1. Cup Regular Season Preview
2. Cup Team Rankings & Grades
3. TV/Streaming Preview
4. Truck Season Preview
5. Xfinity Season Preview
An annual tradition here (for some reason)—my rankings of each full-time Nascar operation going into the 2025 season. Grades are for driver talent, sponsorship situation, stability, and overall momentum. As always, these are just the opinions of some random guy in Delaware.
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| The Masked Racer sez: "The Wood Bros. car is prepped out of Team Penske's shop, like an associate member of a stable. (lookin at you Lex Luger)" |
Driver Talent: B+
Sponsorship: A+
Stability: A-
Momentum: A
OVERALL GRADE: A
Team Penske wasn’t lighting up the field in the regular season, but poured it on in the playoffs, winning another championship with Joey Logano. Ryan Blaney continues to be a championship threat and Austin Cindric, while not at their level, is always a race-win contender. The Wood Brothers side of the equation, meanwhile, likely has improved significantly with Josh Berry taking over for Harrison Burton. With full sponsorship across the board and a young driver roster, this team remains the best in the sport.
2. HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS: 5, 9, 24, 48
Driver Talent: A
Sponsorship: A-
Stability: A
Momentum: B
OVERALL GRADE: A-
All four drivers return, all four drivers remain championship contenders, and all four drivers retain the majority of their funding going into 2025. With that being said—and this could just be nitpicking—it seems like HMS might have stagnated just a bit, with comparative down years from Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott, and William Byron remaining a regular season star who fades in the playoffs. Meanwhile, Alex Bowman appears to be caught in the middle of a “can he step up?” discussion. Again, it’s just nitpicking—virtually any other team would be glad to be wondering if they’ll win a championship or just contend for one every season.
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| The Masked Racer sez: "Racing is a lot like rasslin, in that there's a lot of nepotism." |
Driver Talent: A-
Sponsorship: B-
Stability: A-
Momentum: B
OVERALL GRADE: B+
JGR dominates in the regular season and always puts up great results in the playoffs, but something seems to be amiss with the team. Denny Hamlin continues to miss out on winning it all, Christopher Bell has been sooo close to a championship, Chase Briscoe is trying to rebuild his career, and Ty Gibbs has yet to win a Cup race. And, on top of all of that, another major sponsor (FedEx) has departed the team. They’re not going anywhere and are unlikely to disappoint on-track, but still, it raises some questions.
4. 23XI Racing: 23, 35, 45
Driver Talent: B
Sponsorship: A
Stability: C+
Momentum: B+
OVERALL GRADE: B
Tyler Reddick has proven he can be a championship threat—he could be one or two lucky breaks away from winning it all. Bubba Wallace isn’t at his level, but he is a consistent performer and a sponsor magnet. Riley Herbst is…also there. But how will the team respond to being the lead plaintiff in a major lawsuit against Nascar? Will they embrace the “us against the world” feeling, or will they crack under the pressure?
5. (tie) TRACKHOUSE RACING: 1, 88, 99
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| The Masked Racer sez: "Mexican wrestlers root for Daniel Suarez--they Luch-adore him." |
Driver Talent: B
Sponsorship: A
Stability: B+
Momentum: C+
OVERALL GRADE: B-
This team continues to excel in attracting sponsorship, with all three cars expected to be fully-funded for 2025. But lead driver Ross Chastain still hasn’t shown if he’s a true championship-caliber driver (or just a multiple race-winner), while Daniel Suarez has struggled to make the playoffs at all. The biggest variable is Shane van Gisbergen, who will make his full-season Cup debut in a brand-new team.
5. (tie) RFK RACING: 6, 17, 60
Driver Talent: C+
Sponsorship: A-
Stability: B+
Momentum: C
OVERALL GRADE: B-
Brad Keselowski and Chris Buescher have both shown they can win races for RFK, and with some lucky breaks could even go deep into the playoffs. As for their new third team, well, while I understand that the sponsor writes the checks, I don’t know if Ryan Preece has shown much of a reason why he deserves the ride.
