The No. 4 will continue its legacy in the NASCAR Cup Series as it begins a new era with Noah Gragson and Front Row Motorsports entering the 2025 season.
Gragson, a Las Vegas, Nevada native rose to fame in NASCAR after winning twice in the Craftsman Truck Series and 13 times in the Xfinity Series. He finished second in the Xfinity Series Championship in 2022.
The No. 4 has had a long and decorated history in the Cup Series dating back to the inaugural season in 1949. Frank Mundy, Don Cecchini, Otis Martin and Bill Rexford all piloted the number during that season.
Kevin Harvick (2014) and Rex White (1960) each won a Cup Series championship behind the wheel of the No. 4. Harvick, who retired after the 2023 season, is the winningest No. 4 driver with 37 victories, followed by White, who claimed 26. Sterling Marlin, Ernie Irvan, Bobby Hamilton and Kasey Kahne are among the drivers who also collected checkered flags behind the wheel of the No. 4.
Josh Berry was the most recent driver of the No. 4 car during the 2024 season before Stewart-Haas Racing’s closure.
Gragson, 26, recently completed his second season in the NASCAR Cup Series and has 75 career starts in the premier division. He has eight career top 10s and two top-five finishes, most coming this past season with Stewart-Haas Racing.
Drew Blickensderfer will make his return to the organization to serve as the crew chief for Gragson and the No. 4 team. A 16-year Cup Series crew chief veteran, Blickensderfer most recently called the shots for Gragson at Stewart-Haas Racing and will join Gragson at FRM for the 2025 season. In 2024, the duo earned 16 top 15s, seven top 10s and one top five and look to build on their success in 2025. In his previous stint with FRM in 2021, Blickensderfer sat on top of the pit box for Michael McDowell and the No. 34 Ford Mustang team, having played a critical role in McDowell’s Daytona 500 win.
“I’m excited to be back with Front Row Motorsports,” Blickensderfer said in a press release. “I had a great experience working for Bob (Jenkins) and Jerry (Freeze) before, and now returning alongside Noah makes this opportunity even more special.”
Along with Blickensderfer, several key members from the former Stewart-Haas No. 10 team will join Blickensderfer and Gragson at FRM, including interior specialist Chris Trickett, engine tuner Matt Moeller, engineer Dillon Silverman, and transport driver Matt Murphy.
“I’m grateful to have my crew chief, Drew, along with four members from last year’s team, join Front Row Motorsports,” Gragson said in a press release. “This gives us a strong foundation to hit the ground running in the 2025 season.”
For the third time in seven seasons, Joey Logano bears the honor of being the defending champion of the NASCAR Cup Series.
At age 34, Logano is a wily veteran who has been fortunate enough to represent the sport as its leading voice twice prior. Full-time in NASCAR’s top series since 2009 — now 16 years ago — the Connecticut native has a better comprehension of the magnitude of the responsibility that comes with being the drivers’ top representative.
“I guess I’m more comfortable in the position and understand the opportunity that’s ahead of us as the champion,” Logano said Nov. 22 ahead of the 2024 NASCAR Awards. “There’s a lot of opportunity to take advantage of, whether it’s with the media, growing our sport, growing our race team. … But you don’t want to just waste the opportunity because you don’t know if you’ll ever have it again, right? And they’re really hard to come by. So being the current champion comes with a lot of responsibility, and you don’t want to waste that.”
Logano has long embraced that position. As a young prodigy storming his way up the racing ladder, eventual NASCAR Hall-of-Famer Mark Martin sang Logano’s praises. Logano raced against many NASCAR legends — four-time champion Jeff Gordon and three-time title winner Tony Stewart among them — and eventually started beating them regularly. But it was the examples set by those drivers away from the track that Logano admires most, crediting them for his willingness to be a leader for the sport today.
“I’m only like that because other drivers were like that for me,” Logano said. “And to me, that’s what a true champion is, is somebody that understands that we are here because of the people before us — the media members before you guys, the other drivers before me, the crew chiefs before those crew chiefs, owners before them. All those legends grew the industry that we all reap the benefits of today. But if we don’t do the same thing for the next generation, then our sport will die. That makes me really sad to think that’s even possible, but it is. You can’t just get comfortable and expect everything to keep going the way it is. You’ve got to keep working at it.
