With a handful of notable exceptions, this year’s 36-race NASCAR Cup Series roster is almost identical to that of recent seasons. Here's a bit of what you might have missed during a news-filled offseason in NASCAR.
• Just when we thought we’d seen the last of Jimmie Johnson, he’s back for …. what?... why? Well, nobody knows. He recently became an investor with Maury Gallagher (and, to a lesser extent, Richard Petty) in the rebranded Legacy Motor Club, formerly Petty GMS Racing. The seven-time champion and 83-time winner will run the Daytona 500 and selected races in the No. 84 Chevrolet. (The number is significant). Amateur psychologists figure Johnson is so embarrassed about his short-lived IndyCar debacle that he needs something to remind people that he was… you know… pretty good back in the day.
• The Rookie of the Year scrap should be interesting since the newcomers don’t particularly like each other. After winning 11 Xfinity races in two years, defending series champion Ty Gibbs moves to grandpa Joe’s No. 54 Toyota, sort of replacing Kyle Busch. Noah Gragson is in the No. 42 Chevrolet (replacing Ty Dillon) at the newly renamed Legacy Motor Club of Maury Gallagher, Jimmie Johnson and Richard Petty. Gragson won eight Xfinity races last year (13 in his career) en route to being series runner-up.
• Two-time champion Kyle Busch left Joe Gibbs Racing after 15 seasons to replace 2022 breakthrough winner Tyler Reddick in the No. 8 Chevrolet at Richard Childress Racing. Reddick was scheduled to leave RCR for 23XI Racing after this season, but Childress was happy to shed him early. It became even easier when Busch became available because of sponsorship problems at JGR.
• Former champion Kurt Busch faces an unsettling future. He missed the last 16 races last year after being injured in an innocent-looking crash at Pocono. He’s still associated to 23XI Racing, but it’s unclear if he’ll ever race again. (He insists the concussion won’t force him out, but it may not be his call). His situation made it easier for 23XI to work with RCR to get Reddick a year earlier than expected. Don’t be surprised when Busch makes a start or two so he can say he retired on his own terms.
• AJ Allmendinger is back full-time in Cup, driving the No. 16 Chevrolet for Kaulig Racing. He already has two Cup victories on road courses and 15 Xfinity victories, 10 of them on road courses. Owner Matt Kaulig is hoping to follow the path Justin Marks took in building Trackhouse Racing into a championship contender. It won’t be a stunner if Allmendinger or teammate Justin Haley wins again;
• Cole Custer, in the No. 41 Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing last year, is gone, relegated back to the Xfinity Series for SHR. He’s been replaced by Ryan Preece, a wildly popular driver from Connecticut with a huge fan base built on his successes in Xfinity, Trucks, and Modifieds, especially on New England’s short tracks.
Here's a look at the 36-car roster of full-time drivers along with the four non-chartered cars of part-time Cup drivers Jimmie Johnson, Travis Pastrana, Conor Daly and Zane Smith who make up this year's Daytona 500 field:
No. 1 Chevrolet - Ross Chastain
Car: No. 1 Chevrolet
Team: Trackhouse Racing
Owner: Justin Marks
Driver: Ross Chastain
Crew chief: Phil Surgen
Notable: Chastain’s last-lap move at Martinsville Speedway last fall remains a NASCAR classic.
No. 2 Ford - Austin Cindric
Car: No. 2 Ford
Team: Team Penske
Owner: Roger Penske
Driver: Austin Cindric
Crew chief: Jeremy Bullins
Notable: Cindric gave The Captain a cool 85th birthday gift by winning last year’s Daytona 500.
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No. 3 Chevrolet - Austin Dillon
Car: No. 3 Chevrolet
Team: Richard Childress Racing
Owner: Richard Childress
Driver: Austin Dillon
Crew chief: Keith Rodden
Notable: Let’s see how much better Dillon gets now with a new championship-level teammate.
No. 4 Chevrolet - Kevin Harvick
Car: No. 4 Chevrolet
Team: Stewart-Haas Racing
Owners: Gene Haas and Tony Stewart
Driver: Kevin Harvick
Crew chief: Rodney Childers
Notable: One-time champion (2017) focused on retiring after this season as a two-timer.
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No. 5 Chevrolet - Kyle Larson
Car: No. 5 Chevrolet
Team: Hendrick Motorsports
Owner: Rick Hendrick
Driver: Kyle Larson
Crew chief: Cliff Daniels
Notable: The 2021 Cup Series champion had – for him, anyway – a somewhat-forgettable 2022.
