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  • Kaulig Racing reveals crew chief lineup, technical director hiring for 2025 Cup season

    Kaulig Racing reveals crew chief lineup, technical director hiring for 2025 Cup season

    Kaulig Racing revealed its crew chief lineup and the hiring of a technical director for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season.

    Veteran crew chief Trent Owens will be paired with veteran driver AJ Allmendinger and the No. 16 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entry while Andrew Dickeson will be working atop the pit box of the No. 10 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entry that will be piloted by Ty Dillon. For the technical director position, Mike Cook will assume the position after recently being a lead engineer for Stewart-Haas Racing.

    The news comes as Kaulig Racing, which strives to be competitive in NASCAR’s premier series in 2025, is coming off its third consecutive season in fielding two full-time cars in the Cup Series division. Throughout the 36-race schedule in 2024, Kaulig’s two entries (Nos. 16 and 31 Chevrolets) recorded a combined 11 top-10 results and 108 laps led. In addition, Daniel Hemric, who drove Kaulig’s No. 31 entry that is renumbered to 10 in 2025, finished in 29th place in the 2024 driver’s standings while Kaulig’s No. 16 entry that was split between Allmendinger, Dillon, Derek Kraus, Shane van Gisbergen and Josh Williams ended up in 28th place in the owner’s standings.

    “I think this is the most impressive competition leadership group we have ever had,” Chris Rice, president of Kaulig Racing, said in a released statement. “We have such a great core team with all the men and women of Kaulig Racing, and bringing in smart people with fresh eyes will really help us compete on the track.”

    Owens’ move to Kaulig’s No. 16 team reunites him with Allmendinger, both of whom worked together for nine Cup races in 2018 at JTG-Daugherty Racing. This past season, Owens was the crew chief for Hemric and the No. 31 Chevrolet team. In addition, Allmendinger scaled back down to a full-time Xfinity Series competition after competing on a full-time Cup basis in 2023, where he won at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course. During the 2024 season, Allmendinger notched a victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway during the Playoff’s Round of 8 opener, transferred to the Championship 4 round and settled in third place in the final driver’s standings.

    Dickeson’s move as a crew chief for Kaulig’s No. 10 team and Ty Dillon marks a new beginning for the Australian native, who recently spent a bulk of his career as an engineer for Richard Childress Racing. In addition, the 2025 season marks Dillon’s return to full-time Cup racing since 2023 after he spent this past season competing in all but the remaining five Craftsman Truck Series events for Rackley W.A.R., where he notched two top-10 results.

    The new position with a new organization generates a new and exciting adventure for Cook, who first joined Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014 to work as an engineer and had remained at the organization until it ceased operations at the 2024 season’s conclusion. During Cook’s role at Stewart-Haas Racing, he went to Victory Lane in the 2017 Daytona 500 with former Cup Series champion Kurt Busch.

    “After a decade of learning and honing my craft, I am really excited to contribute to the continuing growth of Kaulig Racing,” Cook said. “Nothing in racing happens overnight, but I know I have the tools and the support I need to bring immediate impact. Andrew [Dickeson] has the demeanor and stability that I think will give Ty [Dillon] the best opportunity he has ever had at the Cup level. AJ [Allmendinger] and Trent [Owens] are just in sync and have a great working relationship. Both drivers are hungry and dedicated, so I know that team is going to be strong and impress some people in 2025.”

    Kaulig Racing’s 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season is set to commence with the Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium on February 2 that will commence at 8 p.m. ET on FOX. This event will be followed by the 67th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway that will air at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

  • Connor Mosack inks full-time Truck ride with McAnally-Hilgemann Racing for 2025 season

    Connor Mosack inks full-time Truck ride with McAnally-Hilgemann Racing for 2025 season

    Connor Mosack has been named a full-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series competitor for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing (MHR) for the 2025 season.

    Mosack, a 25-year-old native from Charlotte, North Carolina, will be driving the No. 81 MHR Chevrolet Silverado RST and will be paired with crew chief Blake Bainbridge for his first full-time campaign in the series, where he will contend for the Rookie-of-the-Year title. In addition, Old World Industries and NAPA Nightvision will be sponsoring him for five Truck races, beginning at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March.

    The news comes as Mosack is coming off an 11-race stint between the NASCAR Xfinity and Truck Series divisions, where he competed for JR Motorsports in the Xfinity circuit and between Niece Motorsports and Spire Motorsports in the Truck division. He also made five starts in the ARCA Menards Series between Pinnacle Racing Group and Sigma Performance Services, where he notched a victory at Kansas Speedway in May while driving for the former organization.

