By: Ashley McCubbin

Throughout the off-season, NEWS FROM THE PITS kept track of everything going on silly season wise via their Tracking the Changes series, which consisted of three-parts for the NASCAR Cup Series. But were the moves that occurred the right moves? Let’s grade them based on how the year has gone to date.

Not A Good Change: Austin Dillon partnering with Keith Rodden has not worked out as well as he would have hoped, considering he is currently ranked 29th in the standings with just a single top-five finish. It’s not the way he wanted to follow up five top-five’s and placing 11th in points in 2022 with a trip to victory lane. It only becomes worse when his new teammate Kyle Busch has been performing well with wins.

A Good Change: Speaking of Kyle Busch, it’s safe to say he came out pretty well with the switch from Joe Gibbs Racing to Richard Childress Racing. He has three victories already on the season, compared to a single win in 2022, and already matched his top-five finishes (eight) and is only four top-10’s away from matching that mark with 12 events still remaining on the calendar. He could also make the season mean even more depending how he does in the playoffs, which is capable of being very well given the performance this year.

Not A Good Change: There were a lot of high hopes for Noah Gragson following an impressive NASCAR Xfinity Series championship contending season, but none of those dreams were realized. Instead, the 21 races he competed in before his suspension resulted in just four results inside of the top-20. Perhaps he was moved up too soon and maturity should have happened, or maybe Legacy Auto Club has some work to do of their own – except Erik Jones has five top-10’s on the season.

Now obviously the narrative and conversation have changed with what has happened, and there are bigger questions to be asked. Will the Las Vegas native get a chance again? Probably not at the top-level, but perhaps in Xfinity or the Craftsman Truck Series if someone wants to take a chance.

A Good Change: Tyler Reddick has showcased that 23XL has good equipment underneath them, as evident by picking up a victory at Circuits of the Americas alongside seven top-five finishes. Now will he be a championship contender? He has shown speed at times year capable of fighting for wins, but he is below the mark of other competitors whose chances seem stronger.

#41: Ryan Preece, Stewart-Haas Racing, United Rentals Ford Mustang

Not A Good Change: Ryan Preece certainly did not see his return to the Cup Series only featuring a single top-10 finish across 24 races thus far in 2023. It’s also not the standard you would expect to see out of an organization in Stewart-Haas Racing that has won championships previously. However, you cannot place it all on his shoulders considering his teammates Aric Almirola and Chase Briscoe rank outside the top-20 alongside Preece. The question you may want to ask is not just about Preece, but rather about the team in general.

A Good Change: Ty Gibbs is having a solid campaign for a rookie in the Cup Series, currently ranked 18th in points with six top-10’s including a season-best fifth at Pocono Raceway. It may not be equal to the performance of his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, but look at their amount of experience compared to his. If he continues to grow and improve with each race underneath him, then you can say this is projected in the right direction.

Not A Good Change: Ty Dillon has taken a step down in performance in moving from Legacy to Spire Motorsports, if you look at where he sits in the standings (32nd to 29th) and his average finish (28.2 to 22.6). Certainly the move kept him in the premiere series, but running in the back half cannot be a fun time. He may be beneficial to take a page out of John Hunter Nemechek’s playbook and reset his career.

Not A Good Change: Jimmie Johnson returning to NASCAR has not gone as he hoped, with all three races competed in thus far ending in crashes. It doesn’t just hurt your pride, but also the pocketbook considering he’s the team owner.