Who are the Future Cup Series Championship Race Teams?

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - JULY 02: A Kaulig Racing crew members carries equipment on pit road during a weather delayed start of the NASCAR Cup Series Grant Park 220 at the Chicago Street Course on July 02, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
In NASCAR, the driver is important, but his equipment and the team around him is very important as well. There are a few up-and-coming race teams in NASCAR, but which ones are capable of winning a NASCAR Cup Series Championship in the coming years? Here is a look at some future Cup Series Championship Race Teams.

In NASCAR, the driver is important, but his equipment and the team around them are very important as well. There are a few up-and-coming race teams in NASCAR, but which ones are capable of winning a NASCAR Cup Series Championship in the coming years? Here is a look at some future Cup Series Championship Race Teams.

Trackhouse Racing

Trackhouse Racing burst onto the NASCAR scene early in this decade, which is strange to say considering that we are still early on in this decade. From Justin Marks and Pitbull creating Trackhouse in 2021 to Marks buying out Chip Ganassi Racing before the 2022 season to expand to a two-car team, they brought Ross Chastain into the fold. Chastain proceeded to finish second in the Cup Series standings in the 2022 season.

At some point, Trackhouse will win a Cup Series Championship, and they have a chance to do it this season. They have quickly become a race team to be reckoned with, and they are a true Championship contender. If you keep searching around it, eventually, you will strike gold. Trackhouse is no different.

23XI Racing

23XI Racing is in a similar situation to Trackhouse even if Trackhouse has gotten closer to a Championship in recent years. 23XI Racing has two young drivers to build around Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick. They have both of their cars in the Playoffs in their third season.

They are trending upward, albeit at a slower rate than Trackhouse is. 23XI Racing is growing as a race team, and they have enough driver talent to win a Championship. This year may be the year if Tyler Reddick can continue winning or if Wallace can get some clutch victories.

Spire Motorsports

Spire Motorsports’ stock has risen quite a bit over the course of this year. Now, they are beginning to spend a lot of money as they have now bought a third charter to field a third car in 2024. They also have major sponsorship from Gainbridge, Corey LaJoie to build around and a young driver with some connection to in Carson Hocevar.

They are not quite there yet, but they are a few key steps away from becoming a contending NASCAR Cup Series race team. If they play their cards right, they could become a Championship winning race team.

Kaulig Racing

Kaulig Racing slowly built their team up over a few years in Xfinity, and now they are a championship contender in the series. They are trying to do the same in Cup, but it will take some time before they get there. Be that as it may, they are already race winners at NASCAR’s highest level.

If they keep building, they can become a Championship contender. It will take time, though, and they are not nearly as close as someone like 23XI or Trackhouse. However, Kaulig is still building itself up.

Front Row Motorsports

This may have seemed crazy a few years ago, but Front Row Motorsports has turned a corner in recent years. They made the Playoffs this year thanks to a win by Michael McDowell at the Indianapolis Road Course, and McDowell was within the Playoffs on points for a large part of the year. Now, they have signed McDowell and Todd Gilliland beyond this season.

Front Row has had to scratch and claw to get to where they are now. It may take time to get them to be a true Championship contender, but they can get there. They are building, and they have a Truck Series team to groom prospects for the Cup Series.

It will be interesting to see how these race teams develop as time goes on. Maybe in a few years, these owners will have owners championship trophies to put on their mantle.

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HAMPTON, GEORGIA - FEBRUARY 21: Sheldon Creed, driver of the #00 Road Ranger Chevrolet, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series Bennett Transportation & Logistics 250 at Echo Park Speedway on February 21, 2026 in Hampton, Georgia.

O’Reilly: Sheldon Creed Breaks Through in Thriller at EchoPark Speedway

What’s Happening?

It was a busy Saturday at EchoPark Speedway (formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway). First, we had the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race. Then, the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series took center stage and they were two vastly different events. Ultimately, it was Sheldon Creed standing tall in victory lane when all was said and done. Here’s what you need to take away from tonight’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at EchoPark Speedway.