    “I’m ecstatic to start 2025 with everybody at MHR and want to continue this team’s success in the playoffs,” Mosack said. “All four MHR teams had great performances this past year, so this is a big opportunity to race with a winning organization. It’s great to continue being part of Team Chevy and appreciate NAPA Nightvison and everyone at MHR for making this a reality. I’m looking forward to working with Blake and we want to become one of the weekly contenders, compete for wins, and lock ourselves in the playoffs.”

    Mosack, who commenced his racing career competing in Legends cars and worked his way up to compete in CARS Tour and Late Models, made his Truck Series debut at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in July 2022, where he finished 34th while driving for Bret Holmes Racing. He made an additional Truck start at Bristol Motor Speedway two months later before he returned this past season for nine events. During the nine-race stint, he logged in his first four top-10 career results and notched a career-best third-place finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway in October.

    To go along with 11 Truck starts to date, Mosack has also made a total of 28 starts in the Xfinity Series, where he notched three top-eight results and a career-best fifth-place run at Watkins Glen International in August 2023. The Charlotte native has also made 22 career starts in the ARCA Menards Series, four in the ARCA East division and two in the ARCA West division. Within the ARCA division, he claimed his first career victory at Kansas Speedway in September 2023 while driving for Joe Gibbs Racing and would double down both at Kansas and in the series this past May. He also recorded two ARCA poles, including the 2023 season opener at Daytona International Speedway.

    Mosack’s addition to MHR adds another missing element to the organization’s 2025 Truck Series lineup as the driver will compete alongside teammates Tyler Ankrum and Daniel Hemric.

    “I was impressed with the job Connor did last season and wanted him to be part of our lineup in 2025,” Bill McAnally, team owner of McAnally-Hilgemann Racing, added. “He showed he has the talent and commitment to compete and win at this level and we’re excited about the potential that he has joining our group. He and Blake will make a great pair and create opportunities for us to win races.”

    With his plans for the 2025 season set, Connor Mosack’s first full-time campaign in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series division is set to commence at Daytona International Speedway on February 14 at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Joe Gibbs Racing reveals driver-crew chief pairings for No. 54 Cup and Xfinity teams in 2025

    Joe Gibbs Racing reveals driver-crew chief pairings for No. 54 Cup and Xfinity teams in 2025

    Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) revealed its realigned driver-crew chief lineup for the organization’s No. 54 teams between the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series divisions for the 2025 season.

    Tyler Allen, who was initially set to crew chief Taylor Gray and the No. 54 JGR Toyota Supra team in the Xfinity Series, has now been named crew chief for Ty Gibbs and the No. 54 JGR Toyota Camry XSE team in the Cup Series. As a result, veteran crew chief Jason Ratcliff will return atop the pit box to crew chief Gray for the latter’s first full-time Xfinity campaign in 2025.

    The news comes 10 days after JGR announced that Chris Gayle, who was paired with Ty Gibbs over the previous two Cup seasons, would be paired with Denny Hamlin and the No. 11 Toyota team while Chris Gabehart, Hamlin’s former crew chief, would be promoted to work as the organization’s competition director.

    “We take a lot of pride in our Xfinity Series program and the depth of talent that we have been able to maintain,” Joe Gibbs, owner and founder of Joe Gibbs Racing, said. “Tyler Allen was successful at the Cup level with us while working under Adam Stevens and was impressive last season in the Xfinity Series leading that 20 team to eight wins while working with a number of different drivers. We have an exciting young and talented team on the 54 car.”

    Allen, who enters the 2025 season for his first year as a full-time crew chief in NASCAR’s premier series, spent seven seasons (2017-23) working as a race engineer under crew chief Adam Stevens. During the seven-year span, he was a part of the 2019 Cup Series championship with Adams and Kyle Busch. In addition, Allen served as an interim crew chief for a single Cup race for Christopher Bell and the No. 20 JGR Toyota team at Martinsville Speedway in October 2021, where Bell finished 17th.

    This past season, Allen served as a first-year crew chief in the Xfinity Series, where he worked atop the pit box of JGR’s No. 20 Toyota team for 29 races and JGR’s No. 19 Toyota team for four races. Throughout the 33-race schedule, Allen notched eight victories between four competitors (Aric Almirola, Christopher Bell, John Hunter Nemechek and Ryan Truex) and led the No. 20 team to a runner-up result in the final Xfinity owner’s standings, all of which Allen strives to utilize the momentum and success from the Xfinity division over to the Cup Series that would enable both him and Ty Gibbs to contend for victories while also returning the No. 54 team back into the Playoffs.

