Could a trade deadline enliven the NASCAR season? Plenty of moving parts work against driver swaps

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Imagine a scenario in the NASCAR world — say, around the Brickyard 400 in July — when the hot topic isn't just which driver might kiss the bricks.

Try, which driver could kiss his current ride goodbye.

What if NASCAR took a cue from stick-and-ball sports and had a trade deadline?

Forget trading paint. How about trading a star driver for a pair of minor-league prospects? Maybe a couple of veterans who wore out their welcome on one team get a fresh start with another?

Baseball players are traded. NFL and NHL stars get swapped, and the NBA has cornered the market on building in-season buzz with a trade deadline where the action among front offices sparks more headlines than any action on the court.

Go ahead, NASCAR. Set a date and let fans turn on those NASCAR social media post notifications to stay abreast of all the latest rumors and deals.

Sounds fun, right?

''You can't pull that off with the current league structure because we're all independent contractors,'' 2012 NASCAR champion Brad Keselowski said.

''But,'' Keselowski added, ''that would be something compelling.''

Trades came around in NASCAR about as frequently as a race without a caution flag.

There are only 15 teams with at least one car in Cup, and only Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing field the maximum four cars. Organizations that didn't already have four cars before the 2025 season are capped at three full-time teams. That automatically shrinks the trading pool.

Trades are not unprecedented; notably Spire Motorsports sent Corey LaJoie to Rick Ware Racing for Justin Haley in September 2024. There was a catch with that deal: Haley had already agreed to join Spire for the 2025 season and simply got a headstart with his new crew. LaJoie raced just four times for RWR in 2025.

There are no rules that prevent teams from swapping drivers.

In some cases, trades seem easier on the drivers than in the NFL or NBA where players are often forced to uproot their families on short notice. Most drivers live near their race shops in the North Carolina area and wouldn't have to pack up the U-Haul and start over halfway across the country. The schedule is the same for every team, every driver, every week.

NASCAR can get tangled up in wheels and deals because of contracts with sponsors that prop up teams with needed cash that are not necessarily easily moveable. Big Cereal Brand A may only want to sign with an elite team where more eyeballs – and open wallets – are on the product and not have to deal with the effects of getting dumped to a non-contender.

There can be conflicts with the manufacturers as well. Teams have deals with one brand — Chevrolet and Hendrick Motorsports or Toyota and Joe Gibbs Racing, for example — and squeezing in another manufacturer could spark all sorts of headaches.

There are essentially way more parties involved to make a trade feasible in NASCAR than just the negotiations between a pair of general managers.

But it can be idealistic to imagine a NASCAR world where fans can fire up the trade machine and propose swaps of drivers and players to be named and cash considerations and all the mechanisms that make up blockbuster trades in sports such as baseball.

Most drivers don't see a path where trades become as ingrained as silly season.

''I think it's probably a stretch,'' seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson said. ''There's a lot of layers to go. We have a soft cap now in my opinion, with a standardized car. There have been discussions around a cost cap. If more of those things happen over time, I guess we get closer to do it.''

Three-time Daytona 500 champion Denny Hamlin has another possible idea to warm up the NASCAR hot stove season.

''If you want content, driver free agency would definitely cause it,'' Hamlin said.

"It'd be quite interesting if everyone just went into free agency every single year,'' Hamlin said. ''My guess is, I don't know that anyone would compete with Hendrick or Penske on what they could pay.''

For now, it's just fun to dream of trading Bubba Wallace for Ross Chastain. Or proven champion Chase Elliott for the rights down the road to future developmental drivers.

Trades are out. True free agency seems a long shot.

What's left?

''I do like the draft," Keselowski said with a laugh.