“So I look forward to the opportunity to take on that role and help where I can. There’s a lot of questions I’ve asked already, and a lot of things to say, ‘Well, can we do this, or can we do that?’ Or, you know, ‘We could do this a little better next time.’ It’s important to give the feedback back but also be looking to do more as well.”
Jonathan Bachman | Getty Images
Such responsibility is a reward after overcoming the intensity of a championship run against three other elite competitors, this year a trio that included Ryan Blaney, William Byron and Tyler Reddick. Logano thrives in those pressure-filled situations — so much so that he intentionally adds more during the playoff run.
“It makes me better for whatever reason,” Logano said. “That’s why I always add the pressure when we go into the Championship 4. I always say the big things. I want more pressure on me. I want more on my team. I want that feeling. It makes it more uncomfortable. It sucks. But it makes us better. And so I always play it that direction, but it’s hard. I mean, it’s harder than anything. It’s uncomfortable. You don’t sleep much at all. You’re just thinking, right? You’re stressed out. I’ve been sick since the day before the race. I got sick. I’m still sick. … I mean, it’s a lot. There’s a lot that goes on in your body. It’s a big deal.”
That, Logano said, is a byproduct of the toll that going through the title gauntlet will do to a competitor’s brain. A 10-week postseason quickly whittles down to one race where everything a driver has ever worked for is on the line.
“I’d say the mental side of competing for championships is something that I don’t think everyone can understand,” Logano said. “We all have the pressure of life, right, that hits you in different ways. And it could be different things, right? Could be financial, family, it could be health, those type of pressures. But you have time to think those out a little bit. But this is all coming down to one day. You have an opportunity to make history, to impact so many families that are counting on you to do it. And it’s going to come down to a split decision, right, a quick decision. Turning underneath those guys on the restart to win the championship. It’s going to come down to a moment like that. You know that’s going to happen. There’s going to be a moment.
“And then you also have the fear of losing, that pressure. We got this far, and we didn’t capitalize, or a mistake that you made. I mean, you’d be lying to yourself if you didn’t think this about that stuff, right? Everybody does. And it’s how you handle that that makes the difference, that makes you a true threat when you get there.”
Patrick Vallely | For NASCAR Digital Media
Of course, after 16 seasons and multiple Cup championships on his resume, Logano has a couple of take-that moments to his credit as well.
His 2024 title elevated him to become just the 10th driver in NASCAR history to claim at least three championships, joining, among others, Stewart in those ranks. Logano’s introduction to the Cup Series came in 2009, when he was just 18 years old, replacing Stewart in the No. 20 Toyota at Joe Gibbs Racing, a ride he occupied for four seasons and in which he collected two wins before an eventual ousting.
“Yeah, there’s a little pride there because it didn’t go as well as I wanted to,” Logano said of his JGR stint. “And there’s a lot of struggles there to even be (still) racing. So, yeah, there’s a lot of pride there.”
Their relationship has evolved over the years to a place of good nature, but Stewart’s nickname for Logano early on was “Silver Spoon,” referencing Logano’s fast rise to NASCAR and the financial assistance Logano’s father was able to contribute. The two had a fierce on-track rivalry at times, most obviously at California Speedway in 2013 when Stewart took exception with a block Logano made on a late-race restart.
Stewart ended his Cup Series career in 2016 with 49 victories and three championships in 618 starts across 18 seasons. In 579 starts across 17 seasons, Logano has equaled Stewart’s title total and earned 36 wins.
“I did make a joke to my dad afterwards because the Silver Spoon comment — that always pissed me off, which is what he was trying to do. He did a good job at it,” Logano laughed. “But it kind of feels cool that the silver spoon has got three championships like he does now.”
With the 2024 season complete, NASCAR.com breaks down the season for each 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs driver. See a full analysis of how each driver performed throughout the year and a look ahead to what’s next.
Season reviews are being rolled out in reverse order of first place to 16th in the driver standings, concluding with 2024 NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano. Track them here:
Editor’s note: This concludes the series in which we review each 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs driver in reverse order of championship finish.
