NASCAR: The last open seat has been filled for 2022

Just one of the 36 chartered entries was left with no confirmed drivers for the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season, but that has changed.

All 36 charters have confirmed homes for the upcoming 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season, and many of the 36 chartered entries have confirmed full-time drivers.

And now all of them have at least one confirmed driver.

Entering last week, a total of 31 drivers were set to compete full-time throughout the 36-race season, including eight in rides that they were not in last year. That left five chartered entries, including one that did not have any confirmed drivers.

One of those entries, the #16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet, has a solidified driver lineup for the entire year, though exact races for each driver have not yet been determined. A.J. Allmendinger, Noah Gragson and Daniel Hemric are set to pilot this car throughout the year.

Another one, the #15 Rick Ware Racing Ford, has multiple confirmed drivers, but not yet for the whole season.

David Ragan is set to pilot the #15 Ford in the season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway next month, and he is set to compete in other races throughout the year, though those races have not yet been announced.

Ryan Preece is set to drive the car in multiple races as well, due to his role as Stewart-Haas Racing’s reserve driver; Stewart-Haas Racing and Rick Ware Racing have a technical alliance. Garrett Smithley is also believed to be in line to return to the team for a number of races.

Two other cars, the #77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet and the #78 Live Fast Motorsports Ford, have one part-time driver confirmed.

Josh Bilicki is set to pilot the #77 Chevrolet for the majority of the 2022 season, with his first start scheduled to take place in the season’s second race, the Wise Power 400, at Auto Club Speedway.

Finally, team co-owner B.J. McLeod is set to pilot the #78 Ford for the majority of the 2022 season, just like he did last year when he competed in 28 races. He was replaced for the dirt race at Bristol Motor Speedway and the seven road course races.

This left one car without any confirmed drivers for 2022: the #51 Rick Ware Racing Ford.

Cody Ware, team owner Rick Ware’s son, was the primary driver of this car last year. Garrett Smithley, J.J. Yeley and James Davison also drove the entry. Ware had been expected to return to the #51 car in some capacity in 2022, and it was confirmed last Friday that he is set to do so as a full-time driver.

This car had been classified as a Petty Ware Racing entry, as it was the only one of Rick Ware Racing’s four entries that was run using a charter owned by Richard Petty Motorsports.

But this charter is no longer with Ware’s team, as Richard Petty Motorsports and GMS Racing merged to form a two-car organization: Petty GMS Motorsports. That charter is now used to run their second car.

Rick Ware Racing further downsized to two cars for 2022 by selling one of their own charters to Spire Motorsports, a move that gave Spire Motorsports a second charter after they had sold two of their three from 2021 to Kaulig Racing.

The confirmation of Ware’s return means that there are set to be 32 full-time drivers in 2022, and there are now just three cars that still need at least one more driver.

The Busch Light Clash exhibition race at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is unofficially scheduled to get the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season underway on Sunday, February 6. The 64th annual Daytona 500 is scheduled to officially kick things off on Sunday, February 20.