NASCAR Silly Season continues to heat up! With just a few months left in the season, questions on where drivers will go will be answered, and this week is no exception. Two Cup Series seats were filled, and an announcement on two of the most covenant seats in the Xfinity Series is coming on Saturday. Here’s a rundown of everything you missed this week in Silly Season.
A storyline that went under the radar this season was where two-time Southern 500 winner Erik Jones would land in 2025. Legacy Motor Club puts the speculation to bed, as the team resigned their franchise driver to a multiyear deal for 2025 and beyond. Jones will continue to drive the No. 43 Toyota Camry for the foreseeable future, and with John Hunter Nemechek returning to the No. 42, Legacy Motor Club has its full-time driver lineup locked in for 2025.
Jones has driven for the team since 2021. His best season was 2022, when he earned 13 top-10s, won the Southern 500, and finished top-20 in points. Among all the changes, from bringing on new owners and partners to switching manufacturers, Jones has been a symbol of stability for the team since he’s been with them. Now, he’ll continue with the LCM as they continue their journey as a “Tier One” Toyota team.
This was a move not many fans were expecting. On Thursday, Kaulig Racing announced that their current Xfinity Series driver, AJ Allmendinger, will race in the Cup Series, driving the No. 16 Chevrolet in 2025. The three-time Cup Series winner returns to the full-time seat he filled just a year ago, winning the NASCAR playoff race at the Charlotte Roval. After a one-year stop in the Xfinity Series, Allmendinger returns to Cup for a second stint with Kaulig Racing.
Kaulig has struggled this year in the Cup Series. The No. 31 Chevy, driven solely by Daniel Hemric, sits 30th in points, while the No. 16 all-star Chevy sits 33rd in the standings. Allmendinger has raced part-time in the No. 16 this season, earning three top-10s in 10 starts. He’ll look to replicate his success in the seat that he had in 2023, winning at the Roval and finishing top 20 in points.
The Haas Factory Team finally unveils its Xfinity Series lineup after months of speculation. Sam Mayer and Sheldon Creed will both drive for the HFT in the No. 41 and No. 00 Fords in 2025. Mayer will move over from JR Motorsports while Creed joins his third team and third OEM in three years. The No. 98 will not be run by the team, to which current driver Riley Herbst gave his reaction on X.
Mayer was in contention for the third Front Row Motorsports seat in the Cup Series but will stay in Xfinity for at least one more year. He has six wins in the last 36 races and made the Championship 4 just a year ago. As for Creed, he has driven full-time in Xfinity since 2022, first with Richard Childress Racing and this season with Joe Gibbs Racing. The 2020 Truck Series champion is still searching for his first Xfinity Series win, finishing runner-up a record 11 times. Perhaps this is what he needs to finally get the monkey off his back and get into Xfinity Series victory lane. After announcing Cole Custer to their Cup Series car last month, the 2025 driver lineup is finally set for the Haas Factory Team.
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Joey Logano could break Richard Petty’s 47-year-old record for the most consecutive drafting-track races led this weekend at EchoPark Speedway. After leading laps in the Daytona 500, Logano has now led in 19 straight drafting-track races, dating back to 2023, tying a mark The King set from 1974 to 1979.
Logano now has a clear opportunity to move past Petty and claim sole possession of one of NASCAR’s longest-standing superspeedway records, and considering his and Team Penske’s history of dominance in this style of tracks, it seems that he is poised to break it.
Chris Gabehart has responded to Joe Gibbs Racing’s lawsuit, strongly denying the allegations and calling the claims “false,” “frivolous,” and “retaliatory” in a public statement released this Friday.
After the lawsuit became public, on Thursday, Gabehart spoke out for the first time, stating that he did not share any confidential JGR information with Spire Motorsports or any third parties and that he intends to prove that in court. He also said a third-party forensic review of his personal devices found no evidence supporting the accusations, adding that JGR declined an offer to examine Spire’s systems before filing suit.
“Yesterday afternoon, Joe Gibbs Racing filed a lawsuit claiming — falsely — that I shared JGR confidential information with Spire Motorsports and/or other unnamed third parties… I feel compelled to speak out today and forcefully and emphatically deny these frivolous and retaliatory claims.”
Gabehart said he will address the matter further in a formal legal response in the coming days.
You can learn more about the lawsuit, why it started and all the context surrounding it in the article linked below
Weather could play a major role in the NASCAR weekend at EchoPark Speedway, with current forecasts calling for a 40% chance of rain Saturday afternoon and increasing to 55% in the evening. While conditions are expected to improve, contingency plans are already in place in case races cannot be completed as scheduled
NASCAR has not announced any official schedule changes yet, as decisions will be based on how conditions develop in real time. With rain chances increasing through Saturday afternoon and evening, teams are preparing for multiple outcomes, and Sunday is expected to serve as the primary backup window if events can’t be completed as planned.
Conditions are constantly being monitored, but fans should be prepared for possible schedule adjustments throughout the weekend. We’ll keep you updated throughout the race weekend here on The Daily Downforce