  • There were a lot of drivers who had tire problems which set off massive wrecks and incidents. First, Sam Mayer had a tire go down from the race lead. Sammy Smith got bitten. Austin Green. Corey Day. Taylor Gray. The list goes on and on. Some of them were able to stay in contention while others were plagued for the rest of the race.
  • Speaking for Corey Day, he just had a bad race. First, he sparked an incident which took out several drivers, including the Sieg brothers (who weren’t shy about voicing their displeasure about the rookie) and Harrison Burton. And though the broadcasters on the CW gave him the benefit of the doubt, the later incident was less forgivable. In this incident, while he was battling the JRM duo of Carson Kvapil and Justin Allgaier for the race lead, Day got into the No. 1 Arby’s Chevy, sending all three of them into the wall. This is certainly a performance that he’ll want to forget.
  • Chevrolets swept the stages. Winning the first one was none other than Jesse Love, continuing RCR’s dominance on drafting tracks. Rajah Caruth, who had a handful all race, was able to capture his first career stage win by winning Stage 2.
  • It wasn’t the dominating race for RCR that we all thought it would be. With ill-handling cars, their qualifying attempts were underwhelming, and they got off to a lukewarm start tonight. By the end of it, though, they were in the mix. Slicing and dicing, Austin Hill had the lead as they came around to take the white flag. However, in Turn 1, he got “Chastained.” Ross Chastain plowed into the back of the No. 21, knocking him down to the apron. Hill was able to save it and rally home to a 12th place finish.
  • The big story tonight is that Sheldon Creed, finally, after far too many runner-up finishes to count, broke through to capture his first NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series win. It will certainly be a day he and his team will never forget.

Notable Incidents

Lap 5: Corey Day

Corey Day had a very sloppy, bad race in general, and it started early. First, he caused a wreck that took out Harrison Burton and a couple of others. Then, he took out the JRM duo of Carson Kvapil and Justin Allgaier. You can recap that first incident by reading the article below.

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Lap 142: Sammy Smith

Kvapil and Allgaier weren’t the only JRM cars to have issues tonight. Firstly, Rajah Caruth was out of control throughout the race, fighting a mean-handling car. He was able to brilliantly save it several times, to his credit. But perhaps the biggest incident involving the four JRM Chevys came at Lap 142 when Sammy Smith had a tire go down and spun in front of the pack. This took out several drivers, including Taylor Gray, among others. Read about that here:

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Results

Results Pending.

Points Standings (2 of 35)

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O’Reilly: Sammy Smith’s Flat Takes Out Heavy Hitters Late at EchoPark

What’s Happening?

As Ross Chastain took the lead and the pack was closing in on 20 laps to go, things a little deeper in the pack started to get a little hairy. We had yet another huge crash late in the running here tonight, this one sparked by Sammy Smith’s flat rear tire. Here’s what happened:

  • As the laps were winding down in tonight’s O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race, Sammy Smith, along with his JRM teammates, were in the thick of contention for the win. Unfortunately for him, a poorly-timed flat rear tire ended his (and several others) chance to capitalize and get that first valuable win of the season. Unable to hold onto it, the No. 8 Pilot Chevy spun around in front of a massive horde of cars.
  • Helpless to go anywhere, several heavy hitters were caught up in this incident. They include the likes of William Sawalich, Gio Ruggiero, Patrick Staropoli, Taylor Gray, Brennan Poole, Nick Leitz, and Lavar Scott.
  • It’s an unfortunate beginning of the year for a handful of these drivers. Luckily for Brennan Poole, he’s coming off a strong showing at Daytona and was in the thick of it here tonight. That shows some promise for sure.

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O’Reilly: Mid-Race Report from EchoPark Speedway

What’s Happening?

It has been a tail of two races when it comes to today’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series at EchoPark Speedway (formerly the Atlanta Motor Speedway). We got off to a rough start with Corey Day triggering a massive wreck that took out the likes of Harrison Burton, and the Sieg brothers. Then, the field settled in and started to churn laps. Here’s what’s gone down so far.

  • Sam Mayer led a bulk of the opening laps. Leading the first 23 laps of the race, he was forced to pit on Lap 24 due to a flat left front tire. No caution was triggered. To make matters worse, he was caught speeding on pit road, putting him down several laps and effectively taking him out of contention.
  • Jesse Love continued RCR’s dominance in the first stage. With Mayer out of the picture, he assumed the race lead, leading 31 laps to win the opening stage.
  • Austin Hill finally made it up to the race lead by Stage 2. Unfortunately for him and RCR, their win streak in the stages ended with the conclusion of Stage 2. It was Rajah Caruth in the No. 88 HendrickCars.com Chevy that captured the green and white checkered flag.
  • In a horrific accident during pit stops, Taylor Gray smashed into one of his tire carriers. It was a scary situation. Fortunately, he got up like a champ and completed the stop. He was thankfully checked and released from the in-field care center.
  • Corey Day’s woes continued as the field set in for the final stage of the evening. Drawing further criticism, Day, while battling for the race lead, made contact with leader Carson Kvapil, sending them both into the outside wall. Also collected in the incident was Kvapil’s teammate, the 2024 series champion, Justin Allgaier.

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