Cup Garage Spotlight: Fresh faces in new places

Much like the shuffling of a deck of cards, several drivers in the offseason made moves to different organizations, here is a quick look at some of the changes that took place and who to look for this season in the NASCAR Cup Series.

23XI Racing tapped Tyler Reddick to pilot the No. 45 Toyota, alongside his teammate Bubba Wallace in the No. 23 Toyota this season. The organization will also be expanding to a third car on a part-time basis beginning with this weekend at Daytona International Speedway with driver Travis Pastrana behind the wheel of the No. 67 Toyota. Pastrana will be looking to make his NASCAR Cup Series and DAYTONA 500 career debut, and as a new team, Pastrana will have to either qualify or race his way into the Great American Race.

Richard Childress Racing swung for the fences and landed the hottest free agent on the market last season, two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch. This season, Busch will pilot the No. 8 Chevrolet collaborating with crew chief Randal Burnett, as the pair competes alongside teammate Austin Dillon in the famous No. 3 Chevrolet. Dillon is the most recent winner at Daytona International Speedway grabbing the checkered flag back in August to earn his spot in the 2022 Playoffs.

The recently introduced Legacy Motor Club is all brand new for 2023 and has stacked quite the lineup this season. Veteran Erik Jones will return to the historic No. 43 Chevrolet and will have two new teammates to work with as Noah Gragson has moved up from the NASCAR Xfinity Series to drive the No. 42 Chevrolet fulltime with crew chief Luke Lambert, and seven-time series champion Jimmie Johnson has returned to the series as an owner/driver and will compete on a part-time basis starting with the DAYTONA 500. Johnson will have former series champion crew chief Todd Gordon calling the shots on top the pit box.

Speaking of moving up from the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Joe Gibbs Racing has graduated Ty Gibbs to the NASCAR Cup Series after his impressive championship winning 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series run. Gibbs will pilot the No. 54 Toyota with crew chief Chris Gayle on the pit box this season, alongside a stable of veterans – Denny Hamlin (No. 11), Christopher Bell (No. 20) and last weekend’s 2023 Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum winner Martin Truex Jr. (No. 19).

Kaulig Racing has also called up A.J. Allmendinger to run fulltime this season in the NASCAR Cup Series in the No. 16 Chevrolet, joining his teammate Justin Haley, who will continue to drive the No. 31 Chevrolet.

Joining Corey Lajoie over at Spire Motorsports this season will be Ty Dillon, who will jump behind the wheel of the No. 77 Chevrolet with crew chief Kevin Bellicourt. Lajoie will continue to be in the No. 7 with crew chief Ryan Sparks.

Stewart-Haas Racing has also called upon Ryan Preece to take over the driving duties of the No. 41 Ford this season with crew chief Chad Johnston. He will be joined by SHR teammates Chase Briscoe in the No. 14, Aric Almirola in the No. 10 and veteran Kevin Harvick in the No. 4 Ford. This will be Harvick’s final season in the NASCAR Cup Series. The California native has announced his retirement at the end of the 2023 season, upon where he will join the FOX Sports TV booth as a NASCAR analyst alongside Mike Joy and Clint Bowyer.