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Key players in 2022-23 Silly Season
By Staff Report | Monday, November 21, 2022
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NASCAR Silly Season still has some pieces to fall into place before the 2023 campaign kicks off next year but was in full force throughout the summer and fall of 2022. With this year's list of developments shaping up to be one of the most impactful in recent years, rumors are still swirling, questions are being asked and we are keeping track of the latest developments right here.
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Ryan Preece
The scoop: Stewart-Haas Racing promoted Preece on Nov. 16 to a full-time Cup Series ride for 2023 in the No. 41 Ford. Preece will replace Cole Custer, who held that seat for the past three seasons, winning in 2020 at Kentucky Speedway. Custer will move to the Xfinity Series and team with Riley Herbst at SHR. Preece last raced full-time in the Cup Series with JTG Daugherty Racing from 2019-2021 where he posted two top-five finishes and nine top 10s.
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Ty Gibbs
The scoop: Fresh off the 2022 Xfinity Series championship, Joe Gibbs Racing announced Nov. 15 that Gibbs would be elevated to the NASCAR Cup Series for 2023. He'll pilot the No. 54 Toyota — formerly the No. 18 driven by Kyle Busch — and bring NXS crew chief Chris Gayle along with him.
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Jimmie Johnson
The scoop: After a short stint of retirement from NASCAR racing, seven-time Cup Series champion Johnson announced his return with a part-ownership stake in Petty GMS. Johnson will also make select starts in the future beginning during the 2023 season.
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Kyle Busch Motorsports
The scoop: Kyle Busch Motorsports announced their move to Chevrolet from Toyota, mirroring Busch's change after joining Richard Childress Racing for the 2023 season. The organization will field two full-time trucks in the Craftsman Truck Series, driven by Chase Purdy and Jack Wood, and a part-time ride where Busch will split time during the season.
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Nick Sanchez
Current ride: No. 2 Chevrolet for Rev Racing in the ARCA Menards Series
The scoop: The 2022 ARCA Menards Series champion will move to the NASCAR national series ranks with a full-time ride in the Craftsman Truck Series for 2023. Sanchez will continue driving for Rev Racing, backed by a technical alliance with Kyle Busch Motorsports.
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Parker Kligerman
Current ride: Part-time rides in various series
The scoop: Kligerman locked down a full-time opportunity for 2023 with Big Machine Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Kligerman will drive the No. 48 and will still continue his roles with Henderson Motorsports and NBC Sports.
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Jeb Burton
Current ride: No. 27 Our Motorsports Chevrolet (Xfinity Series)
The scoop: Burton took to social media to announce his departure from Our Motorsports after the 2022 season. Neither party announced their new plans for 2023.
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Hailie Deegan
Current ride: No. 1 David Gilliland Racing Ford (Truck Series)
The scoop: DGR announced a name change and manufacturer shift to Toyota on Oct. 27. Deegan, under contract with Ford, has not announced her 2023 plans yet.
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Corey Heim
Current ride: No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota, part-time (Truck Series)
The scoop: Heim will move to the freshly named TRICON Garage (formerly David Gilliland Racing) to pilot the No. 11 Toyota Tundra.
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Ty Dillon
Current ride: No. 42 Petty GMS Chevrolet
The scoop: Dillon will drive the No. 77 Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports beginning in 2023, entering his sixth full-time season in the Cup Series. In July, Dillon took to social media to announce his departure from Petty GMS after the 2022 season.
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Corey LaJoie
Current ride: No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet
The scoop: LaJoie will return to Spire Motorsports for the third consecutive season piloting the No. 7 Chevrolet, the team announced Oct. 18. LaJoie scored a career-best fifth-place finish in March at Atlanta and nearly won in the series' second trip to Georgia in 2022.
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Kurt Busch
Current ride: No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
The scoop: After missing the past two months with concussion-like symptoms, Busch officially announced his plan to sit out for the remainder of the 2022 season and will not return full-time in 2023.
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Tyler Reddick
Current ride: No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
The scoop: RCR confirmed 23XI Racing's option to buy out Reddick for the 2023 season, making his move to Toyota official. It was originally announced on July 12 that Reddick would join 23XI in 2024, so he will join a season earlier than expected.
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AJ Allmendinger
Current ride: No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet (Xfinity Series)
The scoop: For the first time since 2018, Allmendinger will be back in the Cup Series full-time driving the No. 16 entry for Kaulig during the 2023 season, the team announced in October.
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Chandler Smith
Current ride: No. 18 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota (Truck Series)
The scoop: Smith will follow the footsteps of his current owner, exchanging the Toyota logo for a bow tie and driving the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet in the Xfinity Series in 2023. It will be his first full-time season after making a pair of starts in 2022.
