2025 NASCAR lineup projections: Denny Hamlin gets new crew chief
With silly season nearly complete, here is a team-by-team look at how their 2025 lineups could look.
As talks are ongoing, these projections/outlooks will change and we'll keep you updated.
Here's my outlook as of Nov. 22 after Joe Gibbs Racing announced crew chief changes for Denny Hamlin and Ty Gibbs.
Joe Gibbs Racing
11: Denny Hamlin is signed through at least next year. Chris Gayle will come from the Ty Gibbs car to crew chief for Hamlin. The remainder of his crew will remain the same.
19: Chase Briscoe will replace Martin Truex Jr. next year, the team announced Tuesday. Crew chief James Small will remain with the team.
20: Christopher Bell is signed through at least next year and no changes are expected.
54: Ty Gibbs is the grandson of the team owner and is expected to have a ride as long as the team has Joe Gibbs in operation. Whether he would ever change to the No. 18 — the signature and original JGR number — probably would be the biggest question. Joe Gibbs indicated there is nothing imminent as far as a number change. The crew chief for Gibbs has not been announced.
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Hendrick Motorsports
5: Kyle Larson is signed through at least next year and no changes are expected.
9: Chase Elliott is signed through at least next year and no changes are expected.
24: William Byron is signed through at least next year and no changes are expected.
48: Alex Bowman is signed through at least next year and no changes are expected.
23XI Racing
23: Bubba Wallace signed a multiyear contract extension, the team announced Sept. 18. He will have a new crew chief as Charles Denike will come from being the crew chief for Christian Eckes in trucks to Wallace, while Bootie Barker moves to a shop role and also likely would crew chief any fourth part-time entry.
35: Riley Herbst was named the driver of this car on Nov. 20, which was no surprise as he had been penciled into this ride since the summer. He will bring Davin Restivo from his Stewart-Haas Xfinity car with him as crew chief as well as the Monster sponsorship. This team is supposed to get a charter from SHR but whether it runs as an open or charter team (as well as the other teams in this stable) is dependent on the current 23XI/FRM-NASCAR litigation.
45: Tyler Reddick is signed through at least next year and no changes are expected.
TBA: Don't be surprised if this organization fields an occasional fourth car for Corey Heim, their substitute driver who also competes full time in trucks.
Team Penske
2: Austin Cindric is signed through at least next year and no changes are expected.
12: Ryan Blaney is signed through at least next year and no changes are expected.
22: Joey Logano is signed through at least next year and no changes are expected.
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RFK Racing
6: Brad Keselowski is a co-owner and is expected to be back in this car next year. Matt McCall will not return as crew chief. Jeremy Bullins, who won Xfinity titles with Keselowski and most recently was the Cup crew chief for Harrison Burton, will be the crew chief.
17: Chris Buescher is signed through at least next year and no changes are expected.
60 (charter leased from Rick Ware Racing): RFK Racing announced on Nov. 19 that it would add a third car for Ryan Preece with the Kroger sponsorship. It will lease a charter from Rick Ware Racing for this entry. Kroger has previously been a sponsor of Chris Buescher and Preece, and had good relationships with both when they drove for JTG Daugherty Racing. No crew chief for Preece has been announced.
Trackhouse Racing
1: Ross Chastain is signed through at least next year and no changes are expected.
99: Daniel Suarez has signed a contract extension that will keep him in the seat next year, the team announced Aug. 9.
88 (charter acquired from SHR): Trackhouse announced Aug. 24 that Shane van Gisbergen will compete full-time in the Cup Series in 2025. He is running several Cup races this year for Kaulig Racing, the organization he has driven for in the Xfinity Series full-time this year as part of an agreement with Trackhouse. Stephen Doran, the crew chief for Zane Smith this year in Cup, will crew chief for van Gisbergen.
Richard Childress Racing
3: Austin Dillon is signed through at least next year. Dillon will have a new crew chief as Richard Boswell, who was crew chief for Chase Briscoe at Stewart-Haas Racing, will crew chief for Dillon in 2025.
