By: Ashley McCubbin

The theme of each NASCAR Silly Season is figuring out what the changes will be, so that way you can find the ride that your favourite driver(s) is(are) behind the wheel of. It’s why News From The Pits is here to help you sort through it all.

Kevin Harvick, Stewart-Haas Racing, Busch Light Ford Mustang and #4: Rodney Childers, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford Mustang

Kevin Harvick’s retirement from competition to become an announcer in 2024 opens up the No. 4 Ford at Stewart-Haas Racing, which will be driven by Josh Berry next season. The opportunity for Berry comes after perseverance to find the sponsorship with JR Motorsports to run a full NASCAR Xfinity Series campaign, and become one of the Championship 4 contenders last season. He also got his feet wet in the top-tier division, courtesy of fill-in opportunities with Hendrick Motorsports and Legacy Motor Club, with three top-10’s in 10 appearances including a runner-up at Richmond Raceway.

He isn’t the only change at SHR, as Aric Almirola steps away from full-time competition as well, set for a partial Xfinity Series schedule with Joe Gibbs Racing. This opened up the No. 10 Ford, which will be driven by Noah Gragson. Gragson put together a memorable 2022 campaign in the Xfinity Series with eight wins and a trip to the Championship 4, bringing him to the Cup Series with Legacy Motor Club. Unfortunately, he only scored a pair of top-20’s in 21 races, before being suspended for liking a racial post on Instagram.

It is important for Gragson to put together a successful 2024 campaign, for a multitude of reasons. He has to prove he was worthy of a second chance after a lot of people wrote him off after the social media incident and lack of performance. If he is unable to find some footing, it could prove to be concerning moving forward.

Though ultimately, a rebound campaign for SHR is a must if you consider they did not score a trip to victory lane in 2023, other than Almirola in the one of the Duels at Daytona International Speedway. While Harvick scored 14 top-10’s in his final season, the inability to reach victory lane in his swan song season was certainly a letdown. Combined with Ryan Preece and Chase Briscoe placing outside the top-20 in points, and a lot of people are wondering the current state of a team previously known for title contention.

#20: John Hunter Nemechek, Joe Gibbs Racing, Pye Barker Fire & Safety Toyota Supra

While Carson Hocevar took the opportunity at Legacy to run the final races of the season after Gragson’s suspension, he will not be getting the ride for 2024. Instead, John Hunter Nemechek will be in the No. 42 entry full-time after placing fourth in the Xfinity standings with seven wins and an average finish of 9.5. It seems like the perfect next step as he rebuilds his career since the decision to head back down to the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series a couple years ago with Kyle Busch Motorsports. It also makes sense with the team switching from Chevrolet to Toyota as well.

Legacy Motor Club could use some success as on top of Gragon’s aforementioned statistics, Erik Jones only managed to place 27th in the standings with seven top-10’s and an average finish of 20.4.

Carson Hocevar won’t be left without an opportunity, as he has been announced to Spire Motorsports’ No. 77 entry. While winning multiple races and becoming one of the Championship 4 in the Truck Series in 2023, he also scored five top-20 finishes in nine Cup Series starts highlighted by 11th at Bristol Motor Speedway. The team, meanwhile, was looking for a change after Ty Dillon scored just three top-20 finishes last season.

Ty Dillon, for the record, has yet to confirm any plans for the upcoming season.

2022 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion Zane Smith is also getting an opportunity that one would say unique. He was signed to a multi-year agree with Trackhouse Racing, and will transition to the team in 2025 – but will spend this season with Spire Motorsports as part of their agreement. It seems right to see him move up after scoring another two wins to place seventh in the year-end standings for 2023, and Trackhouse Racing is a place people want to be. Let’s face it – Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez were both successful this past year.

#91: Shane Van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing, Enhance Health Chevrolet Camaro

However, it brings a lot of pondering thoughts if Smith is indeed transitioning over in 2025, considering what else the team has in the works. Nobody can forget Shane Van Gisbergen after he won in his series debut on the streets of Chicago this past season. He will return once again in 2024, set to run the Cup Series events at COTA, Talladega (Apr), Charlotte (May), Chicago, Watkins Glen, Las Vegas (Oct), and Talladega (Oct) on top of a full Xfinity Series schedule slate.

So how does Van Gisbergen, Smith, Suarez, and Chastain all fit together under one roof? It seems Trackhouse Racing will be doing a lot of expanding in the near future.

After placing eighth in the Xfinity Series standings with six top-five’s and 18 top-10’s, Daniel Hemric is getting his second chance at the Cup Series, this time with Kaulig Racing. He previously moved up with Richard Childress Racing, managing an average finish of just 22.5 in the process. Being able to run solidly in the top-20 should be expected after watching A.J. Allmendinger score a 21st ranking in the standings with seven top-10’s including a trip to victory lane.

Justin Hayley, who previously drove the No. 31 that Hemric is set to drive, will be moving to Rick Ware Racing. It was one of the most puzzling off-season moves, considering we have yet to see RWR capable of running regularly inside the top-20, something that Kaulig Racing can do. However, the special ingredient seems to be RWR’s new relationship with Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing. A relationship between a big time and a smaller organization has paid off in the past – Wood Brothers Racing and 23XL Racing are perfect examples. Could this be the next edition?

For the record, A.J. Allmendinger will not be behind the wheel of the No. 16 full-time in the Cup Series, set to scale back to a partial schedule while focusing on an Xfinity Series championship run.