When a driver signs to a deal in the CRL, his main goal usually is to make it to the Chatbox Winston Cup Series. And while many don't, the few that do have sponsors and manufacturers who will back them until the day they retire. Josh Schreiner is one of those guys. A late entry in S1 of Truck Series competition, Schreiner showed that he wasn't one to mess with and narrowly missed out on ROTY honors. It was enough to catch the attention of Fearless Motorsports' Jay Lopez and John Hooper, Sr. He was signed to a deal with Chevrolet and Simpson and brought his long-time sponsor MONSTER Energy with him. Once again, he missed out on ROTY honors, but finished well, even grabbing a win at Bristol. So one would think that...maybe Chevy and MONSTER will back him for a long career as he begins the second Cup season and third Truck season...well, this is where get messy.
He never left Toyota. Normally, this isn't an issue. In fact, many guys run with partners that they don't run with in Cup. For example, Carl Robinson runs a KBM Toyota, Fearless Motorsports partners with Red Bull, and Zach Meyers usually runs an unsponsored truck despite having full backing from NAPA. So, what makes Josh's situation so different? TRD wants him as their own. In fact they're willing to offer him a full sponsorship to leave Fearless and start his own team. They know he has talent. But to actually put money on the table to get him to terminate a contract pre-maturely is almost unheard of in CRL competition.
Now, would it be the right move? Well, that what he'll decide at the end of both seasons. If he performs better in Cup, chances are that he'll tell TRD to kick rocks and he'll remain at Chevrolet and finish off his TRD fleet of trucks un-backed. However, on the off chance (and this chance is very high, mind you) that he performs well on the truck circuit, then his days with Fearless are over. MONSTER and Josh, along with the ENTIRE 75 crew (according to Toyota) will leave to bring JSR to the Cup ranks in S5. This will put Fearless and Chevrolet together in a tight spot.
While at this point, the situation remains wait-and-see, one would have to think that eventually someone from GM or Fearless will try and intervene and remind TRD that the 75 driver has a contract to honor, regardless of what happens performance wise. When will that time come? Again, it's wait and see. All that is known for certain, is that if this 'deal' goes through, silly season could pick up big time.
While at this point, the situation remains wait-and-see, one would have to think that eventually someone from GM or Fearless will try and intervene and remind TRD that the 75 driver has a contract to honor, regardless of what happens performance wise. When will that time come? Again, it's wait and see. All that is known for certain, is that if this 'deal' goes through, silly season could pick up big time.