When Stewart-Haas Racing announced the imminent closure of its four-car NASCAR Cup Series operation, it sent shockwaves through the sport, while scattering a lot of talented people throughout the paddock. It's end became the catalyst to what has become one of the silliest silly seasons in some time. Several drivers are making a change, new entries are popping up across the grid, and lawsuits with the series are not slowing certain teams down either. We did our best to sort it all out to help you understand who is going where for the 2025 season.
Several team expansions on the horizon
SVG in the #88: Trackhouse is one of at least three teams that plan to add a third full-time entry next year. For 2025, that chosen driver will be three-time Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen, who made plans to fully commit to the NASCAR world after a shock victory on debut in the 2023 Chicago Street Course race. The New Zealander won three Xfinity races this year and made the playoffs. His only struggle appears to be on the ovals, for now. He will drive the No. 88 Chevrolet next year, a number most recently utilized by Hendrick Motorsports.
Preece and Kroger join RFK: RFK is bringing in Kroger as a major sponsor, as they continue their upward climb into 2025. They are also converting their part-time ‘Stage 60’ program into a full-time entry, hiring one of the four drivers jettisoned from the doomed SHR team. Former Whelen Modified champion Ryan Preece is no stranger to the Cup Series with nearly 200 starts, but when he takes the wheel of the No. 60 Ford Mustang, it will be his best chance yet to finally become a winner at the highest level of the sport.
Herbst moves up to Cup: SVG will be joined in the Rookie of the Year battle by NASCAR Xfinity Series standout Riley Herbst, who signed with 23XI Racing to pilot the newly created No 35 Toyota, bringing long-time partner Monster Energy with him. While 23XI is in the midst of a contentious lawsuit with NASCAR and the France family, they aren’t letting the possibility of losing their existing charters stop them from adding a third entry. Herbst has three Xfinity wins and five seasons in the second tier of NASCAR, and he also earned a top-ten in his Cup debut during the 2023 Daytona 500.
These three teams may not be the only ones expanding next year, but we’ll get to that a bit later…
Kaulig shakes things up
2024 was a step back for Kaulig in both the Cup and Xfinity Series. They ran various drivers in the No. 16 car while Daniel Hemric drove the No. 31. Despite Van Gisbergen nearly winning at Watkins Glen, there weren’t many positives to take away from their 2024 Cup program. Next year, they will reinstate A.J. Allmendinger as the full-time driver of its No. 16 Chevrolet. Their decision to move Allmendinger down to the Xfinity Series last year was met with criticism and confusion as the respected veteran is the only driver to ever win a Cup race for Kaulig — which he did twice.
Meanwhile, Hemric is out of the No. 31, which now becomes the No. 10 car for 2025. His replacement will be Ty Dillon (younger brother to Austin), who has plenty of experience at the Cup level but minimal success. These drivers will be paired with new crew chiefs as Kaulig seeks to regain some lost ground on the field. Experienced executive Ty Norris will be there to help, moving over from Trackhouse to become Kaulig's Chief Business Officer.
Where did the SHR drivers land?
While we’ve already discussed Ryan Preece’s destination for 2025, there were three other SHR drivers in need of new rides as well. Thankfully, all four will remain in the Cup Series with full-time rides.
Briscoe replaces MTJ: Chase Briscoe will depart SHR as the team’s last winner, taking victory in the Southern 500 after a dramatic showdown at Darlington. His talent has not gone unnoticed. He's set to drive the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota vacated by 2017 Cup champion Martin Truex Jr. who is retiring from full-time racing. Briscoe is also the only ex-SHR driver who isn’t moving to a fellow Ford team in 2025.
Berry to the Wood Brothers: The Wood Brothers chose to part ways with Harrison Burton before his shock victory at Daytona — desperate for a more consistent bump in performance after three years with Burton resulted in little success otherwise. Josh Berry is fresh off his rookie year in the Cup Series and is a late arrival to the top level of the sport at 33 years old, but has shown promise as he prepares to take the wheel of the iconic No. 21.
Gragson joins FRM: Noah Gragson should be used to this by now as FRM is about to become his sixth Cup ride in the last three years. He is hoping this ride lands some stability in his Cup career, and he needs it. It has not yet been announced what number Gragson will drive in 2025.
Haas lives on with Custer: Now, SHR may be gone, but the Haas name is not. Gene Haas owned a Cup Series team before partnering with Tony Stewart in 2009 and he will do so again in 2025. Taking the wheel for Haas is Cole Custer, who has been promoted into a Cup ride again after a two-year stint back in the Xfinity Series where he won the 2023 title. Custer will drive the No. 41 Ford and his father Joe will serve as the Haas Factory Team’s president.
