NASCAR Silly Season Tracker: The latest on every driver and what team they’ll race for
NASCAR’s silly season is winding down after the sport closed a dramatic 2020 season. Major changes characterized the year, and new drivers and teams are set to emerge in the Cup Series next season.
The Observer has compiled an early look at 2021 NASCAR Cup team rosters. This file will be updated with the latest contract news (with this year’s changes in parentheses). Drivers in italics are currently in contract years but expected to remain with their teams. This story was last updated Dec. 28.
Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas:
- No. 11 Denny Hamlin
- No. 18 Kyle Busch
- No. 19 Martin Truex Jr.
- No. 20 Christopher Bell (moving from the No. 95 Leavine Family Racing Toyota in 2021)
Team Penske Fords:
- No. 2 Brad Keselowski (signed a year-long contract extension with Penske through 2021)
- No. 12 Ryan Blaney (signed a multi-year contract extension with Penske)
- No. 22 Joey Logano
Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolets:
- No. 9 Chase Elliott
No. 5 Kyle Larson (signed a multi-year deal with Hendrick after he was reinstated by NASCAR following a six-month suspension)
- No. 24 William Byron (signed a contract extension with Hendrick through 2022)
- No. 48 Alex Bowman (moving from the No. 88 to the No. 48, replacing Jimmie Johnson)
Stewart-Haas Racing Fords:
- No. 4 Kevin Harvick (signed a two-year contract extension with SHR through 2023)
- No. 10 Aric Almirola (signed a contract extension through 2021)
- No. 14 Chase Briscoe (moving from the Xfinity Series to replace Clint Bowyer after Bowyer announced his transition to the FOX Broadcast booth in 2021)
- No. 41 Cole Custer (team confirmed to the Observer that Custer will return to the No. 41 for 2021)
Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolets:
- No. 1 Kurt Busch
- No. 42 Ross Chastain (moving from the Xfinity Series to replace Matt Kenseth, who replaced Kyle Larson in the spring)
Richard Childress Racing Chevrolets:
- No. 3 Austin Dillon (team confirmed to the Observer that Dillon will return to the No. 3 for 2021)
- No. 8 Tyler Reddick (confirmed on a call with reporters that he will remain at RCR in 2021)
Roush Fenway Racing Fords:
- No. 6 Ryan Newman
- No. 17 Chris Buescher
Note: Roush Fenway Racing president Steve Newmark confirmed to the Observer that both drivers will return next season.
JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolets:
- No. 37 Ryan Preece (is expected to remain at JTG for 2021, indicating in an interview with SiriusXM in November that he is “excited to be back and continue on”)
- No. 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet:
- No. 43 Erik Jones (signed a multi-year contract with RPM starting in 2021 after he was not re-signed by Joe Gibbs Racing)
Wood Brothers Racing Ford:
- No. 21 Matt DiBenedetto (signed a contract to remain with the Wood Brothers through 2021, but will be replaced by Xfinity driver Austin Cindric in 2022)
Front Row Motorsports Ford:
- No. 38? (Cup rookie John Hunter Nemechek is leaving the series in 2021 to drive full-time in the Truck Series for Kyle Busch Motorsports)
- No. 34 Michael McDowell
Germain Racing Chevrolet:
- Team owner Bob Germain announced the sale of the team’s Cup charter to 23XI Racing. Ty Dillon finished the 2020 season behind the wheel of the No. 13, but he has not announced his 2021 plans.
Go Fas Racing Ford:
- No. 32 TBD The team announced it will drop to a part-time schedule in 2021. Corey LaJoie is parting with Go Fas in 2021 to drive for Spire Motorsports. Go Fas has not named its next driver.
Gaunt Brothers Racing Toyota:
- No. 96 TBD Daniel Suárez is parting with Gaunt Brothers Racing in 2021 to join Trackhouse, a new Cup team formed by Justin Marks.
Spire Motorsports Chevrolets:
- No. 7 Corey LaJoie (signed a multi-year contract with Spire starting in 2021)
- No. 77 TBD
Note: Spire will take over the charter of Leavine Family Racing in 2021, allowing the team to field two cars in the Cup Series. The team has an affiliation with Chip Ganassi Racing and Hendrick Motorsports.
Rick Ware Racing/Premium Motorsports:
- No. 15 TBD
- No. 27 TBD
Note: Ware purchased the charter previously owned by Premium Motorsports for the No. 27 in May, according to FOX Sports. J.J. Yeley, Josh Bilicki, Bayley Currey, James Davison, Joey Gase, Gray Gaulding, B.J. McLeod, Brennan Poole, David Ragan, Garrett Smithley, David Starr and Cody Ware have all driven for the team in 2020 Cup events.
StarCom Racing Chevrolet:
- No. 00 Quin Houff
MBM Motorsports Toyota:
- No. 66 Timmy Hill (team confirmed to the Observer that Hill will return to the No. 66 for 2021)
23XI Racing Toyota:
- No. 23 Bubba Wallace (will drive for a new team co-owned by NBA legend Michael Jordan and NASCAR Cup driver Denny Hamlin)
Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet:
- No. 99 Daniel Suárez (will drive for a new team owned by former NASCAR driver Justin Marks)
Live Fast Motorsports Ford:
- No. 78 B.J. McLeod (will drive for a new team co-owned by McLeod and Matt Tifft under a charter obtained by the pair in 2020, alongside Joe Falk)
NASCAR drivers who don’t yet have teams for 2021:
- Ty Dillon (driver for Germain Racing, which is losing its Cup charter)
New teams in 2021:
- 23XI Racing, co-owned by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin, will field a single Cup car driven by Bubba Wallace.
- Trackhouse Racing, owned by Justin Marks, will field a single Cup car driven by Daniel Suárez.
- Spire Motorsports, co-owned by Jeff Dickerson and T.J. Puchyr, will field a second Cup car driven by Corey LaJoie.
- Live Fast Motorsports, co-owned by B.J. McLeod and Matt Tifft, will field a single Cup car driven by McLeod.
The Money Team Racing, backed by Floyd Mayweather and launched online in May. Future entries are TBA.
This story was originally published September 16, 2020 at 9:05 PM.