8: Kyle Busch is signed through at least next year and no changes are expected.
33: The team had flirted with adding a third full-time car for next year but that is not expected to happen.
Haas Factory Team
41: Cole Custer was announced on July 20 as the driver for this team next year. The defending Xfinity Series champion and current series points leader who had spent 2020-2022 in the Cup Series at SHR, was the natural choice for this car with his Xfinity performance and the Haas sponsorship he has carried throughout his career. The team will remain Ford and have an RFK alliance. Aaron Kramer, lead engineer for Chris Buescher in Cup at RFK, will be the crew chief for Custer.
Front Row Motorsports
34: Todd Gilliland is signed through at least next season but will have a new number in 2025 as he will move from the No. 38 to the team's flagship car, the No. 34. The team also has indicated there will be a crew chief. change but no crew chief has been announced.
36 or number TBA (charter acquired from SHR): Zane Smith has been a top candidate for this ride, and after a couple of months of a roller coaster on whether he would or would not get it, he remains the favorite. The car number also is still to be determined as Front Row is considering changing its car number lineup.
38 or number TBA: Noah Gragson is signed with the team for next year. The team has not announced his car number.
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Spire Motorsports
7: Corey LaJoie was signed through next season but found out July 24 that he will not be driving for Spire. Justin Haley was announced as the driver of this car Sept. 20 and took over that ride in late September. Starting next season, the former Rick Ware Racing driver will be paired with new crew chief Rodney Childers.
71: Michael McDowell (currently driving for Front Row Motorsports) signed with Spire through at least next season and joins the team to replace Zane Smith. McDowell will bring crew chief Travis Peterson with him to Spire.
77: Carson Hocevar is signed at least through next season. His performance this year has been strong enough to potentially get a look from other teams, but he will stay at Spire for 2025.
Legacy Motor Club
42: John Hunter Nemechek is signed through at least next season. He will have Travis Mack, most recently crew chief for Kaulig Racing's No. 16 Cup car, as his crew chief in 2025.
43: Erik Jones, it was announced Aug. 13, signed a contract extension that should keep him in the No. 43 at least through 2026. Ben Beshore moved into the crew chief role late in the 2024 season, replacing Dave Elenz.
Hyak Motorsports (formerly JTG Daugherty Racing)
47: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is signed at least through next season and no changes are expected. Even with Kroger leaving as the primary sponsor, the team has been upgrading the shop as Gordon Smith, who operated the team last season and officially announced the name change for the team Nov. 21. Hyak (which means "fast" in in Chinook Jargon, which is a trade language in the Pacific Northwest) is the name of Smith's maritime transportation company. Brad Daugherty remains a co-owner of the team and Ernie Cope, who is the team's general manager, has an ownership stake, as does investor Mark Hughes.
Rick Ware Racing
15: With this charter getting leased to RFK, this car would race as an open car and it is still to be determined if it will run a full schedule. Two of the team's drivers from last year, Cody Ware and Corey LaJoie, would be candidates for this seat as well as the full-time seat.
51: Justin Haley left for Spire Motorsports and the team swapped with Spire driver Corey LaJoie for the final seven races of 2024. LaJoie and Ware are viewed as the top two candidates for this seat.
Kaulig Racing
10 (formerly 31): Kaulig Racing announced Sept. 28 that Ty Dillon would replace Daniel Hemric In this ride next year. It has obtained the No. 10 for next year as Stewart-Haas Racing's shutting down left that number available.
16: AJ Allmendinger will return to Cup full-time in 2025 in the same car he drove during the 2023 season.
Wood Brothers Racing
21: Josh Berry has been announced as the driver of this car for 2025 as the SHR driver will replace Harrison Burton, who will drive for AM Racing in the Xfinity Series next season. Penske engineer Miles Stanley will crew chief the car.
Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.