1. Cup Regular Season Preview
2. Cup Team Rankings & Grades
3. TV/Streaming Preview
4. Truck Season Preview
5. Xfinity Season Preview
With plenty of business intrigue, a lawsuit looming, and another wide-open battle on the track sure to come, Nascar is looking more and more like professional wrestling. And that looks to ME like a good enough reason to rank where the 36 full-time drivers will finish in the 2025 Nascar Cup regular season, AND their pro wrestling personas!
Ranking. Car# Driver Name (Top 2 Sponsors)—preview Ford Chevy Toyota
Drivers ranked by where they’re expected to finish in the regular season. Thanks to Jayski for helping with some of the below information. All pics courtesy Wikipedia & TaurusEmerald
MAIN EVENTERS: These drivers are like the top pro wrestlers—aiming for the championship
1. 24 William Byron (Axalta, Liberty)—Byron has proved he’s a great regular season driver, but can he put it all together in the playoffs? Thankfully, that’s a prediction for a different month.
WRESTLING NAME: Willie Bee
CHARACTER: Sneaky upper-class heel
FINISHING MOVE: Ankle-lock submission
WRESTLING NAME: “The Steady Sprinter” C.Bell
CHARACTER: Bland babyface who snaps when pushed too far
FINISHING MOVE: Flying elbow
3. 45 Tyler Reddick (Monster, MoneyLion)—Youth, a strong team, and obvious racing ability. What could possibly slow down Reddick? Well, maybe Nascar’s inspection process after his team owners filed a lawsuit.
WRESTLING NAME: “Mr. Slam Dunk” Tyler Reddick
CHARACTER: Neutral tweener
FINISHING MOVE: Flying axe-handle
4. 22 Joey Logano (Pennzoil, Hunt Brothers)—The Hendrick & Toyota brigades will be tough to beat, but if anyone can do it, its wily veteran Joey Logano. And if you can remember when JoLo was a rookie, you should probably do some stretches to prevent back pain.
WRESTLING NAME: JoLo The Double Deuce
CHARACTER: Irritating heel
FINISHING MOVE: Clothesline with theatrics
5. 9 Chase Elliott (NAPA, UniFirst)—Elliott seems to have taken over for Kasey Kahne in terms of sky-high expectations that are never met despite solid results. 2025 will be a year of better finishes but continued whining from fans.
WRESTLING NAME: Chase The Ace
CHARACTER: Fan-favorite babyface
FINISHING MOVE: Sleeper hold (specifically The Million Dollar Dream)
6. 11 Denny Hamlin (???, SportClips)—Off-track drama thanks to a massive lawsuit and the loss of FedEx as a sponsor would derail a lesser driver. But Denny is no lesser driver (…in the regular season).
WRESTLING NAME: “Speedy” Hamlin
CHARACTER: Cool heel
FINISHING MOVE: Legdrop
7. 5 Kyle Larson (HendrickCars, Valvoline)—After a disappointing 2024 (by his standards) look for a bit of a bounce back in 2025. And, of course, some questionable on-track moves.
WRESTLING NAME: “Kalifornia” Kyle Larson
CHARACTER: Mysterious heel
FINISHING MOVE: Piledriver
UPPER MID-CARD: Look for a win or two from these contenders—think the Intercontinental title
8. 12 Ryan Blaney (Menards, Advance)—Blaney’s shown he can turn up the wick when the playoffs start. And this year will be no different (even if I don’t really know what “wick” they’re referring to).
WRESTLING NAME: Flyin Ryan
CHARACTER: Even-keeled face
FINISHING MOVE: Buckshot lariat
9. 48 Alex Bowman (Ally, Ally but in a different shade of purple)—Though often overshadowed by his teammates, Bowman’s shown he can win races. Which is why the calls for him to be released last year were beyond ludicrous (maybe something like mega-maxi-ludicrous).
WRESTLING NAME: Showman
CHARACTER: Non-descript heel
FINISHING MOVE: Heart-punch
WRESTLING NAME: Chris “Don’t Miss” Buescher
CHARACTER: Wily veteran face
FINISHING MOVE: Sidewalk slam
11. 1 Ross Chastain (Busch Light, Moose)—#1 on his car number. #1 in farmers’ hearts. And roughly #11 in the standings with a win or two.
