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One of the things that makes NASCAR’s feeder system unique to others is that drivers who compete at the top level of the sport come down to mix it up with the stars of the lower series from time to time. Some drivers do so, while others prefer to focus on the Cup Series, but, a Cup Series driver competing in the lower series often adds intrigue to a race weekend. Which Cup Series drives will compete in the lower series this season?
**We will keep this article updated with new races and results as the 2024 season progresses.
Niece Motorsports (Truck Series) – 5 Races
Ross Chastain will return to Niece Motorsports this year for 5 races in the #45 Truck. He will share the car with Kaden Honeycutt, Johnny Sauter, and Connor Mosack. Chastain’s 2024 races with Niece include COTA on March 23rd, Darlington on May 10th, North Wilkesboro on May 18th, Pocono on July 12th, and Indianapolis Raceway Park on July 19th.
Chastain has competed on at least a part-time basis with Niece every year since 2018. He’s scored all four of his Truck Series wins with the team, and he recorded two top-5s in the #41 truck in 2022.
DGM Racing (Xfinity Series) – 5 Races
DGM Racing announced on April 17th that Ross Chastain would make 5 starts for the team. His schedule is still To be announced.
Chastain made 3 starts for the team in the Xfinity Series in 2023. His best finish was 4th at Watkins Glen in August.
Results
Spire Motorsports (Truck Series) – 5 Races
Kyle Busch sold KBM and all of its assets to Spire Motorsports in the fall of 2023, so, he no longer has a Truck Series team. However, numerous reports said that Busch hoped to compete in 5 Truck Series races for the team in 2024. Spire Motorsports officially announced that schedule the week after Daytona, and Busch will race for the team at Atlanta on February 24th, Las Vegas on March 1st, Bristol on March 16th, Texas on April 12th, and Darlington on May 10th.
Busch is the all-time winningest driver in the Truck Series. He has 64 career victories in the series, including 2 in 2023. His first win came at Las Vegas with his second coming at Pocono.
Results
SS Greenlight (Xfinity Series) – 1 Race
Daniel Suarez will attempt the Xfinity Series race at Daytona in a one-off effort with SS Greenlight. The partnership comes thanks to an alliance with Kaulig Racing, whom Trackhouse Racing (Suarez’s Cup Series team) is now aligned with. For now, this is just a one-off race.
Suarez won the 2016 Xfinity Series Championship for Joe Gibbs Racing, and he made his first two Xfinity Series starts in 5 years in 2023. His best finish was 10th at Pocono for Kaulig Racing.
Results
Spire Motorsports (Truck Series) – 1 Race
Corey LaJoie will be the first driver in Spire Motorsports “All-Star” #7 Truck in 2024. He will pull double duty, running the Truck Series race on the Friday night before the Daytona 500. Spire said that future drivers for the truck would be announced.
LaJoie made two starts in the Truck Series for the team in 2023. This included the season opener at Dayton where he started 5th and led 19 laps before finishing 23rd.
Results
Joe Gibbs Racing (Xfinity Series) – 10 Races
Joe Gibbs Racing will have an army of drivers piloting their 4 Xfinity Series cars in 2024. John Hunter Nemechek will split the #20 car with Aric Almirola and likely more to-be-announced drivers. Nemechek does not have any restrictions on how many races he can run, so, he will make 10 starts for the team. His races will be Daytona (February 17th), Atlanta (February 24th), Las Vegas (March 2nd), Phoenix (March 9th), COTA (March 23rd), Sonoma (June 8th), Iowa (June 15th), Nashville (June 29th), Chicago (July 6th), and Michigan (August 17th).
Nemechek spent the 2023 season in the #20 car for JGR. He won 7 races and made the Championship 4, ultimately finishing 4th in the series standings.
Results
McAnally-Hilgemann Racing (Truck Series) – 4 Races
Zane Smith will join McAnally-Hilgemann Racing for 4 races in 2024. He will race at Las Vegas (March 1st), Bristol (March 16th), Texas (April 5th), and Kansas (May 4th) in the #91 truck. The #91 will be an “All-Star Truck” for 2024.
Smith spent the last 4 seasons in the Craftsman Truck Series. He won the series Championship in 2022 for Front Row Motorsports before joining Spire Motorsports for the 2024 Cup Series season.
Results
Christopher Bell will make one Craftsman Truck Series start at Las Vegas this weekend. He will driver in the TRICON Garage #1 Truck, which is an All-Star Truck for this season.
Bell is a 7-time winner in the series along with the 2017 series Champion. However, he has never won at Las Vegas.
Results
William Byron will join his Hendrick Motorsports teammates in the #17 car for 4 Xfinity Series races this year. Byron will be behind the wheel at Phoenix (March 9th), Darlington (May 11th), Pocono (July 13th), and Watkins Glen (September 14th).
Byron won at three of these four race tracks in the Cup Series in 2023. The lone exception was Pocono, where he still led the most laps.
Results
Chase Elliott will pull double duty during a pair of Crown Jewel weekends in 2024. He will race at Charlotte (May 25th) the weekend of the Coca-Cola 600 and at Darlington (August 31st) the weekend of the Southern 500.
Elliott won the Xfinity Series Championship in 2014. However, he has not won a race in the series since the season opener at Daytona in 2016.
Kyle Larson looks to hone his road racing skills in the Xfinity Series this year. He will compete at COTA (March 23rd) and the Chicago Street Race (July 6th).
Larson is a 14-time Xfinity Series winner, including one road course win at Watkins Glen in 2022 with JR Motorsports. His last overall Xfinity win came at Darlington in 2023 in the #10 car for Kaulig Racing.
Results:
Alex Bowman will make a one-off start in the Xfinity Series for Hendrick Motorsports this year. This will come at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (June 22nd).
Bowman has only won 1 Xfinity Series race, which came at Charlotte in the fall of 2017. In 2023, Bowman attempted a Truck Series race for Spire Motorsports with HendrickCars.com sponsorship, but, he failed to qualify for the race. He did make one Xfinity Series start, however, finishing 9th at Watkins Glen.
Ty Gibbs will take his road racing talents to the Xfinity Series in 2024 at Circuit of the Americas (March 23rd) and the Chicago Street Race (July 6th) in the Joe Gibbs Racing #19 car. He won in the car at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course in 2023.
Gibbs is a 12-time Xfinity Series winner, and all of those wins came for JGR. He continues to impress in the Cup Series, but, he will still jump down to Xfinity occasionally.
Noah Gragson makes his long-awaited return to the NASCAR Xfinity Series this season. He will race for Rette Jones Racing at Charlotte (May 25th), Nashville (June 29th), Michigan (August 17th), Darlington (August 31st). Rette Jones Racing currently competes full-time in the ARCA Menards Series.
Gragson has 4 full-time Xfinity Series seasons under his belt, coming from 2019-2022. He won 13 races during that time, including two Championship 4 appearances.
This article will be updated as the season progresses. Be sure to bookmark this page for the latest news on Cup Series drivers in the lower series.
