NASCAR 2025: A Preview

The NASCAR season is upon us with the preseason starting this Sunday, Feb. 2. So, in this article we will get into what you need to know about the Cup Series before the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium. 

The NASCAR season is 39 total races, one preseason race, one all-star race, 26 regular season races and 10 playoff races. There are three types of track NASCAR races that take place on: Oval, Road and Street. Oval Tracks are between 160 and 500 laps, Road Tracks are between 68 and 110 laps and the only street course in Chicago is 75 laps. 

In the Cup Series, there are 15 full-time teams with 36 full-time drivers in the Cup Series, so let’s get into each one. 

Starting out with the first four-car team. Hendrick Motorsports, run by Rick Hendrick and former five-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon, has four full-time cars, the No. 5 2021 Cup Series Champion Kyle Larson; No. 9 2020 Cup Series Champion, Chase Elliott; No. 24 William Byron and No. 48 Alex Bowman. Hendrick’s is always near the top of the standings and has some of the best drivers in the sport in Larson and Elliott. 

The second four-car team is Joe Gibbs Racing, founded by three-time Super Bowl Champion head coach Joe Gibbs. The drivers for JGR are No. 11 Denny Hamlin, No.19 Chase Briscoe, No. 20 for Christopher Bell and No. 54 for Ty Gibbs, grandson of Joe Gibbs. 

The first three-car team is Spire Motorsports which sports No. 7 for Justin Haley, #71 for Michael McDowell and No. 77 for Carson Hocevar. 

The second three-car team is RFK Racing, owned by Jack Roush and current Cup Series driver Brad Keselowski. They sport the No. 6 2012 Cup Series Champion Brad Keselowski; No. 17 Chris Buescher and No. 60 Ryan Preece. 

Then there is the team part-owned by six-time NBA Champion Michael Jordan, 23XI Racing. They sport No. 23 for “Bubba” Wallace, No. 45 for Tyler Reddick and No. 35 for Riley Herbst. 

There is also Front Row Motorsports, who has No. 34 Todd Gilliland, No. 4 Noah Gragson and No. 38 for Zane Smith competing for them. 

The penultimate three car team is Trackhouse Racing, with the musical artist Pitbull as a part owner. They will have No. 1 Ross Chastain, No. 99 Daniel Suárez and No. 88 Shane Van Gisbergen competing for Mr. Worldwide’s team. 

The final three car team is Team Penske, owned by Roger Penske. Penske’s team tout’s drivers No. 2 Austin Cindric, No.12 2023 Cup Series Champion Ryan Blaney. Of course, how can you forget the Connecticut native, who is also the 2018, 2022 and 2024 Cup Series Champion, No.22 Joey Logano. 

There are five two-car teams, the first being Kaulig Racing, who sports drivers No. 16 A. J. Allmendinger and No. 10 for Ty Dillon. 

The penultimate two-car team is Richard Childress Racing, who bring No. 3 Austin Dillon and the No. 8, 2015 and 2019 Cup Series Champion Kyle Busch. 

Finally, there’s Legacy Motor Club who has No. 42 John Nemechek and No. 43 for Erik Jones competing this season. 

There are four single-car teams in the Cup Series with the Wood Brothers Racing crew hosting No. 21 Josh Berry, Haas Factory Team bringing No. 41 Cole Custer, Hyak Motorsports having No. 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr and Rick Ware Racing choosing No. 51 Cody Ware to represent them. 

There are also a couple of part-time teams, the most notable one being No. 84 Jimmie Johnson of Legacy Motor Clubs who is also a seven-time Cup Series Champion. 

 Some of the more prominent drivers mentioned above are Larson, who underwent some controversy in 2020 after saying a racial slur on a livestream. Larson then signed with Hendrick Motorsports in 2021 following his six-month ban from NASCAR, winning a championship that same year. 

Busch, a.k.a. “Rowdy,” joined the Cup Series in 2004 and has been one of NASCAR’s biggest menaces since. Busch has been one of the most successful drivers in NASCAR history, winning two championships in 2015 and 2019, with the former in 2015 coming after he broke his leg earlier that year. 

Logano, born in Middletown, Connecticut, won his third championship in 2024. He has consistently won the past decade, winning his first championship in 2018 and his second in 2022. His most recent championship win is under a lot of scrutiny after many fans think his most recent championship is not deserved due to him not meeting the statistical feats of previous champions. 

Hamlin, who turns 45 this year, might not have much left in him. Hamlin has 54 wins and 358 top ten finishes to his name but still does not have a championship. He got close in 2010, finishing 2nd, but has not come close to that since. Hamlin still has some left in the tank, but is it enough to get a championship? Only time will tell. 

Then, there’s NASCAR’s golden boy, Chase Elliott. The 2020 Cup Series Champion has captured the hearts of fans ever since he got promoted to the Cup Series in 2015. Elliott was also the 2022 Cup Series Regular Season Champion in 2022, but failed to win the championship, finishing fourth that year. Elliott will always be in contention for a championship, so it will be fun to see what he will do this year. 

Finally, there is the “Watermelon Man.” When some people think of watermelon, they think of a hot summer’s day, but when NASCAR fans think of watermelon, they think of Ross Chastain, whose celebration for winning is smashing a watermelon while on top of his car. Chastain has not won a championship yet, but he has become a fan favorite in the NASCAR community. He even got a maneuver banned after he pulled off a literal “wall ride” in Martinsville to secure a spot in the Championship Four in 2022.