Matt Kenseth, Kasey Kahne talking to Furniture Row about the 77?

The Furniture Row Racing No. 77 Toyota needs a new driver for next season, and two of NASCAR’s bigger names displaced during the current Silly Season could be candidates.

There’s no way that even two seasons ago, anyone would have considered going from Hendrick Motorsports or Joe Gibbs Racing to Furniture Row Racing might be a step up. At that time, the Denver-based race team was a one-car operation just trying to buck the odds and become a contender.

How things have changed. Furniture Row boasts not only the car that will go into the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs seeded first in Martin Truex Jr. but a very competitive second car as well. And that car, the 77, just happens to need a new driver for the 2018 season.

The vacancy came about because Joe Gibbs Racing has summoned rookie Erik Jones, who was only on loan to Furniture Row, to drive its No. 20 Toyota. There just so happen to be some accomplished racers in need of a new ride, and Furniture Row Racing president Joe Garone hinted to NASCAR.com that some of them have already talked to the team about joining forces.

"“There have been some really good drivers that are looking around and that have inquired about the car because I think it is obvious the performance of the car is something any driver would like to be in right now. It hasn’t shocked me; it’s a compliment to the team some of the drivers that have talked to us.”"

The first name mentioned by NASCAR.com is also the most obvious: Matt Kenseth, who could come to Furniture Row in what would work out as a simple swap. The former Cup Series champion has displayed an almost zen-like calm in insisting he’s not worried about his next gig after learning he would not return to the No. 20 at JGR, and if he ends up in the 77 and a teammate to Truex, that attitude would be justified.

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Another possibility is Kasey Kahne, another driver displaced by a young gun. While William Byron takes his seat in the No. 5 Hendrick Chevrolet, Kahne could back up his assertion that he still has plenty left in the tank after his Brickyard victory by ending up in Denver.

(It’s worth noting that Kurt Busch, who has already driven for Furniture Row in the past, could be up for a reunion, but Stewart-Haas Racing is at least publicly sticking to the idea that he’ll return to his current team despite not picking up his contract option.)

It almost goes without saying that the driver who brings the most sponsorship appeal to the table could be the winner. Both Kenseth and Kahne are sincere stand-up guys but neither has seemed the type to really excite sponsors, especially in recent years.

And of course, Garone never named these two gentlemen by name, they just seem the most likely drivers he could be talking about. Furniture Row may not even run the 77 if everything doesn’t work out correctly, but the guess here is that one of these two will be teaming with Truex by the time the 2018 Daytona 500 drops the green flag.