NASCAR Cup Series: Driver lineup changes from 2020 to 2021
By Asher Fair
Here is a list of the changes in the NASCAR Cup Series driver lineup among the teams from the 2020 season to the 2021 season thus far.
Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott capped off the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season by winning the final two races at Martinsville Speedway and Phoenix Raceway to secure his first career championship in his fifth season of full-time competition.
The focus has since shifted to the 2021 season and what still needs to be confirmed as the offseason between the 2020 and 2021 seasons continues.
We are now just under two and a half months from the scheduled start date of the 2021 season, and the overwhelming majority of the 36 chartered entries have confirmed drivers.
More from NASCAR Cup Series
- NASCAR Cup Series: New team set to compete in 2024
- NASCAR: Surprising name continuously linked to new seat
- NASCAR driver at risk of missing the Daytona 500?
- NASCAR set for rare appearance last seen 13 years ago
- NASCAR team adds third car, names driver for 2024 Daytona 500
Last season, there were 33 full-time drivers who competed for points, including 32 who competed in chartered entries; Daniel Suarez of Gaunt Brothers Racing did not. Of those 32 drivers, 27 competed in all 36 races on the schedule, as five of them missed races for a variety of reasons.
The other four chartered entries were shared by multiple drivers, although there were two drivers, Joey Gase and J.J. Yeley, who did compete in nearly the full schedule competing for these teams, as neither one of them missed more than three races.
One other driver, Timmy Hill, competed full-time in a non-chartered #66 car for MBM Motorsports and did not compete for points, but he also ran the entire 36-race schedule.
But there have been quite a few changes to the driver lineup for next year.
Of the 33 full-time drivers who competed for points in 2020, only 26 have been confirmed in the 2021 lineup, and of those 26 drivers, only 21 are set to compete for the same teams they competed last year.
Here is what we know is set to change in the driver lineup from the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season to the 2021 season thus far.
NOTE: (R) means rookie. Only entries with full-time drivers for which changes have been confirmed from 2020 to 2021 are listed. “New team” means the team did not exist this past season. Teams are listed in alphabetical order.
23XI Racing
#23 Toyota
- IN: Bubba Wallace (new team)
Chip Ganassi Racing
#42 Chevrolet
- IN: Ross Chastain
- OUT: Matt Kenseth
Front Row Motorsports
#38 Ford
- IN: ???
- OUT: John Hunter Nemechek
Gaunt Brothers Racing
#96 Toyota
- IN: ??? (non-chartered)
- OUT: Daniel Suarez
Germain Racing
#13 Chevrolet
- OUT: Ty Dillon (team sold)
Hendrick Motorsports
#5 Chevrolet
- IN: Kyle Larson
#48 Chevrolet
- IN: Alex Bowman
- OUT: Jimmie Johnson
#88 Chevrolet
- OUT: Alex Bowman
Joe Gibbs Racing
#20 Toyota
- IN: Christopher Bell
- OUT: Erik jones
Leavine Family Racing
#95 Toyota
- OUT: Christopher Bell (team sold)
Live Fast Motorsports
#78 Ford
- IN: B.J. McLeod (new team)
Richard Petty Motorsports
#43 Chevrolet
- IN: Erik Jones
- OUT: Bubba Wallace
Spire Motorsports
#7 Chevrolet
- IN: Corey LaJoie
- OUT (#77 Chevrolet): Ross Chastain, Reed Sorenson, J. J. Yeley, Garrett Smithley, B. J. McLeod, James Davison, Josh Bilicki, Stanton Barrett, Justin Haley (part-time drivers)
#77 Chevrolet
- IN: ???
Stewart-Haas Racing
#14 Ford
- IN: Chase Briscoe (R)
- OUT: Clint Bowyer
Trackhouse Racing Team
#99 Chevrolet
- IN: Daniel Suarez (new team)
Other chartered entries without confirmed full-time drivers for next year include the #34 Ford for Front Row Motorsports and the four Rick Ware Racing cars: the #15 car, the #27 car, the #51 car and the #53 car.
The #66 car for MBM Motorsports car also ran the full schedule in 2020 with one driver, but without a charter. There is no word on whether or not that car will be back in 2021, and if so, whether or not Timmy Hill will once again be the driver.
All other full-time entries from the 2020 season are set to be driven by the same drivers in 2021.
dark. Next. Top 10 NASCAR drivers of all-time
The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season is scheduled to begin at Daytona International Speedway with the 63rd annual Daytona 500 on Sunday, February 14, and it is scheduled to run through Sunday, November 7 with the 36th and final race of the year at Phoenix Raceway.