    “It’s an honor to be named crew chief for Ty Gibbs and the 54 Team as we head into the 2025 season,” Allen said. “This opportunity has been a dream of mine since starting here at JGR 10 years ago, and I’m thankful for the support and guidance I’ve received from my mentors, teammates, and everyone along the way. Ty has shown a lot of speed and potential the last two years, and I look forward to building on that experience to get the 54 car in victory lane.”

    For JGR’s No. 54 team in the Xfinity Series, Ratcliff makes his return atop the pit box as a crew chief following a one-year absence. He initially retired from being a crew chief at the conclusion of the 2023 season and spent this past season working as a driver and team coordinator for JGR’s Xfinity and ARCA Menards Series operations. Since making his crew chief debut in the Xfinity Series in 2000, Ratcliff has notched 57 victories between seven competitors and the 2009 championship with Kyle Busch. He has also recorded 15 victories as a Cup Series crew chief, 14 of which occurred with Matt Kenseth and one with Joey Logano.

    Overall, Gray, who was announced to drive for JGR for the 2025 Xfinity season on October 16, is set to become the 26th competitor to work at least one race with Ratcliff, the latter of whom intends to make Gray competitive for his first Xfinity campaign after he spent the previous two seasons competing in the Craftsman Truck Series for TRICON Garage.

    “I’m thrilled to join Taylor and the 54 team for the 2025 season,” Ratcliff said. “After a year away from the track, I’m eager to return to the pit box every weekend. Taylor has the talent and determination to excel in NASCAR, and it’s our mission to help him achieve that success.”

    “It is also exciting to have Jason Ratcliff back on the pit box in the Xfinity Series to work with Taylor Gray next season,” Gibbs added. “He has contributed so much to our organization over his career.”

    Photo by Ted Seminara for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    Joe Gibbs Racing’s 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season is set to commence with the Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium on February 2 that will commence at 8 p.m. ET on FOX. This event will be followed by the 67th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway that will air at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

    Meanwhile, Joe Gibbs Racing’s 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series season is set to commence at Daytona International Speedway on February 15 at 5 p.m. ET on the CW Network.

  • Toni Breidinger joins TRICON Garage for first full-time Truck campaign in 2025

    Toni Breidinger joins TRICON Garage for first full-time Truck campaign in 2025

    Toni Breidinger will elevate her racing status to new heights in 2025 by joining TRICON Garage for her first full-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series campaign in 2025.

    For her rookie Truck season, Breidinger will be driving the No. 5 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, an entry that was formerly piloted by Dean Thompson, and receive partnership support from CELSIUS, Raising Cane’s and Sunoco.

    The news comes as Breidinger, a 25-year-old racer from San Francisco, California, is coming off her second full-time season in the ARCA Menards Series, where she drove for Venturini Motorsports. Through 20-scheduled events, she recorded 11 top-10 results, an average-finishing result of 12.2 and a career-best fourth-place result in the final standings.

    “Racing full-time with TRICON is a dream for me. It’s been a 15-year process to get here but I’m so excited for this moment and ready to capitalize on it,” Breidinger said. “I wouldn’t have this opportunity if it wasn’t for Toyota, Raising Cane’s, CELSIUS, and Sunoco. I’m beyond grateful to have these partners and team in my corner to take this next step in my career.”

    Breidinger, who grew up competing in go-karts, claimed the USAC Speed2 Western US Asphalt Midget Series Rookie-of-the-Year title in 2014 before she claimed the championship two years later. In 2018, Breidinger made her first three career starts in the ARCA Menards Series with Venturini Motorsports. Since then, she made a total of 65 career starts in the ARCA division in five seasons (2018 & 2021-24). Throughout her starts, she recorded four top-five results and 27 top-10 results, with her best result being a third-place run at Kansas Speedway in September 2023.

    During the 2023 season, Breidinger made her Truck Series debut at Kansas Speedway while driving the No. 1 Toyota entry for TRICON Garage, where she finished in a career-best 15th place. She made two additional Truck starts with TRICON throughout the 2023 season before she made her recent series’ start at Daytona International Speedway in February 2024, where she finished 27th.

    Breidinger’s addition to TRICON’s 2025 Truck Series lineup adds another missing piece to the team’s roster as Corey Heim and Tanner Gray were already announced to return for next year’s Truck season. Additional plans for TRICON’s driver lineup and Dean Thompson have yet to be determined.

