When each new year in NASCAR commences, there is always something new apparent when the haulers are unloaded and the crews go to work for the first time. In some cases, it’s a new paint scheme or a new sponsor accompanying familiar names and numbers. In others, familiar cars have been taken over by new drivers, familiar drivers have been paired with new crew chiefs — and in perhaps the most exciting of instances, new teams altogether have assembled and prepared for their maiden runs.
The NASCAR Cup Series field will see plenty of changes for 2025, headlined by drivers on the move and teams that have expanded during the offseason.
These drivers in new places will get their first chance to shine on Sunday at the Great American Race in Daytona Beach, Florida, when the racing world reaches the beach town for the biggest race of the year, the Daytona 500. Let’s take a look at some of these drivers working with new teams and new drivers to reach the Cup Series.
- Chase Briscoe has moved to Joe Gibbs Racing to drive the No. 19 Toyota, taking over for 2017 Cup Series champion Martin Truex Jr. While Truex has retired from full-time Cup racing, he will attempt to qualify for the Daytona 500 driving the No. 56 Toyota for TRICON Garage.
- 23XI Racing, RFK Racing, Front Row Motorsports and Trackhouse Racing have all expanded from two to three cars each. 23XI has tabbed rookie Riley Herbst to drive the No. 35 Toyota, and he will be joined in the Rookie of the Year battle by three-time V8 Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen, who moves to Cup full-time as the driver of Trackhouse’s No. 88 Chevrolet. RFK has hired Ryan Preece to drive the No. 60 Ford, while Front Row has turned to Noah Gragson as the driver of their new No. 4 Ford.
- A.J. Allmendinger returns to the Cup Series full-time as the driver of Kaulig Racing’s No. 16, and Kaulig has also revamped their second team: Ty Dillon replaces Daniel Hemric as the driver of the second Kaulig car, which has been renumbered from No. 31 to No. 10.
- Josh Berry has been hired as the new driver of the Wood Brothers No. 21, taking over for NASCAR’s oldest team after they earned their milestone 100th victory with Harrison Burton at Daytona a year ago.
- After seven seasons at Front Row Motorsports, 2021 Daytona 500 champion Michael McDowell has moved to Spire Motorsports to become the new driver of the No. 71 Chevrolet. Todd Gilliland will take over the No. 34 Ford that had been driven by McDowell, while Zane Smith rejoins Front Row as the driver of the No. 38 Ford that Gilliland had been piloting.
- Despite the closure of Stewart-Haas Racing, Gene Haas will carry on in Cup as the owner of the now single-car Haas Factory Team. 2020 Cup Rookie of the Year Cole Custer will drive the No. 41 Ford, returning to Cup after winning the 2023 championship in the Xfinity Series.
- Rick Ware Racing will keep their No. 51 Ford in the family this year, as Cody Ware will re-assume full-time driving duties for the first time since early in the 2023 season. After joining the team late in the 2024 season, Corey LaJoie will compete part-time for RWR behind the wheel of the No. 01 Ford.
- 2023 Daytona 500 champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will continue driving the No. 47 Chevrolet, but he’ll do so under new ownership: With the departure of co-owners Jodi and Tad Geshickter, JTG Daugherty Racing has rebranded as Hyak Motorsports under new principal owner Gordon Smith.
2025 Daytona 500: Five longshot drivers to watch in this year’s Great American Race
Steven Taranto
The changes across the grid aren’t just limited to behind the wheel, as a number of notable crew chiefs will be on the move across the garage area and pit road as well.
- In a very surprising move considering their success together, Joe Gibbs Racing has split up Denny Hamlin and Chris Gabehart, with Gabehart moving on to become JGR’s competition director. Chris Gayle will now serve as Hamlin’s crew chief, moving over from Ty Gibbs’ No. 54 team, which will now be crew chiefed by Tyler Allen.
- Spire Motorsports has made one of the biggest hires atop the pit box for 2025, as they have acquired 2014 Cup Series champion crew chief Rodney Childers, who will oversee the No. 7 Chevrolet and driver Justin Haley.
- In addition to Childers, two other former Stewart-Haas Racing crew chiefs have found new homes for this season: Two-time Daytona 500 champion crew chief Drew Blickensderfer returns to Front Row Motorsports with Noah Gragson, while Richard Boswell has landed at Richard Childress Racing as the new crew chief for Austin Dillon.
- RFK Racing has reunited Brad Keselowski with Jeremy Bullins, who will replace Matt McCall as crew chief for the No. 6 Ford. Bullins, whose 10 career Cup wins include the 2022 Daytona 500 with Austin Cindric, previously worked with Keselowski at Team Penske.
- Bubba Wallace gets a new crew chief for 2025, as Charles Denike takes over for Bootie Barker. Denike gets his shot in Cup after an outstanding 2024 in the Craftsman Truck Series with McAnally-Hilgemann Racing, where guided driver Christian Eckes to four wins and one of the best statistical seasons in series history.
- Other crew chiefs on the move for 2025 include Andrew Dickeson (Ty Dillon), Trent Owens (A.J. Allmendinger), Miles Stanley (Josh Berry), Chris Lawson (Todd Gilliland), Davin Restivo (Riley Herbst), Aaron Kramer (Cole Custer), Travis Mack (John Hunter Nemechek), Travis Peterson (Michael McDowell) and Stephen Doran (Shane van Gisbergen).
And beyond the 36 full-time chartered teams, this year’s Cup Series will also feature some exciting cameos among part-time teams, namely in the season-opening Daytona 500. Trackhouse Racing has added a huge name to the field for The Great American Race, as four-time Indianapolis 500 champion Helio Castroneves will make his NASCAR debut driving the No. 91 Chevrolet.
