Much has come into focus since The Athletic’s last NASCAR Silly Season update. Among the notable transactions: Martin Truex Jr. announced his retirement, Joe Gibbs Racing named Truex’s replacement (Chase Briscoe), Josh Berry signed with Wood Brothers Racing, Trackhouse Racing promoted Shane van Gisbergen, Front Row Motorsports signed Noah Gragson.
Yet, despite the whirlwind, things remain far from settled regarding which drivers will drive for which Cup Series teams in 2025. Nothing is official until it’s announced, but here’s where things stand based on conversations with over a dozen sources within the NASCAR industry.
Corey LaJoie
Arguably the biggest free agency news over the summer was Spire Motorsports’ decision to move on from Corey LaJoie despite him having a year left on his contract. The timing was especially unfortunate for the veteran driver, as many of the teams who otherwise would’ve had interest in him had either filled their openings or were already close to doing so.
Still, LaJoie has options. His name was linked to a championship-contending Truck Series team, but Rick Ware Racing is now viewed as the likely landing spot for the driver who turns 33 in a few weeks, according to multiple sources involved in the discussions.
“My phone’s going and people are interested in making calls,” LaJoie said on Aug. 23. “But every good door in my life that’s been opened hasn’t been opened by myself; I wasn’t the one ripping those doors open, they were open and I had to walk through those when the time was right. So I have faith and I have confidence that the next door, whether it’s on Sundays (Cup) or not, is going to open.”
Should LaJoie and RWR finalize a deal, RWR would get a driver who is great at cultivating potential sponsors, has shown the ability to overachieve with small teams, and knows how to help slowly build an organization. If RWR needs to replace Justin Haley (see below), LaJoie would represent a worthy successor.
Justin Haley
Although Justin Haley has a contract with RWR, the expectation is that he’ll be moving on at the end of the season. Since the moment it became known that Spire was parting with LaJoie, Haley has been considered the leading candidate to replace LaJoie, according to multiple sources involved in the discussions, in what effectively would be a ride-swap between the two drivers. It would be surprising if Haley is not driving Spire’s No. 7 Chevrolet next year.
Several prominent teams are high on the 25-year-old Haley. Landing with Spire would make a lot of sense for both sides. Spire would get a young driver with a wealth of Cup experience (135 starts) who in the right situation could be a consistent winner — and winning is the top priority for Spire, whose owners have publicly stated they expect their team to take a big step next year.
Front Row Motorsports
The Bob Jenkins-owned team has been a major player this “silly season,” signing Noah Gragson to a multi-year contract to replace the departing Michael McDowell and acquiring a third charter.
Buying a third charter necessitates FRM add another driver to its Cup roster to join Gragson and Todd Gilliland. Emerging as the leading candidate for that spot is a familiar face within the organization.
Zane Smith was with FRM for two years (2022-23), when he ran full-time in trucks and made spot Cup starts. The 25-year-old had a lot of success during this stint, including winning the 2022 Truck Series championship. He left after last year when FRM was unable to make room for him, McDowell and Gilliland in Cup, whereas Trackhouse could offer him a multi-year Cup contract.
Even when Smith left, he remained in high regard by FRM team personnel, and his name was at the top of their list when the search began for a third driver. Nothing is set in stone, but should the appropriate sponsorship come together, Smith would likely return to FRM, according to sources briefed on the matter.
Alex Bowman
Despite still having tenure on his contract and scoring a win on the Chicago Street Course in July, Alex Bowman’s job status with Hendrick Motorsports has been questioned throughout the summer. The rumblings that Hendrick would drop him reached a crescendo last week when Bowman was asked to address his status during NASCAR Playoff Media Day.
“That rumor has certainly been annoying,” Bowman said. “Obviously, my contract is through the end of 2026. And all I can tell you is what my bosses have told me and that there’s no plans to change anything. Rumors are just rumors. So hopefully, (other teams) will get their announcements done so my rumors stop. As far as I know, I’m driving the 48 next year and nothing’s changing.”
On Tuesday, team owner Rick Hendrick reaffirmed that support for Bowman when asked by The Athletic if Bowman would “unequivocally” return next year.
“Yeah. Sponsor (Ally) is happy and we’re happy,” Hendrick said. “He’s going to be driving the car.”
So then why, if Bowman has been told he’s secure and Hendrick has said he’s coming back, does he find himself on this list?