    With her plans for next season set, Toni Breidinger’s first full-time campaign in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is set to commence at Daytona International Speedway to commence the 2025 racing season. The event is scheduled to occur on February 14 and air at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Tyler Ankrum returns to McAnally-Hilgemann Racing for 2025 Truck season

    Tyler Ankrum returns to McAnally-Hilgemann Racing for 2025 Truck season

    Tyler Ankrum will be returning as the driver of the No. 18 LiUNA! Chevrolet Silverado RST entry for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing (MHR) for the 2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season.

    The news comes as the 2018 ARCA Menards Series East champion from San Bernardino, California, is coming off his fifth full-time campaign in the Truck Series and first with MHR. In his first season with MHR, Ankrum made the 2024 Truck Series Playoffs and finished in eighth place in the final standings. He also notched career-high stats in top fives (six), top 10s (12) and laps led (92) while also tying his career-best average-finishing result of 13.4, the same he generated in 2020, throughout the 23-race schedule.

    For the 2025 season, Ankrum will also have continuous crew chief support from Mark Hillman, the latter of whom returns for his fourth Truck season as a crew chief for MHR.

    “I’m really glad to be staying at MHR with Mark and the entire LIUNA team,” Ankrum said in a released statement. “This last year was probably the best of my career with the consistency we showed throughout the season. Making the playoffs was a huge goal for us and we were in the mix all the way to Martinsville, so we want to take another step and make it to Phoenix in 2025. We all want to get back to victory lane, and I think keeping this group together and continuing to develop as a team will help us get there.”

    Ankrum made his Truck Series debut in 2018, the same season where he would claim the ARCA East title. Driving the No. 54 Toyota for DGR-Crosley at Martinsville Speedway in October 2018, Ankrum started 19th and finished 18th in his debut. He would make an additional start at Phoenix Raceway in November, where he finished sixth.

    The following season, Ankrum moved up to the Truck Series to drive the No. 17 entry for DGR-Crosley. After being absent for the first three-scheduled events due to age restrictions, he spent his first nine events racing between DGR-Crosley and NEMCO Motorsports due to sponsorship woes. Then at Kentucky Speedway, he claimed his first Truck career victory and earned an automatic berth to the Playoffs. Despite being eliminated from the Playoffs following the Round of 6, he settled in eighth place in the final standings and wrapped up the 2019 Rookie-of-the-Year title.

    Ankrum would proceed to spend his next two Truck seasons racing for GMS Racing. During the two-year span, he made the Playoffs in 2020 and settled in ninth place in the final standings on the strength of 10 top-10 results. He also recorded his first career pole for the series’ inaugural event at Circuit of the Americas in May 2021. The following two seasons, he transitioned to Hattori Racing Enterprises, where his best points result was 12th in 2022, before he made his recent move to MHR in 2024.

    Through 136 current starts in the Truck Series, Ankrum has recorded one victory, one pole, 16 top-five results, 50 top-10 results, 236 laps led and an average-finishing result of 13.4 as he strives to extend the momentum from this past season towards a return to Victory Lane and another Playoff bid in 2025.

    “Tyler had his strongest season in 2024 and the best is yet to come,” Bill McAnally, team owner of MHR, added. “He, Mark (Hillman), and the whole LIUNA team worked well together, made a strong playoff run, and put themselves in position to win some races. The growth of MHR we have for 2025 will make the No. 18 team stronger and I can’t wait to see what we can accomplish with Tyler next season.”

    With his plans for next season set, Tyler Ankrum’s 2025 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season is set to commence at Daytona International Speedway on February 14. The event’s broadcast time is scheduled to commence at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Elliott, Allgaier and Caruth win Most Popular Driver Awards

    Elliott, Allgaier and Caruth win Most Popular Driver Awards

    The National Motorsports Press Association announced the 2024 Most Popular Driver Awards on Friday evening at the NASCAR Awards Banquet at the Charlotte Convention Center. Fans vote annually to determine the award’s recipients.

    Chase Elliott- NASCAR Cup Series

    “Thank you to the fans,” Elliott said during the awards banquet. “The fans have meant so much to myself, my career, my family and beyond. When I look at that award, regardless whether I won it tonight or not, I’m grateful for the fans across the country and around the world for what they do for me, but I’ve always looked at it as a little bit of just an opportunity to honor and appreciate the legacy that my family has really set up for me. I think at the end of the day, I’ve always just tried to carry myself and represent that as they would want me to and try to make them proud.

    “As I look at my fans and the people that genuinely want to see us do well, I just see a lot of dedication and people that are willing to spend their hard-earned money on T-shirts and hats and to come to the races and support us. I see a lot of that at the race track, and I don’t want anyone to ever think that I take any of that for granted.”

