Your Complete Guide to NASCAR Silly Season Moves for 2025

When? Stewart-Haas Racing Announcing the imminent closure of its four-car NASCAR Cup Series operation, it sent shock waves through the sport while displacing a lot of talented people in the paddock. Its ending became the catalyst for what turned out to be one of the silliest seasons in some time. Many drivers are making changes, new entries are appearing on the grid, and Even series lawsuits aren’t slowing down some teamsWe did our best to sort it all out to help you understand who is going where for the 2025 season.

Expansion of many teams on the horizon

#88 in SVG: Trackhouse is one of at least three teams planning to add a third full-time entry next year. For 2025, that chosen driver will be three-time Supercar champion Shane van Gisbergen, who plans to fully commit to the NASCAR world after a shocking debut victory at the 2023 Chicago Street Course race. The New Zealander won three Xfinity races this year and made the playoffs. His only struggle at the moment seems to be on the ovals. He will drive the No. 88 Chevrolet next yearA number that has been used most recently Hendrick Motorsports,

Preece and Kroger joined RFK: RFK is bringing on Kroger as a major sponsor as they continue their upward climb into 2025. Converting your part-time ‘Stage 60’ program to full-time entryHiring one of the four drivers fired from the doomed SHR team. former whalen 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 to finally become a winner at the sport’s highest level.

Herbst moves towards the cup: SVG will join the Rookie of the Year battle alongside NASCAR Xfinity Series standout Riley Herbst, who has signed with 23XI Racing To Pilot the newly rebuilt No. 35 Toyota and bring longtime partner Monster Energy with you. While 23XI is in the middle of a contentious lawsuit with NASCAR and the France family, they are not letting the possibility of losing their current charter stop them from adding a third entry. Herbst has three Xfinity wins and five seasons in NASCAR’s second tier, and he also scored a top ten finish in his Cup debut during the 2023 Daytona 500.

These three teams may not be the only teams looking to expand 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. He raced different drivers in the number 16 car Daniel Hemric Reached number 31. Despite Van Gisbergen almost taking victory at Watkins Glen, there was not much positive to take from his 2024 Cup programme. The next year, they would reinstate AJ Allmendinger as the full-time driver of their No. 16 Chevrolet. His decision to move Allmendinger to the Xfinity Series last year was met with criticism and confusion as the respected veteran is the only driver to win a Cup race for Kaulig – which he did twice.

Meanwhile, Hemric has moved out of the No. 31, which now becomes the No. 10 car for 2025. will be replaced ty dillon (Austin’s younger brother), who has a lot of experience at cup level but minimal success. These drivers will be paired with new crew chiefs as Kaulig looks to regain some lost ground on the field. Ty Norris, an experienced executive who transitioned from Trackhouse to Kaulig’s Chief Business Officer, will be there to help.

Where did the SHR drivers land?

While we’ve already discussed Ryan Preece’s destination for 2025, three other SHR drivers were also in need of new rides. Thankfully, all four will remain in the Cup Series with full-time rides.

Brisco replaces MTJ: chase brisco SHR would depart as the team’s last winner, taking victory in the Southern 500 after a dramatic performance at Darlington. His talent did not go unnoticed. He is ready to run number 19 joe gibbs racing Toyota ousted by 2017 Cup champions martin truex jrWho is retiring from full-time racing. Briscoe is also the only ex-SHR driver who is not moving to a fellow Ford team in 2025.

Berry to Wood Brothers: Wood Brothers decided to split up Harrison Burton Desperate for a more consistent uptick in performance after three years with Burton who otherwise had little success – before his shock win at Daytona. josh berry Is fresh off his rookie year in the Cup Series and is a late arrival to the top level of the game at the age of 33, but has shown promise during his preparation Take the wheel of the iconic number 21.

Gragson joined FRM: noah gragson Should be used to it by now as FRM is set to become his sixth Cup ride in the last three years. He hopes this trip will bring some stability to his cup career and he needs it. Gragson is expected to drive the No. 38 While FRM has its own Todd Gilliland Moves towards car number 34.

Haas remains with Custer: Now, SHR may be gone, but the Haas name is not. Gene Haas owned a Cup Series team before the partnership Tony Stewart in 2009 and it will do so again in 2025. Have to take wheel for loss cole custerwhich has been Promoted to Cup ride again after two-year stint in the Xfinity Series Where he won the title of 2023. Custer will drive the No. 41 Ford and his father Joe Haas will serve as factory team president.