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| The Masked Racer sez: "Wrestling shows should be like RCR's home town: Welcome." |
Driver Talent: B-
Sponsorship: B-
Stability: A
Momentum: D+
OVERALL GRADE: C+
Kyle Busch’s first year at RCR was a revival, but last year the team fell flat across the board. Word is that the team has brought over some new blood behind the scenes to help resurrect the team again, but it remains to be seen if the Busch-Austin Dillon duo will be able to be more than occasional race winners. 2025 is likely a tipping point.
8. SPIRE MOTORSPORTS: 7, 71, 77
Driver Talent: C
Sponsorship: B-
Stability: C
Momentum: C
OVERALL GRADE: C
Spire has continued its slow but steady climb in the Cup garage, going from a field-filler to a respectable mid-pack operation. Furthermore, major backing from Gainbridge (and their various subsidiaries) means these cars rarely go blank. Time will tell if this current drive lineup of Justin Haley, Michael McDowell, and a returning Carson Hocevar can take them to victory lane.
9. FRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS: 4, 34, 38
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| The Masked Racer sez: "I prefer Noah Gragson over Noah Schiavone." |
Driver Talent: C-
Sponsorship: C-
Stability: D+
Momentum: C
OVERALL GRADE: C-
Big changes are afoot at FRM, with Todd Gilliland changing numbers, Zane Smith taking over for longtime driver Michael McDowell, and Noah Gragson piloting a new third car. Beyond that there’s the lingering uncertainty of the outcome of their lawsuit against Nascar, as well as if the backing Gragson brings outweighs his general lack of performance. Good or bad, it’s unlikely that Front Row will be quiet this year.
10. (tie) HAAS FACTORY TEAM: 41
Driver Talent: C-
Sponsorship: A+
Stability: D-
Momentum: D-
OVERALL GRADE: D+
Focusing on the positives, this car will never be without sponsorship on the hood and quarter panels, and Cole Custer IS a former Cup Series race winner. Cooperation with RFK Racing could help stabilize the team’s performance, and a certain amount of uncertainty is gone now that Tony Stewart is no longer a co-owner. Beyond that, however, it’ll be a long uphill battle as a single-car team.
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| The Masked Racer sez: "At least no one in THIS Legacy has been accused of welfare fraud." |
Driver Talent: C+
Sponsorship: C+
Stability: B-
Momentum: F
OVERALL GRADE: D+
Legacy has decent sponsorship, two drivers in Erik Jones and John Hunter Nemechek who’ve shown they belong, and aren’t going around making changes for the heck of it anymore. Still, the on-track performance JUST ISN’T THERE. It remains to be seen if Jimmie Johnson will ever have any success that isn’t partially-attributed to Chad Knaus in some way.
13. KAULIG RACING: 10, 16
Driver Talent: D
Sponsorship: C+
Stability: D-
Momentum: D-
OVERALL GRADE: D-
Kaulig Racing hasn’t been able to unlock their potential at the Cup level yet, but the changes they’ve made aren’t likely to help. AJ Allmendinger is back, but has yet to show he can win anywhere besides a road course. And Ty Dillon’s hiring has baffled most racing insiders. This team seems to be moving in reverse.
14. HYAK MOTORSPORTS: 47
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| The Masked Racer sez: "'Hyak' sounds like what an opponent utters when they're chopped in the chest." |
Driver Talent: D+
Sponsorship: D-
Stability: F
Momentum: D-
OVERALL GRADE: F
Barring a major surprise it looks like nothing good has happened to the former JTG-D team this offseason. Kroger has left, the team’s founders have left, and the team has yet to announce any sponsors for Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s car. This team could be on its way out.
15. RICK WARE RACING: 51
Driver Talent: F
Sponsorship: C
Stability: F
Momentum: D+
OVERALL GRADE: Incomplete
After leasing out their other charter to RFK, Rick Ware will operate as a single-car team in 2025 with the always, uh, exciting Cody Ware. As a result, its pretty hard to grade them, but you gotta give them props for survival.
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