    Bill Elliott – 16 times (1984-1988, 1991-2000, 2002)
    Dale Earnhardt – 2001
    Dale Earnhardt Jr. – 15 times (2003-2017)
    Chase Elliott – 7 times (2018-2024)

    Justin Allgaier – NASCAR Xfinity Series

    It was Allgaier’s fifth NASCAR Xfinity Series MPD award. He previously won in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2023 and the 13th straight for JR Motorsports among whose previous winners include Allgaier, Danica Patrick (2012), Regan Smith (2013), Chase Elliott (2014-2015), Elliott Sadler (2011, 2016-2018) and Noah Gragson (2022).

    “This is such an incredible honor to win this award,” Allgaier said. “I can’t thank the fans enough for all of their support, and for this No. 7 BRANDT Professional Agriculture team at JR Motorsports who worked so hard all year long to make this championship happen. It means the world to me.”

    Rajah Caruth – NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series

    Caruth won the Most Popular Driver Award in only his second full-time season in the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. It was a breakout year for him as he also scored his first career victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March earning him a spot in the series Playoffs this year and finishing in seventh place in the points standings.

    Caruth thanked his fans in a video posted by NASCAR from the Banquet Awards.

    “What’s up fans? I want to thank you for voting me for Most Popular Driver in the Craftsman Truck Series,” Caruth said. “Appreciate all y’all’s support and we’ll see you in 2025.”

    NASCAR will return for the 2025 season with an exhibition race at Bowman Gray Stadium on Sunday, Feb. 2 at 8 p.m. ET.

  • Joe Gibbs Racing shifts half of Cup Series crew chief lineup in 2025

    Joe Gibbs Racing shifts half of Cup Series crew chief lineup in 2025

    Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) announced a new role and new team for crew chiefs Chris Gabehart and Chris Gayle, respectively, for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season.

    For the upcoming season, Gabehart will be assuming the role as JGR’s Competition Director while Gayle will shift from JGR’s No. 54 Toyota Camry XSE team to the No. 11 Toyota Camry XSE team, where he will be paired with veteran driver Denny Hamlin.

    The news comes as both Gabehart and Gayle are coming off their respective roles as crew chiefs for the Nos. 11 and 54 JGR Toyota teams, the latter of which is piloted by driver Ty Gibbs, in the Cup Series.

    “We have a lot of pride in the depth of talent we have throughout our organization,” Joe Gibbs, owner and founder of Joe Gibbs Racing, said. “Chris Gabehart will now be an asset across all four of our teams as competition director and we thought it was important to have him transition into his new role immediately. Chris Gayle will bring his own perspective to the 11 team while also maintaining the consistency and continuity they have developed with Denny [Hamlin] over the past several years. While we are still in the process of finalizing the new crew chief for the 54 team, we believe all these moves ultimately make our team stronger as we prepare for 2025.”

    Gabehart, a native of Louisville, Kentucky, who graduated from Purdue University with a mechanical engineering degree, made his crew chief debut in the Xfinity Series in 2016, where he was paired with Erik Jones at JGR. The following season, he made his Cup Series crew chief debut on an interim role with Denny Hamlin and the No. 11 Toyota team at Richmond Raceway, where Hamlin finished fifth.

    After accumulating a total of nine Xfinity victories between 2016 to 2018, Gabehart was promoted to the Cup Series to serve as a full-time crew chief for Hamlin and the No. 11 team in 2019. Commencing his Cup crew chief career with his first career victory in the 61st running of the Daytona 500, Gabehart and Hamlin would accumulate a total of 22 victories through 209 events (2019-24). In addition to making the Playoffs throughout their six-year journey, they also made the Championship 4 round from 2019 to 2021, where they finished as high as third place in the final standings during the latter season.

    Through 209 appearances as a Cup Series crew chief, Gabehart has also recorded 11 poles, 90 top-five results and 120 top-10 results, all while working atop the No. 11 JGR Toyota pit box and paired with Hamlin as he prepares to etch a new chapter with his new role in 2025.

    “I am very thankful for the opportunities that Joe Gibbs Racing has continued to provide me for my entire tenure here and cannot say enough about how much I have enjoyed and appreciated my time with Denny and the entire 11 team,” Gabehart said. “They have all taught me so much about not only how to race at the top of the NASCAR Cup Series, but also, how to lead a great group of talented professionals. In my next opportunity, I am as excited as I have ever been to work with all our talented drivers, crew chiefs, teams and partners to help focus all our efforts towards making 2025 one of the best seasons Joe Gibbs Racing has ever had.”

