While top teams such as Team Penske, Hendrick Motorsports, and Joe Gibbs Racing remain unchanged, there's still plenty to talk about throughout the 2024 field.
Stewart-Haas Racing replaces outgoing veterans
The entire organization went winless in 2023 and at season's end, SHR lost tis two most experienced drivers. 2014 Cup champion Kevin Harvick is stepping out of the driver's seat and into the booth this year. Aric Almirola will now compete part-time with Joe Gibbs Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
The team already has two young drivers in Chase Briscoe and Josh Berry, but have added two more for 2024. Josh Berry joins the lineup, replacing Kevin Harvick in the No. 4 Ford Mustang. Berry has just 12 Cup starts, including a stint last year where he subbed for an injured Chase Elliott in the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. He finished as high as second at Richmond Raceway. His career includes five Xfinity wins, and tremendous success in Late Model cars.
Almirola's No. 10 Ford Mustang will be taken over by Noah Gragson, who struggled through a tumultuous 2023 season at Legacy Motor Club. His rookie campaign ended abruptly when he was suspended after liking a meme that mocked the murder of George Floyd. Since then, Gragson has successfully completed sensitivity training and will return in 2024, now with SHR. A championship runner-up in the Truck Series in 2018 and the Xfinity Series in 2022, Gragson has 15 wins between the lower two divisions. Although he has yet to complete a full season at the Cup level, he has 39 total starts with a best finish of fifth.
Spire Motorsports adds two rookie drivers
Berry is only 1/3rd of the story when looking at the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series rookie class. The rapidly-expanding Spire Motorsports will add two rookies to its lineup, who will compete alongside teammate Corey LaJoie.
The No. 77 Chevrolet Camaro, which was driven by Ty Dillon, will now be piloted by Carson Hocevar. The 20-year-old will be the youngest full-time driver on the grid. Although he's faced criticism for several on-track incidents, most notably in the Truck Series title-decider while battling for the championship, Hocevar has been fairly impressive in only a handful of Cup starts. He made nine appearances in the premier division last year, finishing as high as eleventh at Bristol while driving for Legacy Motor Club.
And then there's 2022 NASCAR Truck Series champion Zane Smith, whose situation is an interesting one. He will drive the No. 71 Chevrolet Camaro for Spire, but is under contract with Trackhouse Racing. Spire is adding a third car for 2024 after acquiring a charter from Live Fast Motorsports. The rising star has nine Cup starts, finishing as high as tenth in the 2023 Coke 600 while driving for Front Row Motorsports.
Hemric and Nemechek get another shot at Cup
It's a story of second chances for both Daniel Hemric and John-Hunter Nemechek in 2024.
Hemric had the opportunity to compete full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2019, driving the No. 8 for Richard Childress Racing. He ended the year 25th in the championship standings, scoring 530 points while teammate Austin Dillon scored 700. He earned just one top-five and two top-tens. Since then, both Tyler Reddick and Kyle Busch have won multiple Cup races in that car.
Hemric stepped back down to the Xfinity Series and in 2021, he won the title with Joe Gibbs Racing in a dramatic photo finish. He spent the following two years with Kaulig Racing, who have now promoted him to Cup in 2024, taking over the No. 31 Chevrolet vacated by Justin Haley. Haley will now drive for Rick Ware Racing in 2024.
Nemechek ran full-time as a Cup Series driver in 2020. He scored zero top-fives and three-tops, ending the year 27th in the championship standings, and also lagged behind his teammate. After that, he essentially repeated the NASCAR ladder. He competed full-time in the Truck Series over the course of 2021 and 2022, also running a partial Xfinity schedule. He won seven Truck races with Kyle Busch Motorsports and was top-five in points both seasons. In 2023, he won a series-leading seven Xfinity races with Joe Gibbs Racing and ended the year fourth in the final standings.
In 2024, he will also make his Cup return, driving for Legacy Motor Club as a teammate to Erik Jones. The team, co-owned by Jimmie Johnson, is making the switch from Chevrolet to Toyota for the upcoming season. Nemechek will be driving the No. 42 car, which was Gragson's until his midseason suspension. Afterwards, LMC used a variety of drivers to finish out the year.
Shane van Gisbergen's big NASCAR move
The three-time Supercars champion will have a steep learning curve as he transitions to stock car racing in 2024. Although he’s already a proven Cup winner, taking victory on debut at the Chicago Street Course, his experience on ovals is very limited. He made a single oval start in the Truck Series last year, finishing 19th. In 2024, he will run at least 41 races.
Along with the entire NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule (33 races) with Kaulig Racing, he will run the ARCA season-opener at Daytona with the Pinnacle Racing Group, as well as seven Cup starts with Trackhouse. Those appearances will come at COTA (March 24), Talladega Superspeedway (April 21), Charlotte (May 26), Chicago (July 7), Watkins Glen (September 15), Talladega again (October 6), and Las Vegas (October 20).