Season in review: Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford Crew Chief: Paul Wolfe Final 2024 Ranking: 1st Key stats: Four wins, seven top fives, 13 top 10s, three poles, 414 laps led
How 2024 ended: Logano left Phoenix Raceway from atop the championship stage, hoisting the Bill France Cup for the third time in his illustrious career. Logano collected three wins across the final 10 races of the season in the NASCAR Playoffs, propelling himself into rarified air as a three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion. The title marks his third in a seven-year span, with other trophies earned in 2018 and 2022, becoming only the 10th driver in series history to earn at least three championships.
Best race: Fittingly, Logano’s best performance came when every ounce of pressure was on him in the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway. The No. 22 Ford led its most laps of the season in the finale with 107 circuits out front of the field en route to his fourth win of the season, equaling his win total from 2022 when Logano last won the championship. An honorable mention goes to his Round of 8 victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, in which he and crew chief Paul Wolfe stretched their fuel mileage to a win that clinched their spot in the title race.
Other season highlights: It may not have counted toward for points, but Logano’s showing in the NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway was one for the ages. The No. 22 Ford led an astounding 199 of 200 laps at the historic short track, stomping the field in the mid-spring exhibition race. Logano also opened the postseason with a critical victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway, and he clinched his spot into the playoffs with an unlikely fuel-mileage win at Nashville Superspeedway after five overtimes.
Stat to Know: Logano’s 414 laps led mark the fewest of his three championship seasons, leading 939 laps in 2018 and 784 circuits in 2022. Additionally, Logano finished outside the top 30 more times (eight) than he finished inside the top five (seven) in 2024.
Quotable: “I always say the big things. I want more pressure on me. I want more on my team. I want that feeling. It makes it more uncomfortable. It sucks. But it makes us better.”
Looking ahead: Joey Logano may be a grizzled veteran at this point after 16 full seasons in the NASCAR Cup Series, but at age 34, Logano has plenty of runway left to achieve even more in his already decorated career. The 2015 Daytona 500 champion has 36 wins to his name, tying Brad Keselowski for 23rd on NASCAR’s all-time wins list. The odds may not be in his favor in 2025 — Logano very obviously prefers even years — but Logano has proven he can never be counted out. Expect the No. 22 team to have a say in how the year ahead plays out too.
Zane Smith will drive the No. 38 Ford for Front Row Motorsports on a full-time basis for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season, the team announced Thursday.
Smith, 25, joins the program to pilot FRM’s third chartered entry in a multiyear agreement after the team completed its purchase of a charter from the now-defunct Stewart-Haas Racing.
“I’ve always felt at home with Front Row Motorsports,” Smith said in a press release. “They believed in me when I signed with them to race in the Truck Series initially in 2022 and we shared so much success together, winning six races and a championship in two seasons. Unfortunately, everyone had to make tough decisions because there were only two Cup cars available at Front Row Motorsports going into last season when I was ready to move up full-time.
“Now, going into next year, Front Row has really taken their Cup program to another level and I cannot think of a better lineup of teammates. Todd (Gilliland) and Noah (Gragson) are great friends of mine and we all have a lot to prove as young drivers in the Cup Series. It is a great time to come back and continue to build my career with an organization where I know I can win.”
Winner of the 2022 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship with FRM, Smith completed his rookie season at the Cup level in 2024 driving the No. 71 Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports through a partnership with Trackhouse Racing. The native of Huntington Beach, California, collected two top fives and four top 10s in his first full season, leading six laps and ending the season with a 23.2 average finish.
Smith reunites with Front Row Motorsports after a one-year hiatus from the organization. Smith piloted FRM’s No. 38 Ford in the Truck Series for the 2022 and 2023 seasons, collecting a series title and six victories in that span with 24 top fives and 29 top 10s across 46 starts. Additionally, Smith made seven Cup starts for Front Row in 2023, earning a best finish of 10th in that year’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
“I want to thank Bob (Jenkins, owner), Jerry (Freeze, general manager) and Mark Rushbrook at Ford for making this happen,” Smith said. “I know that we can win together in the Cup Series like we did in the Truck Series. It’s a great time to come back as we continue to make FRM even better.”