A stunning signature by Spire

Michael McDowell Long has appeared in the Cup Series more than 500 times since 2008. Since 2018, he has raced with Front Row Motorsports Where he won two races including the Daytona 500. However, the experienced driver decided to leave his comfortable ride to join Spire Motorsports, a team that traditionally fields young drivers making their debut in the sport. He will have two young companions to guide him Carson HocevarAnd justin haleyJoe is also a new addition to Spire, but the move was already made before the end of the 2024 season.

Exit JTG, welcome Hayek

Whereas Ricky Stenhouse Jr.The No. 47 will continue to run for Chevrolet next year, albeit with a new look and new team name. Longtime sponsor Kroger moved to RFK Racing and JTG was renamed Hyak Motorsports as a result of the leadership change.

crew chief reshuffle

Hamlin lost to Gebhardt: There have also been some notable changes over the pit box, with one in particular standing out above the rest. denny hamlin and Chris Gabehart parted ways after six years in a move that surprised Hamlin. Gebhardt moves into a new role at JGR after winning 22 races with Hamlin and never missing a playoff. In his place is Chris Gayle, who moves to the No. 54 JGR Toyota ty gibbsTyler Allen will now lead the team’s No. 54 team for Gibbs.

A new name for Wallace: Elsewhere, Booty Barker will no longer work above the Pit Box bubba wallaceHe joined Wallace in 2021 and has led them to both of their Cup wins since then. Barker is one of the most experienced crew chiefs in the business, with nearly 600 races under his belt dating back to 2003. He will move into an internal role at 23XI, while Charles Dennick will take on the role of crew chief. Wallace. DeNicke has never worked a Cup race as a crew chief, but he has scored ten wins as a crew chief in the NASCAR Truck Series.

together again: Another interesting change involves the 2012 NASCAR Cup champion. Brad KeselowskiJoe reunites with former crew chief Jeremy Bullins. Together Team PenskeWhen Keselowski left for RFK they had almost clinched the 2020 Cup title.

A new challenge for the championship-winner: While there are several other Crew Head changes throughout the garage, we’ll end this at Rodney Childers’ destination. Childers is one of the most respected crew chiefs out there and with 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 alongside driver Justin Haley as the team looks to build on an impressive 2024 season.

remaining unknown

FRM’s third car: Although it is expected that Front Row Motorsports will also expand to three full-time cars, this has not yet been officially announced. Like 23XI, they are in the midst of an antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR and the France family, and could go into the 2025 season without a charter. It appears they are determined to expand regardless of the outcome zane smith Rumor has it that this will be the last additional driver. Smith competed for Spire in 2024 and was under contract with Trackhouse, but with the arrival of van Gisbergen and young phenom Connor Zylisch there was not enough room for him in Trackhouse’s plans.

RWR and Lajoie: The status of Rick Ware Racing is still unclear. The team ran two full-time entries in 2024, but since they have leased one of their two charters to RFK for 2025, it is likely they will only run one full-time car next year. Before the end of the 2024 season, corey lajoie The No. 51 spot swapped places with Justin Haley, and while Haley’s future at Spire is secure, RWR have not confirmed whether they will want to continue with Lajoie in 2025. It is also possible that kodi warewhose father, Rick, is a team owner, may be selected as a driver for the following year. The team could also choose to run different drivers throughout the year, which they did with the No. 15 car.

Part-time Entries: Despite always being volatile, there are many questions about the part-time ride to 2025. Most notably, 2017 NASCAR Cup winner Martin Truex Jr. revealed his plans to run a partial schedule, including the Daytona 500, but there is no indication as to who he will drive for. It should be Toyota but 23XI seems out of the picture and Joe Gibbs Racing is out of room with four current entries (that’s the limit).

Trackhouse’s Project91 did not appear this year, but is a co-owner of the team Justin Marks It was made clear that the show was not over and could feature again with another international racing star. Richard Childress Racing’s No. 33 will return, and it’s likely it will give Austin Hill a few more Cup starts. jimmy johnson The No. 84 Legacy Motor Club Toyota will return for a limited time.

Several other part-time teams have no news to report at the time 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 NY Racing Team . , the No. 62 of Beard Motorsports, the No. 50 of Team Amerivate Racing, and the No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports entry with BJ McLeod.