CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Roughly a third of the 36 NASCAR Cup Series teams have a new look this season.

While Team Penske looks to win its fourth straight championship and the four star drivers return to Hendrick Motorsports, there are notable changes up and down the Cup Series grid heading into the season-opening Daytona 500 at 2:30 p.m. Sunday.

23XI Racing, Trackhouse Racing, RFK Racing and Front Row Motorsports have each expanded and added a full-time Cup Series team. Haas Factory Team, representing the lone remaining charter from now-defunct Stewart-Haas Racing, is set to make its debut in stock car racing’s highest circuit.

Here is a team-by-team breakdown of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series field:

Spire Motorsports

— 7: Justin Haley takes over the No. 7 Chevrolet, under championship-winning crew chief Rodney Childers.

— 71: Michael McDowell has moved to the No. 71 Chevrolet with his crew chief, Travis Peterson.

— 77: Carson Hocevar returns to the No. 77 Chevrolet with crew chief Luke Lambert after winning the Cup Series’ Rookie of the Year honors.

Wood Brothers Racing

— 21: Josh Berry climbs into the famed No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford after a season at Stewart-Haas Racing, with longtime Team Penske employee Miles Stanley as crew chief. Harrison Burton, who triumphed at Daytona in that car last August, is now full-time in the Xfinity Series’ No. 25 AM Racing Ford.

Haas Factory Team

— 41: Cole Custer is a full-time Cup Series driver again, as the recent champion in Xfinity takes over the No. 41 Ford for the new team owned by Gene Haas. Custer will work with crew chief Aaron Kramer, a UNC Charlotte engineering graduate who’s been making his mark at RFK Racing.

Kaulig Racing

— 10: Ty Dillon will compete in the Cup Series full-time for the seventh season, as the Welcome-based team purchased the No. 10 Chevrolet after Kannapolis native Daniel Hemric announced he would not return to the since-released No. 31 car.

— 16: AJ Allmendinger returns as a full-time Cup Series driver. The Charlotte Roval winner in 2023 will now work with crew chief Trent Owens.

Hyak Motorsports

— 47: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.is signed through at least next season to pilot the No. 47 Chevrolet for the Harrisburg-based team rebranded as Hyak Motorsports. Formerly known as JTG Daugherty Racing, the recent Daytona 500-winning team is owned by Gordon Smith, Mark Hughes, Ernie Cope and former NBA All-Star center Brad Daugherty.

Rick Ware Racing

— 51: Cody Ware will drive Rick Ware Racing’s only chartered car this season, the No. 51 Ford, on a team with crew chief Billy Plourde.

Front Row Motorsports

— 4: Noah Gragson takes over the No. 4 Ford after a season at Stewart-Haas Racing with his crew chief, Drew Blickensderfer.

— 34: Todd Gilliland now pilots the No. 34 Ford, the flagship car of Front Row. Crew chief Chris Lawson, who won the 2022 Truck Series title, joins Gilliland.

— 38: Zane Smith moves to the No. 38 Ford after the 25-year-old driver had been competing for Trackhouse Racing. Ryan Bergenty will be Smith’s crew chief.

RFK Racing

— 6: Brad Keselowski remains in the No. 6 Ford, now under the direction of veteran crew chief Jeremy Bullins.

— 17: Chris Buescher is back in the No. 17 Ford with crew chief Scott Graves.

— 60: Ryan Preece takes over the No. 60 Ford, working with new crew chief Derrick Finley.

Trackhouse Racing

— 1: Ross Chastain returns to the No. 1 Chevrolet for Trackhouse Racing under crew chief Phil Surgen.

— 88: Shane Van Gisbergen will compete full-time in the No. 88 Chevrolet — formerly the No. 14 car, as that charter was acquired by Trackhouse from Stewart-Haas — and contend for the 2025 Cup Series’ Rookie of the Year. Stephen Doran will be his crew chief.

— 99: Daniel Suárez signed a contract extension that will keep him in the No. 99 Chevrolet, once again with crew chief Matt Swiderski.

Legacy Motor Club

— 42: John Hunter Nemechek returns to the No. 42 Toyota for the team owned by Jimmie Johnson — who will enter the Daytona 500 and Coca-Cola 600 in the No. 84 Toyota — under the direction of new crew chief Travis Mack.

— 43: Erik Jones is back in the No. 43 Toyota through at least 2026, and crew chief Ben Beshore will be back atop the pit box.

Richard Childress Racing

— 3: Austin Dillon is back in the No. 3 Chevrolet, joined by crew chief Richard Boswell, who previously worked with Chase Briscoe at Joe Gibbs Racing.

— 8: Kyle Busch returns to the No. 8 Chevrolet with crew chief Randall Burnett for a third season.

23XI Racing

— 23: Bubba Wallace has a new crew chief in 2025. Charles Denike will now be atop the pit box for the No. 23 team, and Bootie Barker has moved into a competition leadership role at Airspeed.

— 35: Riley Herbst is set for his first full-time Cup Series season in the No. 35 Toyota with new crew chief Davin Restivo, a former lead engineer of Aric Almirola.

— 45: Tyler Reddick will look to defend his regular-season series title in the No. 45 Toyota, back with crew chief Billy Scott.

Joe Gibbs Racing

— 11: Denny Hamlin now has Chris Gayle as his crew chief after Chris Gabehart became a competition director at Joe Gibbs Racing.

— 19: Chase Briscoe has moved into the No. 19 Toyota at Joe Gibbs Racing after the retirement of Martin Truex Jr., and is set to drive the No. 56 TRICON Toyota in the Daytona 500. James Small returns to be Briscoe’s crew chief.

— 20: Christopher Bell returns to the No. 20 Toyota with crew chief Adam Stevens.

— 54: Ty Gibbs will now be working with crew chief Tyler Allen in the No. 54 Toyota.

Hendrick Motorsports

— 5: Kyle Larson returns to the No. 5 Chevrolet with crew chief Cliff Daniels.

— 9: Chase Elliott will look to win the sport’s Most Popular Driver honors for the eighth straight season, as he hopes to get back to the playoffs with crew chief Alan Gustafson.

— 24: William Byron has a shot at becoming one of just five drivers to win back-to-back Daytona 500s this weekend as the Charlottean begins another season with crew chief Rudy Fugle.

— 48: Alex Bowman returns to the No. 48 Chevrolet with crew chief Blake Harris for the third season.

Team Penske

— 2: Austin Cindric hopes to make the Cup Series playoffs in back-to-back seasons with crew chief Brian Wilson.

— 12: Ryan Blaney is expected to be a top contender in the series once again, back with crew chief Jonathan Hassler.

— 22: Joey Logano looks to defend his Cup Series championship, running it back with crew chief Paul Wolfe.

©2025 The Charlotte Observer. Visit charlotteobserver.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.