    Meanwhile, Gayle, a native of Little Rock Arkansas, and a graduate from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte with a Mechanical Engineering degree, made his crew chief debut in 2013, where he was paired with Elliott Sadler at JGR in the Xfinity Series. During the season, he made his Cup crew chief debut with Sadler at Kansas Speedway, where Sadler finished 40th.

    Four years later, Gayle became a full-time crew chief in the Cup Series for the first time, where he was paired with Erik Jones at Furniture Row Racing. After notching the 2017 Rookie-of-the-Year title, both Gayle and Jones moved back to Joe Gibbs Racing and notched their first Cup career victory at Daytona International Speedway in July. Gayle would continue to work with Jones over the next two seasons, where they won the 2019 Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, before he transitioned back down to the Xfinity Series during his next two years.

    After capturing the 2022 Xfinity Series championship with Ty Gibbs, Gayle moved back up to the Cup Series and continued to work with Gibbs as his crew chief in 2023, where Gibbs captured the Rookie-of-the-Year title while piloting the No. 54 JGR Toyota entry. This past season, they qualified for the 2024 Playoffs and finished in 15th place in the final standings on the strengths of two poles, eight top-five results and 12 top-10 results.

    Photo by Tim Jarrold for SpeedwayMedia.com.

    Through 214 appearances as a Cup Series crew chief, Gayle has achieved a total of two victories, four poles, 43 top-five results and 81 top-10 results while working with three competitors as he now strives to pick up the torch and maintain the momentum carried forth by the No. 11 team and his new driver Denny Hamlin. Ironically, Gayle is set to become Hamlin’s fifth full-time crew chief overall as Hamlin enters his 20th consecutive season as a full-time Cup Series competitor, all with JGR, in 2025.

    “Denny is obviously a first-ballot Hall of Famer,” Gayle added. “I’m looking forward to working with him and the guys on the No. 11 team. He and Gabehart have established an incredible culture that is a very good barometer for our other drivers and teams to strive to match. I have all the confidence in the world we can hit the ground running and continue the success that this group is accustomed to in 2025.”

    A crew chief replacement for Ty Gibbs and the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team remains to be determined.

    The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season for Joe Gibbs Racing is set to commence with the Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium on February 2 that will commence at 8 p.m. ET on FOX. This event will be followed by the 67th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway that will air at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

  • Daniel Hemric inks full-time Truck ride with McAnally-Hilgemann Racing in 2025

    Daniel Hemric inks full-time Truck ride with McAnally-Hilgemann Racing in 2025

    Daniel Hemric has been named a full-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series competitor for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing’s No. 19 Chevrolet Silverado RST entry for the 2025 season.

    The news comes as Hemric, the 2021 Xfinity Series champion from Kannapolis, North Carolina, is coming off his second full-time campaign in the Cup Series and first with Kaulig Racing in the series. Throughout the 36-race schedule, Hemric notched four top-10 results and an average-finishing result of 23.0 before settling in 29th place in the final standings.

    “This is a great opportunity for me to compete for wins and chase another championship,” Hemric said. “Thanks to Bill McAnally, Bill Hilgemann, NAPA, Chevrolet and everyone involved for the opportunity. It’s a big milestone season to be a part of with NAPA’s 100th anniversary and the 35th year of Bill’s partnership with them. We’re going to do everything we can to get the NAPA Auto Care Chevrolet in victory lane and be in contention for a championship.”

    Hemric, who grew up competing in go-karts before trancending his way to Bandolero and Legends cars as he would claim the Legends Million victory in 2010, made his inaugural presence within NASCAR’s top three national touring series in the Truck Series at Martinsville Speedway in October 2013. Driving the No. 6 Chevrolet for Sharp Gallaher Racing, Hemric finished 32nd in his Truck debut and would proceed to finish 13th in his second Truck start at Phoenix Raceway two races later.

    After making a single Truck start with NTS Motorsports in 2014 at Homestead, Hemric graduated to a full-time driving role in the series and in NTS’s No. 14 Chevrolet Silverado entry for the 2015 season. During the season, he notched four top-five results, 13 top-10 results and finished seventh in the final standings. The following season, Hemric transitioned to Brad Keselowski Racing as he piloted the No. 19 Ford F-150 entry. During the season, he made the series’ inaugural Playoffs and finished in sixth place in the final standings on the strengths of 11 top-five results, 17 top-10 results, 119 laps led and an average-finishing result of 8.6.

    Since graduating to the Xfinity Series in 2017, Hemric would proceed to campaign in two full-time Cup seasons (2019 & 2024), claim the 2019 Cup Rookie-of-the-Year title and achieve both his first race victory and championship during the 2021 Xfinity Series finale at Phoenix Raceway. Within his run, he made a single additional start in the Truck Series, which occurred at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May 2018 as he finished 21st while driving for Young’s Motorsports.