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Kyle Busch
Current ride: No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
The scoop: Busch announced on Sept. 13 that he is moving to Richard Childress Racing in 2023 after 15 years with Joe Gibbs Racing. Busch will join Austin Dillon and Tyler Reddick as full-time drivers. Busch won 56 Cup Series races and two championships (2015, 2019) with JGR after coming over from Hendrick Motorsports.
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Aric Almirola
Current ride: No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
The scoop: After announcing his retirement in January, Almirola decided to reverse course, revealing in August at Daytona that he was indeed returning to drive the No. 10 Ford for the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season.
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Joey Logano
Current ride: No. 22 Team Penske Ford
The scoop: Team Penske announced on Aug. 24 that it had signed Logano, the 2018 Cup Series champion and a 29-time race winner, to a multi-year contract extension to drive the No. 22 Ford.
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Zane Smith
Current ride: No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford (Truck Series)
The scoop: Smith was thrust into the fire at World Wide Technology Raceway when it was announced he would fill in for Chris Buescher in the No. 17 Cup ride. In his first-ever start at the top level, Smith rolled to an impressive 17th-place finish and sent his stock rising. FRM saw the promise and opted to retain him for the 2023 season, with potential opportunities in Xfinity and Cup.
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Ryan Blaney
Current ride: No. 12 Team Penske Ford
The scoop: Blaney signed a long-term contract extension announced on Aug. 17, keeping the talented young driver in the Penske stable for years to come.
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Bubba Wallace
Current ride: No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota
The scoop: 23XI Racing announced Aug. 12 that it had re-signed Wallace to a multiyear extension to continue driving the No. 23 for the foreseeable future.
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Noah Gragson
Current ride: No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet (Xfinity Series)
The scoop: Gragson is off to the Cup Series in 2023 as Petty GMS Motorsports announced on Aug. 10 that the 24-year-old driver will compete full-time for them.
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Erik Jones
Current ride: No. 43 Petty GMS Racing Chevrolet
The scoop: The newly merged team (formerly Richard Petty Motorsports and GMS Racing, separately) locked up Jones for years to come, announcing July 30 that the 26-year-old driver will remain in the No. 43 Chevy. The organization indicated that the contract extension is a multiyear agreement. "I’m really excited to have this deal done and finally be able to talk about it," Jones said.
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Martin Truex Jr.
Current ride: No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
The scoop: Truex is coming back to Joe Gibbs Racing. After previously expressing uncertainty about his future, the 2017 champion confirmed his return to the No. 19 Toyota in 2023 following practice at Nashville Superspeedway on June 24. The end of the 2022 season will mark his 17th full-time stint at the premier level, with more than 600 starts, a championship and much more on his resume. Truex has won four or more races in five of the last seven years.
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Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Current ride: No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet
The scoop: Stenhouse and JTG Daugherty Racing announced a multi-year contract extension June 24 prior to any Cup Series action at Nashville Superspeedway. At that point, Stenhouse had one top-five and five top-10 finishes through 16 races. JTG Daugherty Racing changed to a one-car operation in 2021.
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Daniel Suárez
Current ride: No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet
The scoop: Suárez's win at Sonoma Raceway likely ensured a dual playoff appearance in the organization's first year as a multi-car operation. It's no secret that he has bounced around rides in the Cup Series, struggling to find footing with premier organizations at times in the past. But his resurgence at Trackhouse is blossoming into the prime of his career and with a new contract on the horizon, he believes he has finally found a home.
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Trackhouse Racing
New ride: No. 91 PROJECT91 Chevrolet
The scoop: As if co-owning with Pitbull and fielding the first Mexican-born driver to win a Cup Series race isn't enough, Justin Marks' birth of PROJECT91 is taking the organization even further on the international stage. Essentially a part-time ride fielded in events throughout the season, drivers across the globe from many different backgrounds can get a taste of NASCAR — starting with Kimi Raikkonen.
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Chase Elliott
Current ride: No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
The scoop: Elliott, 2020 Cup Series champion and serial Most Popular Driver award winner, signed a five-year extension with the organization in February, locking the star in through the 2027 season.
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William Byron
Current ride: No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
The scoop: Following his strongest season yet in 2021 and a blistering start to the 2022 season, Byron inked a three-year deal to keep him behind the wheel of the iconic No. 24.
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Brandon Jones
Current ride: No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
The scoop: Jones announced on Sept. 14 he will drive the No. 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet in the Xfinity Series in 2023. This is the ride that will be vacated by Noah Gragson, who is moving up to Cup with Petty GMS Motorsports. Jones, who started his Xfinity career with Richard Childress Racing, makes a return to Chevrolet after being in the Toyota camp since 2018.
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Stefan Parsons
Current ride: Part-time with Alpha Prime Racing (Xfinity Series)
The scoop: Parsons spent the first eleven races of the season in a part-time role with BJ McLeod Motorsports before making the mid-season shift to Alpha Prime Racing in search of more opportunities. He will still compete in the remaining three contracted races with BJMM at Pocono, the Charlotte ROVAL and Martinsville.
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