We are deep into the silly season and quickly catching up to the offseason. Many teams have made moves already, while others have held off for now. Here is every major addition and subtraction made by NASCAR Cup Series teams prior to the 2025 season.
23XI Racing added a new car and driver for the 2025 season. After having one of their best seasons to date, the team hopes that this third car can be another piece of their long-term future. For the driver, they went with SHR prospect Riley Herbst. Herbst’s career has not been the best; however, he has a winning history and the funding needed for a team to start a new ride. Both 23XI and FRM are at risk of losing their Stewart-Haas Racing charter due to their lawsuit with NASCAR.
Front Row Motorsports’ first season as a Tier One Ford program has not resulted in a win. However, the team may have set itself up for the future and benefitted from the closure of Stewart-Haas Racing. Despite losing longtime driver Michael McDowell and Crew Chief Travis Peterson to Spire, the team added Noah Gragson. Furthermore, the team has one new charter from SHR driven by Zane Smith, who makes his return to the team following a departure last year.
Of course, the team lost nothing if you consider it a new team. However, the team once known as Stewart-Haas Racing lost everything: sponsors, Drivers, Charters, and even one of its owners. Now, owner Gene Haas looks to the future with Xfinity Series Veteran Cole Custer back in the Cup Series.
Joe Gibbs Racing finally had to deal with Martin Truex Jr.’s retirement this year. Fortunately, they were able to move on rather easily with SHR’s Chase Briscoe jumping ship from Ford. This major move looked all the better as Briscoe picked up his pace in his No. 14 as the season wrapped up.
Kaulig has added to its Xfinity Series program this Silly Season and its Cup Series program as well. One year after moving A.J. Allmendinger back to the NASCAR Xfinity Series, the team is bringing the veteran back to the NASCAR Cup Series in 2025. This follows a miserable team for the No. 16 Charter and its rotating door of drivers. The team went even further by bringing on Ty Norris to help grow the team into the long-term future.
RFK Racing gained a new car and a new sponsor for 2025. Kroger, leaving JTG-Daugherty Racing, is bringing important financial backing, allowing the team to lease a third charter from Rick Ware Racing. Ryan Preece, another former SHR driver, will drive that No. 60 next season.
Spire Motorsports shocked everyone by signing veteran Michael McDowell early on to drive the No. 71 in 2025. They followed this up with the additions of FRM Crew Chief Travis Peterson for McDowell and SHR Cup Series Champion Crew Chief Rodney Childers. The losses of cornerstone driver Corey Lajoie and Trackhouse Racing loan Zane Smith made room for these moves. Furthermore, the team swapped Lajoie for RWR’s Justin Haley at Bristol. Haley will finish out 2024 for the team and go full-time in the No. 7 in 2025.
In August, Trackhouse Racing added Shane Van Gisbergen to its full-time team in 2025 alongside a third charter, bumping the team up to three full-time cars. The team also cut ties with developmental driver Zane Smith. Smith was leased to Spire Motorsports prior to this season and performed poorly, with his release happening not even one year into his long-term deal with the team.
The Wood Brothers started this season with Harrison Burton. The third-year, second-generation driver had not performed well since 2022. This performance led to the announcement that the Wood Brothers were signing SHR’s Josh Berry to take over the No. 21 in 2025. While this news would normally rattle a team, Burton went on to win the Coke Zero Sugar 400 in August, giving WBR its 100th win in the NASCAR Cup Series.
This article will be updated as we head towards the start of the 2024 season.
