Kyle Weatherman leaves Mike Harmon Racing; No. 47 car driverless in January

Photo Credit: Mike Harmon Racing on Twitter

    Friday afternoon (1/7/22) Mike Harmon Racing (MHR) revealed the news that after two years of competition with the team, Kyle Weatherman and Mike Harmon Racing would be parting ways. As Weatherman's departure became effective as of today's announcement, this leaves Mike Harmon Racing's NASCAR Xfinity Series No. 47 car without a driver in January, with roughly one month before the start of the season.

Mike Harmon Racing released this statement Friday addressing the matter:

Photo Credit: Mike Harmon Racing

Kyle Weatherman, a NASCAR driver who has competed across all of NASCAR's top-three series, may be looking for greater opportunities in the upcoming season. Although Weatherman may not have the best statistical finishes throughout his racing career, it is important to recognize the equipment that he had at his disposal. In 2020, Weatherman was able to bring the No. 47 Camaro across the finish line 8th at Kentucky Motor Speedway, scoring the best finish and the only top-10 finish in Mike Harmon Racing's lengthy history in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. While some may simply be oblivious to it, the fact of the matter is that Kyle Weathermen is not a bad race car driver. 

Kyle Weatherman's talent, which will no longer be present at Mike Harmon Racing in 2022, is something that a new team might capitalize on, and Mike Harmon Racing will likely hurt from. As Mike Harmon Racing does not exactly provide the most competitive equipment, the team does not always draw in the most competitive drivers. Historically, many of the individuals behind the wheel of a MHR car have been legendary drivers, who unfortunately were past their prime. Finding a driver like Kyle Weatherman might not be the easiest of tasks for Mike Harmon Racing, especially considering the proximity to the beginning of the 2022 race season.

Although today's announcement was not extremely detailed, it can be expected that the Mike Harmon Racing No. 47 machine will host a new driver in 2022, and that Kyle Weatherman will at some point in the future join another team. Which driver MHR chooses to replace Weatherman with, and which team Weatherman chooses to join are unknown at the moment. The 2022 race season begins in only weeks, therefore we can expect to hear from both parties in the upcoming weeks describing their future.