    Through 50 current starts in the Truck Series, Hemric has recorded 15 top-five results, 30 top-10 results, 137 laps led and an average-finishing result of 11.1 as he strives to achieve his first victory in the series and maintain the competitiveness of McAnally-Hilgemann Racing’s No. 19 team that is coming off a four-race winning season with Christian Eckes, who also made the Championship 4 round before settling in third place in the final standings.

    “We’re looking forward to a big year and Daniel is the guy to pick up where we left off,” Bill McAnally, owner of McAnally-Hilgemann Racing, said. “The 2025 season will be a milestone year for us with NAPA’s centennial anniversary and our 35th year of partnership with them. This relationship started with my local store in California and progressed to the NAPA Sacramento DC and then to a national level. To see what we’ve built over the years is incredibly special. Daniel has a wealth of experience in all three national series and can perform in the big moments, so we can’t wait to continue our team’s success with him behind the wheel.”

    With his plans set for the 2025 season set, Daniel Hemric’s return as a full-time NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series competitor is set to commence at Daytona International Speedway on February 14. The event’s broadcast time is scheduled to commence at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1.

  • Riley Herbst joins 23XI Racing for first Cup campaign in 2025

    Riley Herbst joins 23XI Racing for first Cup campaign in 2025

    Riley Herbst will etch a new beginning to his racing career by joining 23XI Racing for his first full-time campaign in the NASCAR Cup Series division in 2025.

    Herbst, a 25-year-old racer from Las Vegas, Nevada, will assume the steering wheel of the No. 35 Toyota Camry XSE entry sponsored by longtime partner Monster Energy. He will compete alongside Tyler Reddick, driver of the No. 45 Toyota, and Bubba Wallace, driver of the No. 23 Toyota.

    The news comes as Herbst is coming off his fifth consecutive full-time campaign in the Xfinity Series, where he piloted the No. 98 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Mustang entry to two victories, 15 top-10 results and a seventh-place result in the final standings after qualifying for his fourth Xfinity Playoffs. Following the closure of Stewart-Haas Racing at the conclusion of the 2024 season, Herbst was initially left without a ride for the 2025 season until his announcement at 23XI Racing was officially announced. As Herbst makes the move to 23XI Racing, Davin Restivo, who served as Herbst’s crew chief in the Xfinity Series, will also move to continue to serve as his Cup Series crew chief.

    “It’s an honor to join 23XI and Toyota for the opportunity to race in the Cup Series each week,” Herbst said. “Racing full-time in the Cup Series has been my goal since I started in NASCAR and I’m excited to start my Cup career with such an accomplished and driven team. What 23XI has accomplished in a short time is impressive and I look forward to building on their success as the organization grows. It’s also great to continue representing Monster and I’m excited about adding to their legacy in NASCAR.”

    Herbst, a former ARCA Menards Series Rookie-of-the-Year recipient and a two-time Baja 1000 Trophy Truck Spec Class winner, made his Cup Series debut during the 2023 Daytona 500, where he piloted the No. 15 Ford for Rick Ware Racing to a 10th-place finish. He would make three additional Cup starts between Rick Ware Racing and Front Row Motorsports for the remainder of the 2023 season, where he competed at Daytona in August and in both Talladega Superspeedway events. During the span, he notched a career-best ninth-place result at Talladega in October. This past season, Herbst made four Cup starts with Rick Ware Racing, where he notched a season-best 24th-place result during the 66th running of the Daytona 500.

    In addition to making a total eight Cup starts to date, Herbst has made 175 career starts in the Xfinity Series and 11 in the Craftsman Truck Series. Within his Xfinity starts, he has notched three victories, two poles, 34 top-five results, 86 top-10 results, 506 laps led and an average-finishing result of 15.2 while competing between Stewart-Haas Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing.

    The addition of Herbst as a full-time Cup competitor to 23XI Racing marks a milestone moment for the organization, which will field three full-time entries for the first time since debuting as a single-car operation in 2021 before expanding to fielding two full-time entries in 2022. Over the previous two seasons, 23XI Racing had fielded a third entry on a part-time basis (five races total), where select names that included Corey Heim, Kamui Kobayashi, Juan Pablo Montoya and Travis Pastrana took turns piloting the entry.

