Some Huge Possible 2024 Silly Season Factors

By: Tom Luttermoser

The 2023 Silly season still isn't finished. The major factors are in place such as Ty Gibbs, Tyler Reddick and Kyle Busch of course. One thing we did not see this season was retirements, next season I don't believe we will be so lucky. Here are just a few of the big possibilities going into 2024 that we may need to keep an eye out on sooner rather than later.

​Kevin Harvick: Happy Harvick has been in the sport longer than anyone else in the field. Longer even than some drivers combined, he replaced the late Dale Earnhardt in a rebranded 3 team under the 29 banner in 2001. Harvick has had several nicknames over the years such as "Happy Harvick" & "The Closer". He became a Cup Series champion in 2014 and has amassed a series leading 60 Career victories and 3rd on the ALL-TIME combined win list with 121. In 2021 he went winless for the first time since 2009 at RCR and many said he was done, but 2022 he scored 2 Victories at Michigan and Richmond. He has made it very clear he is not happy with the "Next Gen" car with it's safety issues and with his contract coming up at SHR next season, we very well may see a farewell tour for Kevin Harvick. I think the only thing that can keep him in that seat after 2023 would be a major performance increase.

Denny Hamlin: Hamlin is the 3rd longest running driver in the Cup Series today. He has 48 Cup Series victories with 67 combined. 3x Daytona 500 winner, Coke 600, 3x Southern 500 winner, 2006 Rookie of the year and now co-owner of Cup team 23XI Racing. Denny has done it all.. Outside of that elusive championship. Arguably the best ever to not get one. But 2023's season end mark 2 big, important issues to Denny. The end of his contract at Joe Gibbs Racing and the end of Joe Gibbs Racing's contract with longtime Hamlin sponsor FedEx. Could this mark the end of Hamlin's long road at Gibbs? If Joe cannot get the sponsorship (like they couldn't with Busch), does Denny move on? Does he move on anyway to his own car over at 23XI? Time will tell.

Martin Truex Jr: Truex has had an up and down career. Starting our at Dale Earnhardt Inc. and then moving on to Michael Waltrip Racing where he scored 2 wins in the first 10 years of his career. After losing his ride at MWR he moved over to Furniture Row where he reignited his career with 17 wins and a Championship. When FR went under, he went to Joe Gibbs Racing where he continued the performance up to 31 total Cup wins. We all expected 2022, his first winless season since 2014, to be his last as he was critical of the car from the end of the 2021 season. Fate had a different story for us as Truex signed a contract for 1 more year at JGR and just like Harvick, I think performance will tell us if there is another extension or not. 

Alex Bowman: Bowman the Showman. Bowman has scored at least 1 win per season since being full time with Hendrick Motorsports, a win and consistency early in the 2022 season showed us all he could have had a real chance. He made the playoffs but with concussion like symptoms after Texas, that would kill his season. But Bowman's contract is up at the end of 2023 and although I wouldn't call him the bottom guy at HMS, he brings no huge sponsorship $ outside of Ally Financial. Ally is more than likely the only reason he got his last contract re-upped. Bowman has won 7 races since 2018 showing improvement each year, but even before the Texas crash, Bowman had a pretty decent slump throughout the summer. Can Bowman prove he is the right guy for the 48 in 2023?