WRESTLING NAME: The Masked Melon
CHARACTER: Masked “avenging” face with some heel tendencies
FINISHING MOVE: Headbutt with theatrics
12. 21 Josh Berry (Motorcraft, Menards)—Someone always makes The Leap, and a talented driver combined with a Penske satellite team should do it this year. If not, well, at least Harrison Burton’s not there anymore.
WRESTLING NAME: Josh “Very” Berry
CHARACTER: Jovial face
FINISHING MOVE: Big boot to the head
13. 19 Chase Briscoe (Bass Pro Shops, Auto-Owners)—He escaped the sinking ship that was SHR, but it might take a year for Briscoe to show his full potential. Until then, hey—free potato salad!
WRESTLING NAME: The Lost Briscoe
CHARACTER: Mysterious and undefined
FINISHING MOVE: Powerbomb
LOWER MID-CARD: As some wrestlers fight for tv time, so do these drivers fight for a playoff berth
WRESTLING NAME: “The Professor” Brad Keselowski
CHARACTER: Know-it-all heel
FINISHING MOVE: Figure four
15. 23 Bubba Wallace (McDonalds, Columbia)—Hey, you know that driver you hate? Did you realize he’s the catalyst for people finally challenging Nascar’s monopoly on the rules-making process? Let that sink in, folks.
WRESTLING NAME: Not-so-Big Bubba
CHARACTER: Generic heel
FINISHING MOVE: Pumphandle slam
16. 16 AJ Allmendinger (LeafFilter, Celsius)—How could this be? It’s the magic of the “win and you’re in” formula!
WRESTLING NAME: DINGER (spelled in all-caps)
CHARACTER: Likable pretty-boy face
FINISHING MOVE: Cross-face chicken wing
17. 2 Austin Cindric (Discount Tires, Autotrader)—Ooh so close. But he has this ride pretty much for life, so it’s not quite as bad for him.
WRESTLING NAME: AC
CHARACTER: Undefined neutral character
FINISHING MOVE: Bronco buster (dubbed the Bowtie Buster)
WRESTLING NAME: “Babyfaced Assassin” Ty Gibbs
CHARACTER: Third-generation legacy heel
FINISHING MOVE: Superkick
19. 88 Shane Van Gisbergen (WeatherTech, Safety Culture)—A solid rookie season for SVG. Which is all you can really ask for, unless you’re Tony Stewart (and there’s only one of those).
WRESTLING NAME: SVG (of course)
CHARACTER: Likable foreign face
FINISHING MOVE: Southern Lights Suplex
20. 99 Daniel Suarez (Jockey, Freeway)—Yeah, it’s disappointing. But he brings tons of sponsorship and seems to be a likable guy. Plus, he hasn’t subjected us to underwear ads for Jockey (shudder).
WRESTLING NAME: Sidewinder Suarez
CHARACTER: Likable foreign face
FINISHING MOVE: Three consecutive elbow drops
JOBBERS: Some wrestlers are just there to lose, and some drivers just don’t have the equipment to win
21. 60 Ryan Preece (Kroger, stuff sold at Kroger)—Nothing against Ryan Preece, but he didn’t really show anything in either his JTG-D or SHR stints to warrant a mid-level ride like this. Maybe he just REALLY makes sure he always returns his shopping carts.
WRESTLING NAME: “The Food King” Ryan Preece
CHARACTER: Veteran heel
FINISHING MOVE: Razor’s edge
22. 8 Kyle Busch (Cheddar’s, Lucas Oil)—While Rowdy is said to have brought in some new blood to help revive RCR (again), this team is likely going to need a year to regroup. Or maybe I’m wrong—I went to a state school, after all.
WRESTLING NAME: Triple R (Ragin’ Racin’ Rowdy)
CHARACTER: Smarmy heel
FINISHING MOVE: Illegal punch
23. 71 Michael McDowell (???)—Spire is likely a step-up from Front Row, but he’s still far away from what he had at…hmm, guess he’s never really had a top ride. And no, MWR doesn’t count.
