A new decade is upon us in 2020 because that’s how decades work. With a new decade comes 10 years worth of new NASCAR action. With no idea how this decade is going to play out, we’re here to make some predictions of things that are going to happen.
Before we get to that people need to learn how decades work. A decade is 10 years, the one we just closed ran from 2010-2019. That’s 10 years, it doesn’t run 2010-2020, that’s 11 years and subsequently 1 year into the new decade. NASCAR Twitter/Reddit seemed to struggle hard with that.
Alright here are some well thought out, well researched, well-sourced predictions for the next decade;
NASCAR Will Add A 4th Manufacturer And Maybe A 5th
Toyota was the last manufacturer to join the NASCAR Cup Series and that was all the way back in 2007. Dodge left us after the 2012 season and since that moment it’s been nothing but rumors that Dodge is coming back.
That was until the end of 2019 when NASCAR hosted Honda Executives at Phoenix in November. That’s major smoke and with the introduction of the Gen 7 car and future hybridization, Honda is almost a guarantee to come.
With Honda being the best bet there is still a chance Dodge comes back or we could potentially see Nissan join the ranks as well. Either way, we will be getting a new manufacturer this decade.
Kyle Busch Will Win Two More Championships This Decade
Kyle Busch just won his second Cup championship in 2019. Over the next decade, he’ll capture 2 more and end his career as a 4-time champ with around 90 career Cup wins.
Chase Elliott, William Byron, & Kyle Larson All Win A Championship This Decade
Chase Elliott, William Byron, and Kyle Larson will all hoist the Cup over the next decade. Only Larson will do it for a different team than the one he’s driving for in 2020. Byron will also win his title with Chad Knaus at the helm. Knaus will immediately retire after that.
Daytona Moves Back To July 4th
For some idiotic reason, the brain trust in Charlotte decided to move the traditional Firecracker 400 on 4th of July weekend to August and put Indianapolis on the 4th of July date. No one in the sport thinks this is a good idea but having a superspeedway as the cut off for the playoffs will certainly be dramatic. Indy in July though is going to be absolutely brutal.
Nashville Gets Added By 2025
The Fairgrounds will join the Cup schedule by 2025 but not until Nashville’s soccer stadium gets built next door. It could even be the final race of the season by the time the decade is up. The finale on Sunday, Cup banquet on Thursday.
The Schedule Stays Relatively The Same With Minor Tweaks
NASCAR fans have this grand idea that the 2021 schedule will be drastically different than the 2020 schedule. Hate to be the bearer of bad news but it won’t be. Over the course of the decade, we’ll see three new tracks added including a street race. Outside of that, the schedule will be shortened to 30 races but will remain relatively similar to what we have now. Unfortunately.
Larson Leaves NASCAR By The End of the Decade
Kyle Larson likes NASCAR but he LOVES dirt racing and for that reason, he will leave NASCAR at some point this decade to run a full World of Outlaws Sprint Car schedule. Every fan should support him when he does that as well.
Jeff Gordon Takes Over HMS And Leaves Fox
Jeff Gordon has an equity stake in Hendrick Motorsports. By the end of the decade, Rick Hendrick will be 80 years old. Jeff Gordon is the heir apparent to the HMS throne. Within the next 5 years, he will leave his role at FOX to take on a bigger role at HMS before taking over by the end of the decade.
CBS Wins A Third Of The NASCAR Broadcast Contract
When NASCAR has its next round of broadcast negotiations there will be a new player at the table. CBS is losing the prime SEC games to ESPN in 2023. With extra cash in their pockets and the need to showcase something in the summer, they’ll bid on and win the middle third of the NASCAR season. Not to mention CBS Sports Network is sitting there primed to show something more interesting than Atlantic 10 softball.
Silly Season Predictions
Larson joins SHR
Ryan Blaney replaces Jimmie Johnson
Reddick joins HMS
Ross Chastain joins Ganassi
Christopher Bell moves to JGR
Chandler Smith moves to the cup series with JGR by 2026
Hailie Deegan makes a Daytona 500 start but never runs a full cup season.
Roush Fenway Racing and Front Row Motorsports Merge to form the best 4-car midpack team.
Christian Eckes joins LFR at some point.
Richard Petty Motorsports closes shop.
Kaulig Racing moves to the Cup Series with a 2-car operation and an alliance with HMS.
Oh, Richard Childress Racing closes their doors unless they become the #1 team for a new manufacturer.
We could go on and on with this considering the number of prospects and aging drivers.
