From team closures to lawsuits and manufacturer defectors, this year’s “Silly Season” saw plenty of NASCAR Ford drivers wrapped up in the drama. Now that things have (more or less) settled down, Ford Authority is rounding up where each key Ford racer landed for the 2025 season.
Perhaps the biggest news during the 2024 Cup Series season was the closure of Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), one of the larger NASCAR Ford teams on the circuit. That development alone sent four drivers packing.
Former SHR driver Chase Briscoe is ditching Ford to drive the No. 19 Toyota TRD Camry vacated by Martin Truex Jr., who retired this year, while the other three drivers are sticking in The Blue Oval’s camp. Josh Berry will replace Harrison Burton in the iconic No. 21 Ford Mustang Dark Horse; Ryan Preece will drive a third Mustang for RFK Racing; and Noah Gragson will join Front Row Motorsports (FRM), the Ford-backed team currently locked in a lawsuit against NASCAR itself.
Burton will step down to the Xfinity Series to drive a Mustang in the division next year. Cole Custer, meanwhile, will move back to the Cup Series to drive the No. 41 Mustang for the newly formed Haas Factory Team. Todd Gilliland will continue his relationship with FRM, although he’s getting a new number, while Michael McDowell is turning his back on FRM for a Chevy next year.
Rick Ware Racing (RWR) took on Chevy driver Corey LaJoie late last season when he swapped places with Justin Haley. RWR has not announced if it will continue its relationship with LaJoie in 2025, but it did sign on Cup rookie Tim Brown to drive one of its NASCAR Ford entries next year.
Finally, in the Xfinity Series, popular driver Hailie Deegan was ousted from the seat of her No. 15 Mustang for AM Racing in a shocking turn of events halfway through the 2024 season. She won’t return to NASCAR next year, and will instead compete in the Indy NXT Series.
Comments
‘popular driver Hailie Deegan’???
Been living under a rock? She got loads of cheers when she was racing