A surprise signing by Spire
Michael McDowell has been in the Cup Series longer than most with over 500 starts dating back to 2008. Since 2018, he has raced with Front Row Motorsports where he won two races including the Daytona 500. However, the veteran driver chose to give up his comfortable ride to join Spire Motorsports, a team that traditionally runs younger drivers just getting their start in the sport. He will have two young teammates to mentor in Carson Hocevar, and Justin Haley, who is also a new addition to Spire, but that move was already made prior to the end of the 2024 season.
Exit JTG, welcome Hyak
While Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will continue to drive the No. 47 Chevrolet next year, it will be with a new look and a new team name. Longtime sponsor Kroger left for RFK Racing and a leadership change resulted in JTG's name change to Hyak Motorsports.
Crew chief shuffle
Hamlin loses Gabehart: There have been some notable changes atop the pit boxes as well, with one in particular standing out above the rest. Denny Hamlin and Chris Gabehart part ways after six years in a move that caught Hamlin off guard. Gabehart moves into a new role at JGR after winning 22 races with Hamlin and never missing the playoffs. His replacement is Chris Gayle, who moves over from the No. 54 JGR Toyota of Ty Gibbs. Tyler Allen will now lead Gibbs’ No. 54 team.
A new name calling the shots for Wallace: Elsewhere, Bootie Barker will no longer work atop the pit box for Bubba Wallace. He linked up with Wallace in 2021 and has led him to both of his Cup wins since then. Barker is also one of the most experienced crew chiefs in the business with nearly 600 races under his belt, dating all the way back to 2003. He will shift to an internal role at 23XI while Charles Denike will take on the role of crew chief for Wallace. Denike has never worked a Cup race as a crew chief, but he has ten wins as a crew chief in the NASCAR Truck Series.
Back together again: Another interesting change involves 2012 NASCAR Cup champion Brad Keselowski, who reunites with former crew chief Jeremy Bullins. Together at Team Penske, they nearly won the 2020 Cup title, parting ways when Keselowski left for RFK.
A new challenge for a championship-winner: While there are several other crew chief changes throughout the garage, we’ll end it on the destination for Rodney Childers. Childers is one of the most respected crew chiefs out there and for good reason. He led Kevin Harvick to the 2014 NASCAR Cup title and has won 40 Cup races in his nearly two decades as a Cup Series crew chief. In 2025, he will join Spire’s No. 7 team with driver Justin Haley as the team seeks to further improve an impressive 2024 season.
The remaining unknowns
FRM's third car: While it is expected that Front Row Motorsports will expand to three full-time cars as well, it has yet to be officially announced. Like 23XI, they are in the middle of an antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR and the France family, and may go into the 2025 season without charters. They seem determined to expand regardless of the outcome, and Zane Smith is rumored to be the final additional driver. Smith competed for Spire in 2024 and was under contract with Trackhouse, but there wasn't enough room for him in Trackhouse's plans with the arrival of van Gisbergen and young phenom Connor Zilisch.
RWR and LaJoie: Rick Ware Racing's situation is still unclear. The team ran two full-time entries in 2024, but since they've leased one of their two charters to RFK for 2025, it's likely that they will only run one full-time car next year. Before the end of the 2024 season, Corey Lajoie switched places with Justin Haley in the No. 51, and while Haley's future is secure at Spire, RWR has not confirmed whether they'd like to continue with LaJoie in 2025. It's also possible that Cody Ware, whose father, Rick, owns the team, could be selected as the driver for next year. The team could opt to run various drivers throughout the year as well, which they did do with the No. 15 car.
Part-time entries: While always fluid, there are several questions around the part-time rides for 2025. Most notably, 2017 NASCAR Cup champ Martin Truex Jr. revealed his plans to run a partial schedule including the Daytona 500, but there's been no indication regarding who he will drive for. It should be a Toyota but 23XI seems to be out of the picture and Joe Gibbs Racing is out of room with four existing entries (which is the cap).
Trackhouse's Project91 didn't appear this year, but team co-owner Justin Marks made it clear that the program is not dead and could appear with another international racing star again. Richard Childress Racing's No. 33 will be back, and it's likely it'll give Austin Hill some more Cup starts. Jimmie Johnson will return in the No. 84 Legacy Motor Club Toyota for a limited schedule.
Several other part-time teams have no news to report as of this writing, but we can expect to see most of them back on the grid in 2025 such as the No. 66 of MBM Motorsports, the No. 44 of the NY Racing Team, the No. 62 of Beard Motorsports, the No. 50 of Team Amerivet Racing, and the No 78 Live Fast Motorsports entry with B.J. McLeod.
