2025 NASCAR Cup Series Preview:
- alexjarvis83
- Jan 29
- 6 min read
2025 Season:
The 2025 season is rapidly approaching with the pre-season exhibition race, the CookOut Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium, kicking the 2025 NASCAR year off this weekend. Of course with a new season kicking off soon, we have plenty to be excited for, plenty to look forward to, and plenty to predicate for the new season. New tracks, new drivers, old drivers with new teams, new rules, and new expectations for the season. We also need to consider if Team Penske can continue their Next Gen era title run or will other teams figure out how to stop the Penske Fords at Phoenix in November.
New Tracks:
The NASCAR Cup Series is headed off to three* new tracks in 2025. Two genuinely new tracks (Bowman Gray and Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez {aka Mexico City}) and a new-ish Circuit of the Americas (COTA). Now, I know, NASCAR has been at COTA since 2021, but we are racing on a new layout for COTA so I am considering it a new track. I have high expectations for the new additions/alterations for the 2025 campaign. The one I am looking most forward to is the Cup Series debuting at Mexico City. I enjoyed the short stint of races there in the mid-2000s when the Xfinity Series had a yearly stop South of the border. If the Cup races are anything like those races were 20 years ago, I think we'll be pleasantly surprised and enjoy the new addition to the schedule.
New Drivers:
We are graced with two "new" drivers to the Cup Series in 2025: Shane Van Gisbergen (SVG) and Riley Herbst are new additions to full-time Cup Series racing in 2025 and both will vie for Rookie of the Year honors. Both drivers have, of course, been around the NASCAR scene for multiple years and SVG is a Cup Series winner having taken the win at the first Chicago Street Race in 2023. Herbst has been around a while bouncing around and moving up through ARCA, Trucks, and Xfinity, and has made a handful of starts in the Cup Series over the last few years. For me, it's hard to determine who I should be more excited about and who will win the ROTY honors. There's no doubt that SVG and his Trackhouse Chevy will be bad fast and a top pick on road courses, but he still has a good bit to learn at ovals. Herbst, on the other hand, in his 23XI Toyota will likely have the upperhand with speed and finishes on oval tracks which is the majority of the schedule. He can definitely point his way into the playoffs and unless SVG wins a road course, I don't see him pointing his way into the playoffs. Who gets the nod in my predictions? SVG. He will win one or two road courses, get into the playoffs, and nab the ROTY honors for 2025.
Old Drivers; New Teams:
We had several big changes with drivers and teams in the offseason. Stewart-Haas Racing is no more, but we have Haas Factory Team with returning to the Cup Series driver Cole Custer piloting the 41 Ford Mustang. The 4 SHR drivers are all in new homes: Preece is at RFK in the new 60 car, Gragson took the 4 car to Front Row, Berry is piloting the 21 for the Wood Brothers while previous driver Harrison Burton is rebuilding his career in the Xfinity Series, and Chase Briscoe has replaced the retiring MTJ at Joe Gibbs in the 19 Toyota. We have Cody Ware back in the 51 car full-time (don't expect a thing from this team), Zane Smith got the boot from Spire and Michael McDowell is filling his seat leaving room for Zane Smith to return to Front Row and pilot the 38 car while Todd Gilliland slides to the 34 car. Ty Dillon is, for some reason, back in Cup at Kaulig in the 10 car (rebranded from the 31) and Hemric got shafted back to the Truck Series. And we have a smattering off one off starts expected throughout the year, but the only confirmed ones we have for sure are for the Daytona 500 and the CookOut Clash: in the 15/01 for RWR, Tim Brown in the 15 (Bowman Gray legend) is in for the Clash and Corey Lajoie will drive the 01 in an Daytona 500 effort to stack some pennies; Justin Allgaier will attempt to pilot the 40 car of JR Motorsports to their first Cup start in the Daytona 500; MTJ will try the same for the 56 car of TRICON; so will Chandler Smith for Garage 66/MBM, Jimmie Johnson for Legacy (and again in the Coke 600), and Helio Castroneves is locked in already (more on that later) in the Daytona 500. Burt Meyers will pilot the 50 of Team AmeriVet for the CookOut Clash, Connor Zilisch will make his Cup debut at COTA for Trackhouse in the 87 Red Bull car, and the usuals like BJ McLeod, Beard Motorsports, NY Racing, and others will attempt the Daytona 500 and a few other speedways throughout the year.
