be the current Ford pipeline. The best driver Ford has in the lower series is Cole Custer, and he is likely yoked to SHR for the foreseeable future. Riley Herbst won an Xfinity Series race last year with big funding from Monster Energy, but, he has not been a consistent threat for wins. If Conner Jones and Layne Riggs start tearing it up in the Truck Series, Burton may need to watch out.
Austin Cindric had a disappointing 2023, finishing 24th in the points. Meanwhile, Team Penske has won two consecutive NASCAR Cup Series Championships. At that point, the focus shifts from the equipment to the driver using said equipment.
Cindric does have a couple of things working in his favor. First off, he’s shown speed in the first two races of the season, particularly the Daytona 500. Secondly, with how tough of a stretch Harrison Burton has had, Cindric’s first most likely replacement is also on the hot seat.
Stewart-Haas Racing is in a unique position with their contract with Ford running out and an uncertain future. Some fans have speculated about whether or not the team could downsize in the future, which struggling teams like RFK Racing have done in the past. Even if they do not downsize, Preece did not perform well in 2023, and his future beyond 2024 is uncertain.
Like Burton, Preece does have the advantage of a thin Ford prospect pipeline to worry about. Still, SHR has gone outside of Ford to find their drivers before, with Josh Berry and Noah Gragson both being prime examples.
Martin Truex Jr. is on an entirely different hot seat. He can come back to Joe Gibbs Racing after 2024, but, it all depends on whether or not he retires. As far as when that decision will come, that’s completely up in the air.
Truex Jr. waited until deep into the summer to make his decision in 2023. Even in 2022, there were some lingering questions about potential retirement. If Truex Jr. does retire, then the future of JGR becomes very interesting with plenty of drivers in the Toyota pipeline.
The win at Atlanta has cooled Suarez’s seat down a lot. A vote of confidence from team owner Justin Marks gave Suarez even more certainty about his future. Regardless of that, Marks did admit that this is a contract year for Daniel Suarez.
The win and the vote of confidence were not enough for some people to anoint Daniel Suarez as the driver of the #99 car for the foreseeable future. Ultimately, this story will have to develop as the season goes on. The only way for Suarez to ensure his future is to continue his winning ways.
These are the biggest NASCAR Cup Series stories to follow as the 2024 season rolls onwards. Who will end up losing their ride?