WRESTLING NAME: “The Big M”
CHARACTER: White-meat babyface
FINISHING MOVE: Chokeslam
24. 41 Cole Custer (Haas Automation, Haas Tooling)—Now that he has the team all to himself he has the vast resources of Haas Automation to focus on his 28th-place finishes.
WRESTLING NAME: CC Ryder
CHARACTER: Bland heel
FINISHING MOVE: Jackknife powerbomb
25. 3 Austin Dillon (Dow, Bass Pro Shops)—Austin’s proven he can win, but he’s stuck with a slumping team on the lesser-half of the Chevy engine equation. Um, I guess his cowboy hats look nice?
WRESTLING NAME: Mr. AD
CHARACTER: Heel who thinks he’s a face
FINISHING MOVE: Flying lariat
WRESTLING NAME: Big Z
CHARACTER: Bland face
FINISHING MOVE: 450 splash
27. 35 Riley Herbst (Monster, Monster logos with crash damage)—Look, I know he got this ride because of his family’s sponsorship connections. And I know that sponsorship is the lifeblood of any race team. And I know that he has to have the chance to prove himself. But still…
WRESTLING NAME: Kid Terrible
CHARACTER: Chaotic heel
FINISHING MOVE: Discus punch
28. 43 Erik Jones (Family Dollar, Advent Health)—Jones can win IF he’s in the right car. But Legacy MC is so far away from winning, you couldn’t see victory lane even if you had Richard Petty’s shades on at high noon.
WRESTLING NAME: Jones Boy
CHARACTER: Tweener
FINISHING MOVE: Sharpshooter
29. 34 Todd Gilliland (Love’s, Grillo’s)—He proved me wrong by not being the worst full-time driver last year. So, that’s something.
WRESTLING NAME: “Dr. Love” Todd Gilliland
CHARACTER: Nominally a heel
FINISHING MOVE: Frog splash
30. 42 John Hunter Nemechek (Dollar Tree, Albertsons/Acme)—We may never know what JHN can do in top (or even mid)-flight equipment. Still, at least he doesn’t have to deal with Spencer Gallagher anymore…oh, wait.
WRESTLING NAME: Mr. JHN
CHARACTER: Hard-working face
FINISHING MOVE: Flying crossbody
DARK MATCH WRESTLERS: You only hear about them when something goes wrong
31. 7 Justin Haley (Gainbridge, Celsius)—While I understand the prestige that comes with being a Cup driver, I can’t help but wonder if Haley would do better to be a dominator in the Xfinity Series. Maybe he just really loves Celsius?
WRESTLING NAME: The Comet
CHARACTER: Tweener leaning towards face
FINISHING MOVE: Nerve hold
32. 4 Noah Gragson (???)—He hasn’t really shown much at the Cup level yet, and this deal seems to have been put together last-minute. Good luck out there!
WRESTLING NAME: AgroGrag
CHARACTER: Masked heel
FINISHING MOVE: Helicopter spin
33. 38 Zane Smith (Speedy Cash, Title Max)—Unfortunately, the best he can hope for is a fluke win like on fuel mileage or at a plate track. Or maybe even in the rain—it feels weird to type that.
WRESTLING NAME: Zane “Fastlane” Smith
CHARACTER: Plucky underdog face
FINISHING MOVE: Dropkick
34. 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (???)—He lost his main sponsor, his team’s longtime owners, and has a very uncertain future beyond his contract. Yikes.
WRESTLING NAME: Big House
CHARACTER: Annoying tweener
FINISHING MOVE: Jackhammer
35. 10 Ty Dillon…seriously (LeafFilter, ???)—I mean, is increased factory support from RCR really that worthwhile? How the heck did he get this ride?!?
WRESTLING NAME: Mr. E
CHARACTER: Annoying heel
FINISHING MOVE: Bearhug
36. 51 Cody Ware (???)—Gee, I wonder how he got this ride?
WRESTLING NAME: WareWolf
CHARACTER: Heel due to nepotism
FINISHING MOVE: Pop-up powerbomb
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