In a Thursday interview on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Freeze explained that he and Jenkins wanted to keep Smith in the FRM camp the entire time. Circumstances, however, prevented that.
“We only had two Cup cars and two charters, and we liked the two guys we had at the time — Michael McDowell and Todd Gilliland — and we just didn’t have a place for Zane,” Freeze said. “We really tried to talk him into trucks another year, but he was ready to move on. He had done all he could do in the Truck Series, winning the championship and a lot of races. And he had opportunities to move on, and he chose to move on last year into a new program with Trackhouse. We wished him well. We maintained a friendship through it all and finished that 2023 season. … We still were big fans of Zane’s and hoped he was going to have a great run at Trackhouse and with the Spire car last year.
“Obviously some things changed in their camp and some things changed in our camp where there was an opportunity to purchase a charter and really get to a place that Bob Jenkins, our car owner, always wanted to be in — having Zane driving for us in a third car. We just didn’t have what we needed to be able to do that. So now we’re in a position this year where we were able to get that for the 2025 season and Zane was available. He was easily the guy that we wanted all along to drive that new [car] for us next year.”
Sean Gardner | Getty Images
Ryan Bergenty will serve as Smith’s crew chief in 2025 after spending the past two seasons primarily with Gilliland. The duo of Bergenty and Smith worked together for six of Smith’s Cup starts in 2023.
“Our team is excited to be working with Zane,” Bergenty said in a release. “He is an outstanding talent and brings a strong competitive spirit to the group.”
Gilliland has competed for Front Row since 2020, dating back to his tenure in Trucks before making the jump to the Cup Series in 2022 with a best Cup finish of fourth (Indianapolis road course, 2022). Gragson joins FRM this season after spending 2024 with Stewart-Haas Racing. Gragson has made 75 Cup starts dating back to 2022 with two top fives and eight top 10s, boasting a best finish of third (Talladega-1, 2024).
“We want to welcome Zane back to Front Row Motorsports,” team owner Bob Jenkins said in a release. “He brought us our first championship and we believe that he can win in the NASCAR Cup Series, too. We have always believed in his talents, and we will work hard to give him what he needs to be successful. We have confidence in Zane.
“This finalizes our drivers for 2025 in the Cup Series and we can now make all our teams as strong as possible. We have come a long way, but there is a lot more ground to make up, too. We now have the drivers who can build on where we are today and take us to the next level.”
The program will now turn its attention to finalizing its partners, crew chiefs, and driver and car number pairings for the 2025 season, the team said in a release.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (Jan. 2, 2025) – Bowman Gray Stadium’s long-anticipated return of NASCAR Cup Series racing will have some added sizzle.
NASCAR announced Thursday that Cook Out, one of the fastest growing family-owned restaurant chains in the nation, will be the entitlement partner for the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium on Sunday, Feb. 2. In addition, Cook Out will also shake up the weekend with the Cook Out Madhouse Classic on Saturday, Feb. 1, an invitation-only event that features the stars of Bowman Gray Stadium’s Modified Division. That race will include NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Labonte, driving the No. 18 Cook Out Modified.
“It is incredible to have Cook Out as part of this historic weekend at Bowman Gray Stadium,” said Ben Kennedy, NASCAR Executive Vice President, Chief Venue and Racing Innovation Officer. “Their support takes it to the next level, and we look forward to working with them to make it a weekend that fans will never forget.”
Based in the Winston-Salem area since 1989, Cook Out has been known for its Cook Out burgers as part of the “best combos in town.” The restaurant chain has since grown to 340 locations across 10 states.
Cook Out’s NASCAR presence continues to grow, too. It is the entitlement partner for the Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway and Richmond Raceway, and the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, where it also serves as the Official Quick Service Restaurant. It is a proud sponsor of the NASCAR Youth Series and is an active sponsor at the grassroots level. In addition, Max Reaves, son of Cook Out co-owner Jeremy Reaves, will drive the No. 18 Cook Out Toyota in ARCA Menards Series East events this year.
“Cook Out loves Winston-Salem and loves racing,” Jeremy Reaves said. “We’re looking forward to bringing together our racing family and the Winston-Salem community this year with the Cook Out Clash and the Cook Out Madhouse Classic.”
