Scott leaves a full-time ride with Richard Petty Motorsports to tend to a growing family, driver and team announced Thursday.
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Scott might not be leaving stock car racing, just stepping away from the commitment to being a full-time driver.
Petty sends out two cars, the iconic No. 43 driven by Aric Almirola and the No. 44 driven this season by Scott, a rookie. There was no immediate decision on who will replace Scott, but Petty officials said they would continue to run the chartered car.
Scott turns 29 in January. In this, his first full-time season in Sprint Cup, Scott was second to fellow Ford driver Joey Logano at Talladega. That was his only top-10 run, and other than a 12th at Fontana and an 18th at Bristol his season produced finishes in the 20s and 30s.
Scott has two races remaining, which will bring his career total to 53 Cup races. He also drove in 208 Xfinity Series races and 62 Truck Series races, in which he had two wins — his only victories in the three NASCAR national series.
Scott’s statement:
From Brian Moffitt, CEO of Richard Petty Motorsports:
NASCAR is in Phoenix this weekend, where all three national series will be in competition. Next weekend brings the series championship races at Homestead-Miami.
