Over half the NASCAR Cup Series teams have new drivers or crew chiefs for the 2025 season. This article analyzes the potential impact of these changes, highlighting pairings that could shake up the competition.
More than half the NASCAR Cup Series full-time teams either have a new driver or a new crew chief. What teams or drivers made the best moves? NASCAR fans will get their first glimpse this weekend at the Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium. Here’s a look at the pairings that could make the biggest impact.\1. Brad Keselowski-Jeremy Bullins (RFK Racing No. 6) Brad Keselowski is back with his crew chief who guided him to 17 victories in the Xfinity Series, and that brings a good vibe.
After all, Keselowski has a history of translating Xfinity success with a crew chief into Cup success (see his pairing at Penske with Paul Wolfe). It seemed that Keselowski and former crew chief Matt McCall had different ideas on changes, adjustments and setups over the second half of last season. McCall has now moved to Spire Motorsports in a competition department role.\2. Chase Briscoe-James Small (Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19) Chase Briscoe replaces Martin Truex Jr. as the driver of this JGR car. Briscoe has spent his entire four seasons in Cup at Stewart-Haas Racing, where he won two races over the last three years. The No. 19 team won three races over the last three years (all in 2023). This team is itching to show what it can do with a younger driver who might be more receptive to the data-driven, simulator-heavy preparation currently required of Cup drivers.\3. Michael McDowell-Travis Peterson (Spire Motorsports No. 71) Michael McDowell and crew chief Travis Peterson make the move from Front Row Motorsports to Spire. And while many consider this a lateral move, it will be up to McDowell and Peterson to show how this change will improve performance from one win and 15 top-10 finishes in the last two years. They were a little handicapped last year at Front Row as Peterson had been cut off from some of the information flow from Ford.\4. Noah Gragson-Drew Blickensderfer (Front Row Motorsports No. 4) Noah Gragson and crew chief Drew Blickensderfer come over from SHR after FRM bought one of the SHR charters. In their first year together, they had five top-five and 10 top-10 finishes, with a finish of 24th in the standings. That was an improvement from Gragson from his first half-season in Cup in 2023. The two formed a bond and likely enter a more stable situation in 2025.\5. Justin Haley-Rodney Childers (Spire Motorsports No. 7) Justin Haley and Rodney Childers are both new at Spire. Haley did come over for the final seven races of 2024 and finished twice in the top 20. The expectations are much higher for his first full season with the team, as championship-winning crew chief Childers comes from SHR, where he spent the majority of his career with Kevin Harvick. Childers, who has won 40 Cup races as a crew chief, seems a little re-energized with this move. Not only will his experience be key, but he also will be critical in bringing ideas on how to strengthen the alliance with Hendrick.\6. Shane van Gisbergen-Stephen Doran (Trackhouse Racing No. 88) Shane van Gisbergen is one of two Cup rookies this year (Riley Herbst is the other), and he is paired with Stephen Doran, a former SHR engineer who was a rookie Cup crew chief last year at Spire with Zane Smith. SVG won his first Cup start in 2023 at the inaugural Chicago street course, he's a three-time Supercars champion and will be a threat on every road course. How will he do on ovals in Cup after one year in Xfinity? That’s where an engineer like Doran will need to get him up to speed quickly.\7. Todd Gilliland-Chris Lawson (Front Row Motorsports No. 34) Crew chief Chris Lawson replaces Ryan Bergenty as crew chief for Todd Gilliland (Bergenty will crew chief Zane Smith) and has been tasked with building a team for the driver who is now FRM’s veteran with three years of Cup experience. Lawson and Gilliland won races together in the East Series and the trucks. If they can build on their history of success, they will be a threat at times this year.\8. Denny Hamlin-Chris Gayle (Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11) Denny Hamlin was floored when he found out that Chris Gabehart would move to a JGR competition director role, and he would have a new crew chief for 2025. Chris Gayle comes over after being crew chief the last three seasons for Ty Gibbs, where they ran well but could never find their way to victory lane. Gayle is trying not to overhaul how the Hamlin team is run. They need to get off to a quick start, as Hamlin knows his years are numbered to win a championship.\9. Bubba Wallace-Charles Denike (23XI Racing No. 23) Bubba Wallace didn’t make the playoffs. So 23XI Racing opted to make a change at crew chief for Wallace. Denike has won 10 races as a crew chief in trucks, including eight in the last two seasons with Christian Eckes. Perhaps more important is that he has a longtime bond with team co-owner Hamlin, who raced against cars prepped by Denike at short tracks throughout Virginia.\10. Austin Dillon-Richard Boswell (Richard Childress Racing No. 3)
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