Driver movement is coming fast and furious over the course of the 2021 season, providing a preview of the 2022 landscape that so far includes an Xfinity Series powerhouse wading into the Cup Series full time, a team in its first season purchasing a longtime organization, a championship crew chief stepping down from atop the pit box and plenty more rumors swirling as the season charges on.
Our 2022 Silly Season Tracker is below, listing what we know for full-time Cup Series teams in 2022. We’ll update this page often, as teams finalize their plans for next season. Anything highlighted in red indicates news on that driver and ride for beyond 2021, and clicking on the red line will give you more information on the move and its impact.
No.
Driver
Crew Chief
Team
1
Ross Chastain
Phil Surgen
Trackhouse Racing Team
Chastain lands in the second car at Trackhouse. He had been at Chip Ganassi Racing, which sold its NASCAR operations to Trackhouse in June. Crew chief Phil Surgen will also make the move over and remain teamed with Chastain.
2
Austin Cindric
Jeremy Bullins
Team Penske
Team Penske has announced that Austin Cindric will make the jump to the Cup Series full-time to pilot the No. 2 car in 2022.
3
Austin Dillon
Justin Alexander
Richard Childress Racing
4
Kevin Harvick
Rodney Childers
Stewart-Haas Racing
5
Kyle Larson
Cliff Daniels
Hendrick Motorsports
Kyle Larson signed a contract extension with Hendrick Motorsports that goes through the 2023 season and includes majority sponsorship from HendrickCars.com.
6
Brad Keselowski
Matt McCall
Roush Fenway Racing
Roush Fenway Racing announced that Brad Keselowski will come on board in 2022 in a driver-ownership role and will drive the No. 6, a seat held by Ryan Newman in 2021. Matt McCall will be the team”s crew chief.
7
Corey LaJoie
Ryan Sparks
Spire Motorsports
8
Tyler Reddick
Randall Burdett
Richard Childress Racing
9
Chase Elliott
Alan Gustafson
Hendrick Motorsports
10
Aric Almirola
Mike Bugarewicz
Stewart-Haas Racing
11
Denny Hamlin
Chris Gabehart
Joe Gibbs Racing
12
Ryan Blaney
Jonathan Hassler
Team Penske
Todd Gordon, Blaney”s crew chief, has announced he will retire from Team Penske at the end of the 2021 season. Jonathan Hassler, who has been the crew chief for the second half of the season on the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford team, will call the shots in “22.
14
Chase Briscoe
Johnny Klausmeier
Stewart-Haas Racing
16
Justin Haley
N/A
Kaulig Racing
Kaulig Racing has announced it will be running full time in the Cup Series in 2022, with Justin Haley piloting the entry.
17
Chris Buescher
Scott Graves
Roush Fenway Racing
18
Kyle Busch
Ben Beshore
Joe Gibbs Racing
19
Martin Truex Jr.
James Small
Joe Gibbs Racing
20
Christopher Bell
Adam Stevens
Joe Gibbs Racing
21
Harrison Burton
TBD
Wood Brothers Racing
Wood Brothers Racing has announced that Harrison Burton will be their full-time driver for the 2022 season in the No. 21 Ford Mustang.
22
Joey Logano
Paul Wolfe
Team Penske
23
Bubba Wallace
Mike Wheeler
23XI Racing
24
William Byron
Rudy Fugle
Hendrick Motorsports
34
Michael McDowell
Drew Blickensderfer
Front Row Motorsports
37
Ryan Preece
Trent Owens
JTG Daugherty Racing
Team co-owner Brad Daugherty revealed that the organization plans to go back to fielding only one car in 2022.
38
TBD
Seth Barbour
Front Row Motorsports
Anthony Alfredo will not be returning to this ride after one season.
41
Cole Custer
Mike Shiplett
Stewart-Haas Racing
43
Erik Jones
Jerry Baxter
Richard Petty Motorsports
Erik Jones announced he will return to the Richard Petty Motorsports No. 43 Chevrolet in 2022.
45
Kurt Busch
TBD
23XI Racing
Busch will be heading to the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota for the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season as he will drive for the Michael Jordan-Denny Hamlin co-owned organization.
47
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Brian Pattie
JTG Daugherty Racing
Stenhouse confirmed at the end of September that he signed a one-year extension to return to the No. 47 in 2022. Team co-owner Brad Daugherty earlier revealed that the organization will be fielding only one car in 2022.
48
Alex Bowman
Greg Ives
Hendrick Motorsports
Alex Bowman signed a two-year contract extension with Hendrick Motorsports.
78
B.J. McLeod
Frank Kerr
Live Fast Motorsports
94
Ty Dillon
N/A
GMS Racing
Dillon returns to the Cup Series as the first full-time driver for GMS Racing in the premier series.
99
Daniel Suarez
Travis Mack
Trackhouse Racing Team
Daniel Suarez will remain at Trackhouse as it adds a second car to the team with the purchase of Chip Ganassi Racing.
