Counting the changes as a new NASCAR season draws near

Yesterday at 12:56 PM

NASCAR Cup Series teams are on the clock.

The season will see cars on the racetrack for the first time in 25 days when activity begins for the Cookout Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium. A lot of work will be done before teams arrive, and a lot has happened since the 2024 season ran its final lap.

There is always movement from one season to the next. Change is constant: drivers change teams or leave the garage, and it trickles down to personnel changes throughout race shops.

It was no different over the last few months. If anything, this has been one of the busiest winters in recent memory, with changes all around. So, before teams get back into competition, it's worth reviewing everything that has happened.

Faces in new places

* Noah Gragson has a new home with Front Row Motorsports as the driver of the No. 4 Ford. But he remains paired with Drew Blickensderfer, who also came to the company from the now-defunct Stewart-Haas Racing.

* Chase Briscoe is the new guy at Joe Gibbs Racing as he takes over the No. 19 Toyota. He is paired with crew chief James Small.

* Josh Berry becomes the newest driver at Wood Brothers Racing and adds his name to the list of those who have driven the beloved No. 21 Ford. Miles Stanley is the new crew chief of the team.

* 23XI Racing has expanded to three cars and Riley Herbst is the new addition. Herbst remains paired with Davin Restivo, with whom he worked at Stewart-Haas Racing. Monster Energy is also continuing its sponsorship of Herbst.

* Ryan Preece is the third driver at RFK Racing, who has expanded to three cars. Preece will drive the No. 60 Ford.

* Michael McDowell and crew chief Travis Peterson are now at Spire Motorsports. The duo will now be on the No. 71 Chevrolet team.

* Shane van Gisbergen is a Cup Series driver, promoted with Trackhouse Racing. He and crew chief Stephen Doran will put the No. 88 Chevrolet on track.

Team changes

* Richard Boswell is the new crew chief for Austin Dillon on the No. 3 Chevrolet at Richard Childress Racing. Boswell joined the company from Stewart-Haas Racing.

* Rodney Childers begins the next chapter of his career at Spire Motorsports. Childers will call the shots for Justin Haley, who returned to the organization in the No. 7 Chevrolet late last season.

* Ty Dillon has replaced Daniel Hemric at Kaulig Racing and the organization has chosen the No. 10 for Dillon (doing away with the No. 31). Andrew Dickeson (former Richard Childress Racing engineer) is the crew chief.

* Chris Gayle is the new crew chief for Denny Hamlin and the No. 11 Toyota team.

* Chris Gabehart, Hamlin's former crew chief, is now the competition director at Joe Gibbs Racing.

* Trent Owens has reunited with AJ Allmendinger at Kaulig Racing to lead the No. 16 Chevrolet team.

* Jeremy Bullins joins RFK Racing and reunites with Brad Keselowski to lead the No. 6 Ford team. The two previously worked together at Team Penske.

* Charles Denike is a Cup Series crew chief for the first time as he joins 23XI Racing to lead Bubba Wallace and the No. 23 Toyota group.

* Todd Gilliland, still a Front Row Motorsports driver, has taken over the No. 34 Ford with Love’s sponsorship. Chris Lawson has returned to the organization and is the crew chief for the team.

* Front Row Motorsports has also expanded to three cars and in addition to Gragson and Gilliland, Zane Smith has returned to the organization. Smith will be in the No. 38 Ford with crew chief Ryan Bergenty.

* Cole Custer is the cornerstone driver at Haas Factory Team in the No. 41 Ford and Aaron Kramer (former engineer for RFK Racing) is the crew chief. Gene Haas decided to remain in the sport with one of the charters from Stewart-Haas Racing and rebranded and scaled down the company.

* Travis Mack is the crew chief for John Hunter Nemechek and the No. 42 Toyota team at Legacy Motor Club.

* JTG Daugherty Racing has rebranded to Hyak Motorsports with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and the No. 47 Chevrolet team.

* Tyler Allen is the new crew chief for Ty Gibbs and the No. 54 Toyota team. Gayle, the former crew chief of the team, was moved to Hamlin's camp.

Schedule shuffle

* The season starts at home in North Carolina with the Cookout Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium. It will be a two-day show the first weekend of Feb. (1-2).

* A practice session has been added to the Daytona 500 schedule that will take place the morning before single-car qualifying (Wednesday, Feb. 12). It means a driver's first lap on track that week will not be for qualifying.

* Among the early season changes are visits to Circuit of the Americas and Homestead-Miami Speedway in the spring.

* NASCAR takes the Cup Series to Mexico City in June.

* Atlanta, Chicago, Sonoma, Dover, and Indianapolis will be the tracks in the five-race, in-season tournament.

* Daytona returns to the regular season finale, while Darlington is back as the postseason opener. WWTR and New Hampshire move into the postseason.

* A reminder that FOX Sports will broadcast practice and qualifying the Clash, Daytona 500, All-Star Race and all Craftsman Truck Series races. Prime will broadcast Cup Series practice and qualifying for the first half of the season, excluding those Fox Sports broadcasts. TNT Sports will broadcast practice and qualifying on Max and truTV for the second half of the Cup Series season.

Unanswered questions

* The crew chief and additional partners for Preece at RFK Racing.

* A new sponsor – or additional races for existing sponsors – for Hamlin after the departure of FedEx, which was a primary in 13 races during the 2024 season.

* The driver of the No. 51 for Rick Ware Racing. It's expected to be Cody Ware, but no confirmation has been made. Ware has one charter for the 2025 season after leasing its second charter to alliance partner RFK Racing.

* Additional partners at Front Row Motorsports for Gragson and Smith.

* The partners for McDowell at Spire Motorsports.

* Who the Rookie of the Year candidates will be. NASCAR views them on a case-by-case basis and will consider them when submitted by the teams, which could be before the season starts and even during the season. Van Gisbergen and Herbst are likely to be on the list.

The first on track activity of the season is the practice and qualifying session for the Clash on Saturday, Feb. 1. It will be followed by the heat races. Then on Sunday, Feb. 2, the day begins with the last chance race and then the main event.