No. 6 Ford - Brad Keselowski
Car: No. 6 Ford
Team: RFK Racing
Owner: Jack Roush, John Henry and Brad Keselowski
Driver: Brad Keselowski
Crew chief: Matt McCall
Notable: Keselowski has brought a fresh attitude and new ideas to this once formidable organization.
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No. 7 Chevrolet - Corey LaJoie
Car: No. 7 Chevrolet
Team: Spire Motorsports
Owners: Jeff Dickerson and T.J. Puchyr
Driver: Corey LaJoie
Crew chief: Ryan Sparks
Notable: Driver with a thin Cup Series resume always seem to find a way to get media recognition.
No. 8 Chevrolet - Kyle Busch
Car: No. 8 Chevrolet
Team: Richard Childress Racing
Owner: Richard Childress
Driver: Kyle Busch
Crew chief: Randall Burnette
Notable: “Rowdy” going from JGR-Toyota to RCR-Chevrolet was the most newsworthy move in years.
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No. 9 Chevrolet - Chase Elliott
Car: No. 9 Chevrolet
Team: Hendrick Motorsports
Owner: Rick Hendrick
Driver: Chase Elliott
Crew chief: Alan Gustafson
Notable: NASCAR’s most popular driver has won “only” seven times since his 2020 title season.
No. 10 Ford - Aric Almirola
Car: No. 10 Ford
Team: Stewart-Haas Racing
Owner: Tony Stewart and Gene Haas
Driver: Aric Almirola
Crew chief: Drew Blickensderfer
Notable: After saying he’d retire after ’22, Almirola reversed course last summer and reupped with SHR.
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No. 11 Toyota - Denny Hamlin
Car: No. 11 Toyota
Team: Joe Gibbs Racing
Owner: Joe Gibbs
Driver: Denny Hamlin
Crew chief: Chris Gabehart
Notable: Many will argue he’s the best Cup driver without a championship on his resume.
No. 12 Ford - Ryan Blaney
Car: No. 12 Ford
Team: Team Penske
Owner: Roger Penske
Driver: Ryan Blaney
Crew chief: Jonathan Hassler
Notable: After three victories in 2021, team had 12 top-5s and 17 top-10s last year… but no victories.
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No. 14 Ford - Chase Briscoe
Car: No. 14 Ford
Team: Stewart-Haas Racing
Owners: Tony Stewart and Gene Haas
Driver: Chase Briscoe
Crew chief: Johnny Klausmeier
Notable: Briscoe was among five first-time Cup winners last year, taking the spring race near Phoenix.
No. 15 Ford - Riley Herbst
Car: No. 15 Ford
Team: Rick Ware Racing
Owner: Rick Ware
Driver: Riley Herbst
Crew chief: Billy Plourde
Notable: Optimistic and dedicated team owner does the best he can with a limited budget.
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No. 16 Chevrolet - AJ Allmendinger
Car: No. 16 Chevrolet
Team: Kaulig Racing
Owners: Matt Kaulig and Chris Rice
Driver: AJ Allmendinger
Crew chief: Matt Swiderski
Notable: Well-regarded for his road course successes, the ‘Dinger’ will get plenty of chances on ovals.
No. 17 Ford - Chris Buescher
Car: No. 17 Ford
Team: RFK Racing
Owners: Jack Roush, John Henry and Brad Keselowski
Driver: Chris Buescher
Crew chief: Scott GravesNotable: Victory in last summer’s Bristol race was first for Roush since Ricky Stenhouse in 2017.
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No. 19 Toyota - Martin Truex Jr.
Car: No. 19 Toyota
Team: Joe Gibbs Racing
Owner: Joe Gibbs
Driver: Martin Truex Jr.
Crew chief: James Small
Notable: After going 0-for-36 last year, 2017 champ showed promise with victory in pre-season race in LA.
No. 20 Toyota - Christopher Bell
Car: No. 20 Toyota
Team: Joe Gibbs Racing
Owner: Joe Gibbs
Driver: Christopher Bell
Crew chief: Adam Stevens
Notable: Young driver doesn’t attract much attention, but generally runs well and wins from time to time.
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No. 21 Ford - Harrison Burton
Car: No. 21 Ford
Team: Wood Brothers Racing
Owner: Eddie, Len and Kim Wood
Driver: Harrison Burton
Crew chief: Brian Wilson
Notable: Legendary team with Penske affiliation has been stuck on 99 Cup victories since Blaney in ‘17.
No. 22 Ford - Joey Logano
Car: No. 22 Ford
Team: Team Penske
Owner: Roger Penske
Driver: Joey Logano
Crew chief: Paul Wolfe
Notable: After winning second Cup title last year, there’s no reason to think this team won’t contend again.