    Currently, 23XI Racing has recorded eight victories, eight poles, 46 top-five results, 83 top-10 results and 1,889 laps led through a combined 257 Cup Series starts. The organization is coming off one of its strongest seasons to date, where Reddick and Wallace accumulated a combined 18 top-five results and 35 top-10 results. In addition, Reddick notched three victories and transferred all the way to the Championship 4 round before settling in a career-best fourth place in the final standings.

    “As 23XI enters our fifth season next year, we felt the time was right to continue the growth of our organization by adding a third team, and Riley is a driver we think will be a great fit for us,” Steve Lauletta, team president of 23XI Racing, said. “We have a very solid foundation with both Bubba and Tyler, and we know they will be a great resource for Riley as he begins his journey in the Cup Series.”

    The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season for both Riley Herbst and 23XI Racing is set to commence with the Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium on February 2 that will commence at 8 p.m. ET on FOX. This event will be followed by the 67th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway that will air at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

  • Travis Mack named crew chief for John Hunter Nemechek for 2025 Cup season

    Travis Mack named crew chief for John Hunter Nemechek for 2025 Cup season

    Travis Mack has been named crew chief for John Hunter Nemechek and the No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota entry for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season.

    The news comes as Mack spent the 2024 Cup season as a crew chief for Kaulig Racing’s No. 16 Chevrolet entry that was piloted by five competitors (AJ Allmendinger, Ty Dillon, Shane van Gisbergen, Derek Kraus and Josh Williams) throughout the season. In 32 races, Mack led the No. 16 team to one pole, one top-five result and four top-10 results. Ultimately, Mack would be released by Kaulig and replaced by Darian Grubb and Andrew Dickeson for the remaining five events of the season.

    “I’m looking forward to helping LEGACY MOTOR CLUB build something great,” Mack said in a released statement. “There are a lot of talented people here at LEGACY M.C. I worked with Jimmie [Johnson] at Hendrick Motorsports, and I know his work ethic and determination – so his vision for the CLUB is really exciting, and I’m ready to get to work.”

    Mack, a native of Louisville, Kentucky, commenced his racing career as a mechanic for Clement Racing in the ARCA Menards Series division. After winning three championships with driver Frank Kimmel, he joined Hendrick Motorsports (HMS) and worked as a shock specialist and front-end mechanic. Nine years later, Mack joined JR Motorsports, where he would spend the next two seasons working with Regan Smith and Chase Elliott in the Xfinity Series before he returned to the Cup Series to work as a car chief for Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the No. 88 HMS Chevrolet team in 2015.

    In 2017, Mack made his first appearance as a Cup Series crew chief in an interim role for Earnhardt Jr. at Richmond Raceway, where the latter finished 13th after leading 13 laps. Mack then became a full-time Cup crew chief in 2018, where he was paired with veteran Kasey Kahne at Leavine Family Racing. Near the halfway point of the 2018 season, however, Mack scaled back down to the Xfinity circuit, where he reunited with JR Motorsports and worked as a crew chief for Michael Annett.

    After spending the 2019-20 seasons as Annett’s crew chief in the Xfinity Series, Mack returned to the Cup Series as he was paired with Daniel Suarez and the newly formed Trackhouse Racing, beginning in 2021. The following season, the duo notched their first Cup career victory at Sonoma Raceway in June 2022, which enabled both to make the Playoffs and settle in a career-best 10th place in the final standings.

    Through 155 appearances as a NASCAR Cup Series crew chief, Mack has achieved one victory, two poles, one Playoff appearance, 11 top-five and 31 top-10 results while working with eight different competitors.

    Meanwhile, Legacy Motor Club’s No. 42 Toyota team is coming off its first campaign with John Hunter Nemechek as a full-time competitor in the entry. Throughout the 36-race schedule of the 2024 season, Nemechek recorded four top-10 results, an average-finishing result of 25.4 and settled in 34th place in the final standings, where they ended up six spots behind teammate Erik Jones and the No. 43 Toyota team. The No. 42 team was primarily led by crew chief Ben Beshore before Brian Campe, Legacy’s technical director, filled in as an interim crew chief for the remaining five events on the schedule.

    “Travis is a welcome addition to LEGACY MOTOR CLUB,” Jacob Canter, SVP – Sporting Director for LEGACY MOTOR CLUB, added. “As we continue to make changes and evolve on the competition side, the goal is to place the right people in the right places. That will take some time, but we are thrilled to have a talent like Travis on board and can’t wait to see what he, Ben and the rest of the engineering team can accomplish over this short off-season.”

    The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season is set to commence at Bowman Gray Stadium for the Clash on February 2, 2025, with a start time of 8 p.m. ET on FOX. This event will be followed by the 67th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway which is scheduled to occur on February 16 at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX.