2025 NASCAR Lineup Projections | fox sports

With a silly season almost complete, here’s a team-by-team look at what their 2025 rosters could look like.

As discussions progress, these projections/outlook will change and we will keep you informed.

Here’s my outlook as of January 2nd and the announcement that Zane Smith will be joining Front Row Motorsports.

Joe Gibbs Racing

11: Denny Hamlin will sign at least until next year. Chris Gayle will move from Ty Gibbs’ car to Hamlin’s crew chief. The rest of your crew will remain the same.

19: Chase Briscoe will replace Martin Truex Jr. next year, the team announced Tuesday. Crew chief James Small will remain with the team.

20: Christopher Bell will sign at least next year and no changes are expected.

54: Ty Gibbs is the grandson of the team’s owner and is expected to carry it as long as the team has Joe Gibbs running. Tyler Allen, who had success in the Xfinity Series with several JGR drivers in 2024 and earned eight wins, will be Gibbs’ crew chief.

Hendrick Motorsports

5: Kyle Larson is signed through at least next year and no changes are expected.

9: Chase Elliott signed for at least next year and no changes are expected.

24: William Byron will sign at least until next year and no changes are expected.

48: Alex Bowman has a contract until at least next year and no changes are expected.

Racing 23XI

23: Bubba Wallace signed a multi-year contract extension, the team announced on September 18. He will have a new crew chief, as Charles Denike will move from Christian Eckes’ truck crew chief to Wallace, while Bootie Barker will move into a shop role and is also likely to be crew chief in any quarter. part-time income.

35: Riley Herbst was named driver of this car on November 20, which was no surprise as he had been included in this trip since the summer. He will bring Davin Restivo from his Stewart-Haas Xfinity car as crew chief, as well as sponsorship from Monster. This team will have an SHR charter pending any ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals regarding approval of the charter transfer and the current injunction that is part of 23XI/Front Row Motorsports’ lawsuit against NASCAR.

45: Tyler Reddick has a contract at least until next year and no changes are expected.

To be determined: Don’t be surprised if this organization occasionally fields a fourth car for Corey Heim, their substitute driver who also competes full-time in trucks.

Team Penske

2: Austin Cindric is signed at least through next year and no changes are expected.

12: Ryan Blaney signed for at least next year and no changes are expected.

22: Joey Logano is signed at least through next year and no changes are expected.

RFK Racing

6: Brad Keselowski is a co-owner and is expected to get back in this car next year. Matt McCall will not return as crew chief. Jeremy Bullins, who won Xfinity titles with Keselowski and most recently was the Cup crew chief for Harrison Burton, will be the crew chief.

17: Chris Buescher will sign at least until next year and no changes are expected.

60 (charter rented to Rick Ware Racing): RFK Racing announced on November 19 that it would add a third car for Ryan Preece with Kroger sponsorship. Will rent a charter from Rick Ware Racing for this entry. Kroger has previously been a sponsor of Chris Buescher and Preece, and had good relationships with both when they drove for JTG Daugherty Racing. No crew chief has been announced for Preece.

track racing

1: Ross Chastain has a contract until at least next year and no changes are expected.

99: Daniel Suárez signed a contract extension that will keep him on the seat next year, the team announced on August 9.

88 (letter acquired from SHR): Trackhouse announced on August 24 that Shane van Gisbergen will compete full-time in the Cup Series in 2025. This year he will run several Cup races for Kaulig Racing, the organization for which he has driven in the Xfinity Series full-time this year as part of an agreement with Trackhouse. Stephen Doran, Zane Smith’s crew chief this year in the Cup, will be van Gisbergen’s crew chief.

Richard Childress Careers

3: Austin Dillon will sign at least next year. Dillon will have a new crew chief, as Richard Boswell, who was Chase Briscoe’s crew chief at Stewart-Haas Racing, will be Dillon’s crew chief in 2025.

8: Kyle Busch is signed at least through next year and no changes are expected.

33: The team had flirted with adding a third full-time car for next year, but that is not expected to happen.

Haas factory equipment

41: Cole Custer was announced on July 20 as a driver for this team next year. The defending Xfinity Series champion and current series points leader who moved from 2020 to 2022 in the Cup Series at SHR, was the natural choice for this car with his performance in throughout his career. The team will remain Ford and will have an RFK alliance. Aaron Kramer, Chris Buescher’s chief engineer in the Cup Series at RFK, will be Custer’s crew chief.

Motorsports in the front row

34: Todd Gilliland is signed through at least next season, but will have a new number in 2025 as he moves from the No. 38 to the team’s flagship car, the No. 34. He will also have a new team with Chris Lawson as his team. boss. Lawson won a truck title with Zane Smith at Front Row.

38 (letter acquired from SHR): Zane Smith was named driver on January 2 and will have the team that Gilliland had in 2024 with Ryan Bergenty as his crew chief.

Number to be determined: Noah Gragson signs with the team for next year. The team has not announced its car number or crew chief, but Drew Blickensderfer is expected to go with SHR’s Gragson to Front Row.

needle motorsports

7: Corey LaJoie signed through next season, but found out on July 24 that he will not drive for Spire. Justin Haley was announced as the driver of this car on September 20 and took over that trip in late September. Starting next season, the former Rick Ware Racing driver will be paired with new crew chief Rodney Childers.

71: Michael McDowell (currently driving for Front Row Motorsports) signed with Spire through at least next season and joins the team to replace Zane Smith. McDowell will bring crew chief Travis Peterson with him to Spire.

77: Carson Hocevar is signed through at least next season. His performance this year has been strong enough for other teams to see him, but he will remain with Spire until 2025.

Legacy Motor Club

42: John Hunter Nemechek is signed through at least next season. He will have Travis Mack, most recently crew chief of the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Cup car, as his crew chief in 2025.

43: Erik Jones, it was announced on August 13, signed a contract extension that should keep him at No. 43 at least through 2026. Ben Beshore assumed the crew chief role at the end of the 2024 season, replacing Dave Elenz.

Hyak Motorsports (formerly JTG Daugherty Racing)

47: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is signed at least through next season and no changes are expected. Even with Kroger leaving as a title sponsor, the team has been upgrading the store as Gordon Smith, who operated the team last season, officially announced the team’s name change on Nov. 21. Hyak (meaning “quick” in Chinook slang, which is a trading language in the Pacific Northwest) is the name of Smith’s shipping company. Brad Daugherty remains a co-owner of the team and Ernie Cope, the team’s CEO, has an ownership stake, as does investor Mark Hughes.

Rick Ware Racing

15: With this contract leased to RFK, this car would compete as an open car and it is yet to be determined if it will run a full schedule. Bowman Gray Modified star Tim Brown will race this car at the Clash and the rest of the season lineup is yet to be determined.

51: Justin Haley left for Spire Motorsports and the team swapped with Spire driver Corey LaJoie for the final seven races of 2024. Cody Ware appears to be the most likely driver for this full-time ride. LaJoie is no longer a likely candidate for this car.

Kaulig Racing

10 (previously 31): Kaulig Racing announced on September 28 that Ty Dillon would replace Daniel Hemric On this trip next year. He obtained the number 10 for the next year, as the closure of Stewart-Haas Racing left that number available. Former RCR engineer Andrew Dickeson will be crew chief.

16: AJ Allmendinger will return to Cup full-time in 2025 in the same car he drove during the 2023 season. Trent Owens will remain in this car as crew chief.

Wooden Brothers Racing

21: Josh Berry has been announced as the driver of this car for 2025, as the SHR driver will replace Harrison Burton, who will drive for AM Racing in the Xfinity Series next season. Penske engineer Miles Stanley will be the car’s crew chief.

Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including more than 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene Magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.