Castroneves will be joined among Daytona 500 hopefuls by Dale Earnhardt Jr., who will take JR Motorsports Cup racing for the first time with defending Xfinity Series champion Justin Allgaier behind the wheel of the No. 40 Chevrolet. Seven-time Cup champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer Jimmie Johnson will attempt to reach 700 career starts by racing in the Daytona 500 and Coca-Cola 600, and two Bowman Gray Stadium legends — Tim Brown and Burt Myers — will get dream opportunities to compete in Cup at the season-opening Clash at Bowman Gray.
Here is a complete look at the drivers and teams who will compete in the NASCAR Cup Series this season, from those competing for the championship to those only running a handful of races.
Full-time teams
No. 1 — Ross Chastain — Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet (Crew chief: Phil Surgen)
No. 2 — Austin Cindric — Team Penske Ford (Crew chief: Brian Wilson)
No. 3 — Austin Dillon — Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet (Crew chief: Richard Boswell)
No. 4 — Noah Gragson — Front Row Motorsports Ford (Crew chief: Drew Blickensderfer)
No. 5 — Kyle Larson — Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet (Crew chief: Cliff Daniels)
No. 6 — Brad Keselowski — RFK Racing Ford (Crew chief: Jeremy Bullins)
No. 7 — Justin Haley — Spire Motorsports Chevrolet (Crew chief: Rodney Childers)
No. 8 — Kyle Busch — Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet (Crew chief: Randall Burnett)
No. 9 — Chase Elliott — Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet (Crew chief: Alan Gustafson)
No. 10 — Ty Dillon — Kaulig Racing Chevrolet (Crew chief: Andrew Dickeson)
No. 11 — Denny Hamlin — Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota (Crew chief: Chris Gayle)
No. 12 — Ryan Blaney — Team Penske Ford (Crew chief: Jonathan Hassler)
No. 16 — A.J. Allmendinger — Kaulig Racing Chevrolet (Crew chief: Trent Owens)
No. 17 — Chris Buescher — RFK Racing Ford (Crew chief: Scott Graves)
No. 19 — Chase Briscoe — Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota (Crew chief: James Small)
No. 20 — Christopher Bell — Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota (Crew chief: Adam Stevens)
No. 21 — Josh Berry — Wood Brothers Racing Ford (Crew chief: Miles Stanley)
No. 22 — Joey Logano — Team Penske Ford (Crew chief: Paul Wolfe)
No. 23 — Bubba Wallace — 23XI Racing Toyota (Crew chief: Charles Denike)
No. 24 — William Byron — Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet (Crew chief: Rudy Fugle)
No. 34 — Todd Gilliland — Front Row Motorsports Ford (Crew chief: Chris Lawson)
No. 35 — Riley Herbst (R) — 23XI Racing Toyota (Crew chief: Davin Restivo)
No. 38 — Zane Smith — Front Row Motorsports Ford (Crew chief: Ryan Bergenty)
No. 41 — Cole Custer — Haas Factory Team Ford (Crew chief: Aaron Kramer)
No. 42 — John Hunter Nemechek — Legacy Motor Club Toyota (Crew chief: Travis Mack)
No. 43 — Erik Jones — Legacy Motor Club Toyota (Crew chief: Ben Beshore)
No. 45 — Tyler Reddick — 23XI Racing Toyota (Crew chief: Billy Scott)
No. 47 — Ricky Stenhouse Jr. — Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet (Crew chief: Mike Kelley)
No. 48 — Alex Bowman — Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet (Crew chief: Blake Harris)
No. 51 — Cody Ware — Rick Ware Racing Ford (Crew chief: Billy Plourde)
No. 54 — Ty Gibbs — Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota (Crew chief: Tyler Allen)
No. 60 — Ryan Preece — RFK Racing Ford (Crew chief: Derrick Finley)
No. 71 — Michael McDowell — Spire Motorsports Chevrolet (Crew chief: Travis Peterson)
No. 77 — Carson Hocevar — Spire Motorsports Chevrolet (Crew chief: Luke Lambert)
No. 88 — Shane van Gisbergen (R) — Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet (Crew chief: Stephen Doran)
No. 99 — Daniel Suarez — Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet (Crew chief: Matt Swiderski)
Part-time teams
No. 01/15 — Corey LaJoie & Tim Brown — Rick Ware Racing Ford (Crew chief: TBD)
No. 33 — Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet (Crew chief: Andrew Overstreet)
No. 40 — Justin Allgaier — JR Motorsports Chevrolet (Crew chief: Greg Ives)
No. 44 — J.J. Yeley — NY Racing Chevrolet (Crew chief: Jay Guy)
No. 50 — Burt Myers — Team AmeriVet Chevrolet (Crew chief: Tony Eury)
No. 56 — Martin Truex Jr. — TRICON Garage Toyota (Crew chief: Cole Pearn)
No. 62 — Anthony Alfredo — Beard Motorsports Chevrolet (Crew chief: Darren Shaw)
No. 66 — Garrett Smithley & Chandler Smith — Garage 66 Toyota (Crew chief: Carl Long)
No. 78 — B.J. McLeod — Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet (Crew chief: George Ingram)
No. 84 — Jimmie Johnson — Legacy Motor Club Toyota (Crew chief: TBD)
No. 91 — Helio Castroneves & others — Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet (Crew chief: Darian Grubb)
So what are the top NASCAR Fantasy picks for the Daytona 500, and which value driver is a must-roster? Visit SportsLine now to see DFS millionaire Mike McClure’s complete Daytona 500 Fantasy rankings, for a chance to cash in big on NASCAR Fantasy.