The Cook Out Clash on Feb. 2 will be the first NASCAR Cup Series race at the iconic venue since 1971 and will be shown live on FOX. The event sold out in November, and only a limited number of seats remain for the Cook Out Madhouse Classic on Saturday, Feb. 1. A ticket to Saturday’s race will also include NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying as the 2025 season revs its engines in historic fashion.
Fans are encouraged to visit NASCARClash.com to secure remaining experiences and parking while supplies last. On-site parking at Bowman Gray Stadium is extremely limited, so it’s essential to have a parking plan before arriving at the event. NASCAR has created off-site parking options at Innovation Quarter and Allegacy Stadium that include climate-controlled transportation to and from the event.
Editor’s note: This continues the series where we review each 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs driver in reverse order of championship finish.
Season in review: Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford Crew Chief: Jonathan Hassler Final 2024 Ranking: 2nd Key stats: Three wins, 12 top fives, 18 top 10s, one pole position, 567 laps led
How 2024 ended: Blaney’s title defense proved he undeniably belongs among NASCAR’s elite. A late regular-season lull continued early in the playoffs, but the defending champ navigated through a pair of disasters — getting collected in wrecks at both Watkins Glen International (38th) and Talladega Superspeedway (39th) — before methodically working through each round to advance. When elimination loomed in the Round of 8 after another tough race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and heartbreaker at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Blaney delivered his most clutch performance of the season at Martinsville Speedway, dominating the final run to secure his Championship 4 spot with a win for the second straight year. At Phoenix Raceway, he had a shot at back-to-back titles until teammate Joey Logano held on late and the No. 12 couldn’t catch him. The runner-up finish capped a playoff run that included five top fives and a trio of runner-ups to close it out, silencing any doubts about the No. 12 team’s staying power at the top of the sport.
Best race: With everything on the line at Martinsville, Blaney delivered his defining performance of 2024 and possibly his career. Still stinging from a late-race loss at Homestead a week prior, he arrived at the Virginia short track in a must-win situation to advance. The defending champion responded by putting on a short-track clinic late, grinding it out over the final run to hold off pal Chase Elliott and his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson to halt their title hopes. The win — eerily similar to his championship-advancing performance at the same track in 2023 — punched his ticket to the Championship 4 and reminded everyone why the No. 12 team thrives when the pressure peaks.
Other season highlights: A slew of DNFs from other drivers’ mistakes could have derailed Blaney’s season, but the No. 12 team turned adversity into fuel — which was crucial, with four crash-related DNFs in the final 12 races. A midseason win in the inaugural Cup Series race at Iowa Speedway clinched a playoff spot for Blaney, but not until the 17th race of the year. This put some pressure on the No. 12 team, which started facing some questions not too long before then on if it would even make the postseason in its title defense. That win turned a corner for the team, which won again just a handful of races later at Pocono Raceway.
Stat to Know: Blaney’s playoff performance was particularly strong, recording the crucial Martinsville win, five top fives and seven top 10s during the championship run. Coming alive late was necessary for Blaney’s title contention because his 15.2 average finish for the season was his worst since a 17.3 result in 2017 while driving for Wood Brothers Racing.
Quotable: “That’s what I’ve told my guys: I want to scare every other team. Like, I want you guys to be so good that everyone is nervous about us when we unload. That’s the kind of mindset that we’ve tried to have because I think that’s a great mindset for everyone on the team to have. Like, you want everybody worrying about you because you can be that dangerous, and I think we definitely are.”
Looking ahead: Back-to-back Championship 4 appearances have firmly and finally transformed Blaney from rising star to established force at the top of the heap. His runner-up finish proved 2023’s title run was just the beginning of his superstardom, not the peak. At a fresh 31 years of age, in top-tier equipment and with a team that has clearly figured out how to win Cup Series championships at a consistent clip, Blaney isn’t going anywhere from the title picture for at least the next decade. The No. 12 team’s evolution from occasional race winner to perennial title threat suggests 2025 could be another chapter in what’s becoming one of NASCAR’s most compelling success stories. The only question now isn’t if Blaney will contend again — it’s how many more championships he’ll add to his resume over the coming years.