What am I most excited for out of all of these? Well I have a top three:
JRM making their Cup debut in the Daytona 500: it will happen. I was extraordinarily excited when the announcement was made: diecast and shirt purchased. And I genuinely, both objectively and subjectively, believe they'll qualify into the 500 on speed. I mean, it's practically a 5th Hendrick car. Don't be shocked if it's on the front row.
Briscoe going to JGR. He had not impressed me much during his Cup tenure except for his recent playoff runs. With a new change of scenery, much better cars, and the drive to make an impact to solidify his career and do it ASAP, I expect that team to win this year and be a serious contender come playoff time.
The Bowman Gray legends of Burt Meyers and Tim Brown getting shots in the Cup cars for the Clash. Do I expect them to win or be serious contenders? Nope. Do I think it's badass and the right thing to do? Absolutely!
New Rules:
NASCAR has recently handed down updated rules and bulletins for the year. I don't understand a lot of the technical/mechanical updates for this year, follow crew chiefs, engineers, and guys like Bozi Tatarevic on Twitter to get smart about those rules. But two rules I am happy to see for the 2025 campaign: the provisional and the new waiver/playoff points rule. I like the provisional because, if submitted per NASCAR's rules, it would guarantee that more often the not the big names we want to see from outside the NASCAR world (and apparently previous NASCAR legends) would be locked in for one off starts. That's huge for fans and teams, and has the potential to spread NASCAR to new fans world wide. The new waiver rules that is basically the Kyle Larson Rule is a good move for NASCAR, too. Basically, if you miss a race for not a legitimate reason in NASCAR's eyes (i.e. trying to run the Indy 500 and Coke 600), getting suspended, or whatever else NASCAR deems under this rule, you can still make the playoffs but will have 0 playoff points. Better go on a hell of a playoff run if you do that to yourself.
New Expectations:
We are going into year 4 of the NextGen car, and I am not convinced that NASCAR has truly made enough changes to enhance short track and road course racing, nor done enough to eliminate the pure fuel savings racing that has come of Superspeedway racing. I do think, however, they know it's make or break time. And frankly, I hope they have abandoned ship with the new OEM is interested excuse. It's been over a decade and I have not seen nor heard of any significant movement in a new OEM entering NASCAR. If I'm wrong, fine. Either way, it's time to move now and time to move fast to enhance the short tracks and road courses. Superspeedways have their moments, but they need to do something to either shorten the stages or change the fuel tanks for those tracks to eliminate the fuel saving from the pace laps behavior teams institute and then run half throttle until their pit stops. But I will give NASCAR (and Goodyear) credit for apparently listening to drivers and fans with the option tire. I hope it performs as expected in Phoenix I and becomes the primary short track tire for the Cup Series on all applicable tracks. Tire wear, without a doubt, will make drastic improvements on short tracks and road courses if NASCAR is so persistent to not make changes to the car and engine package.
That's all for now: next week after the CookOut Clash, I'll do a recap of that race and make my playoff and championship predictions for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Season. Be sure to tune in for all on track action of the Cup Series (and modifieds if you can afford it) this weekend at Bowman Gray Stadium. Cup Series action starts Saturday night with practice, qualifying, and heat races on FS1 at 6 p.m. and the CookOut Clash caps off the weekend Sunday night on Fox at 6 p.m. with the last chance qualifier followed by the main event at 8 p.m.
Clash Predictions:
Winner = Kyle Busch
Comments