Part of it is that Bowman’s performance during the 2024 regular season paled in comparison to his three Hendrick teammates. Bowman won once and finished 13th in the regular-season points standings, while Kyle Larson won a series-best four times and finished second in points, Chase Elliott had one win and finished third, and William Byron won three times and finished fifth. That’s a noticeable discrepancy that falls short of the lofty standards Hendrick expects out of its drivers.
Still, barring something unforeseen, Bowman will continue driving the No. 48 car in 2025.
“We need to go run better … we haven’t executed on a high level at all,” Bowman said. “So we need to go run better (during the playoffs), but we need to do that for us and our playoff run and for Ally and the 48 car. There’s no like, ‘You need to do this to keep your job,’ as far as I know. I’m not worried about that at all.”
Bowman opened the playoffs by finishing fifth at Atlanta, the highest among all Hendrick drivers. That result also represented his first top-five since a third at Pocono in mid-July.
23XI Racing
The team co-owned by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin has been making plans throughout the season to add a third full-time car for 2025, including acquiring one of three charters Stewart-Haas Racing placed on the market, according to industry sources.
Should 23XI continue with its plans, Riley Herbst is expected to be named driver of the new team. Herbst, 25, is in his fifth full season in the Xfinity Series, and his record has been up and down. He won a race in each of the last two years, though, and his most recent victory at Indianapolis in July turned heads. He also brings sponsorship with him, which helps mitigate the cost of buying a multi-million-dollar charter.
Any expansion plans could be placed on hold, though, with 23XI being one of two teams not to sign NASCAR’s charter agreement last week. The discord expressed by 23XI makes it fair to wonder about the team’s future, with even Bubba Wallace’s contract extension in limbo until the stalemate is resolved.
“My process has been going hand-in-hand with the charter agreement, so it’s frustrating to see where we’re at,” Wallace said, “because that impacts my life and livelihood and everything moving forward for my future.”
On Sunday, 23XI co-owner Curtis Polk was noncommittal about how the organization would proceed beyond this year, though he did state the possibility of continuing to race as a non-chartered team should NASCAR revoke its charters.
“We have the resources that if we want to race, we’ll race,” Polk said.
Still, the situation remains. And while 23XI is expected to continue operating as a multi-car team, the only guarantee is NASCAR and 23XI will remain at odds.
RFK Racing
As The Athletic reported last week, RFK Racing is making progress toward adding a third full-time team. That move is predicated on RFK securing the Kroger sponsorship package that will be ending its longtime association with JTG Daugherty Racing at the end of the current season.
“We don’t have any announcements that we’re ready to make, but hopefully we’ll have something to share with everybody here in the next month or so,” team co-owner and driver Brad Keselowski said on Sept. 4. “But nothing publicly that I’m ready to talk about.”
If RFK and Kroger reach a deal as anticipated — it would entail sponsoring all three RFK teams — RFK would need both a driver and a charter for its new entry. That driver would be veteran Ryan Preece, according to multiple sources involved in the discussions, who the team believes has not reached his potential as a Cup driver and has never been with an organization on an upswing like RFK has been on since Keselowski joined on as co-owner in 2022.
Although the charter part of the equation is unclear, those sources indicate that RFK’s third team will not operate as an “open” car due to the extra millions of dollars it would cost to do so. With an announcement not expected for several weeks, RFK has time to solidify how it will secure a charter for its third car.
Kaulig Racing
Similar to most years, Kaulig Racing’s 2025 Cup lineup is in flux. The team has already announced that AJ Allmendinger will return to its Cup program on a full-time basis next year, driving its No. 16 Chevrolet. Allmendinger’s ability on road courses immediately makes him a playoff contender while also helping elevate Kaulig across the board.
It’s not settled who will drive Kaulig’s second Cup car. Daniel Hemric is not expected to return for a second full season. Atop Kaulig’s list is Ty Dillon, who multiple sources involved in the discussions have tabbed as the surefire selection.
Dillon, who currently competes full-time in the Truck Series, is an unsurprising pick. Kaulig and Dillon have been down this road previously, most recently last year when Dillon came close to a full-time deal only for things to fall near the finish line.
Although Dillon isn’t necessarily an inspired pick, he has shown flashes in limited Cup starts this season — three finishes inside the top 20 in six races. And his ties to grandfather’s team, Richard Childress Racing, don’t hurt either as RCR and Kaulig are in a technical alliance and Kaulig’s shop is based on RCR’s campus.
(Top photo of Corey LaJoie: Sean Gardner / Getty Images)
