NASCAR: The 3 cars that still need additional drivers

Three seats that have confirmed drivers for the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season still need additional drivers throughout the year.

The 2022 NASCAR Cup Series driver lineup has slowly but surely come together over the last several months, and now the season is scheduled to get underway in under a month.

At long last, the homes for all 36 charters have been confirmed for the upcoming 36-race season. Spire Motorsports secured the final charter, purchasing one of those that had been used by Rick Ware Racing.

This gives Spire Motorsports two charters for 2022. They owned three in 2021, including one they had leased out to Trackhouse Racing Team, but they sold two of those three to Kaulig Racing.

It also leaves Rick Ware Racing with two charters for 2022. They ran four last year, but one of the ones they ran was technically owned by Richard Petty Motorsports. This charter is now set to be used as a second charter by Petty GMS Motorsports after Richard Petty Motorsports and newcomer GMS Racing merged.

All in all, there are 32 drivers set to compete full-time throughout the 2022 season, leaving four other chartered entries. There had been 31 and five, prior to the recent confirmation that Cody Ware is set to pilot the #51 Rick Ware Racing Ford full-time.

These four chartered entries all have confirmed drivers, but three of them still need more.

Kaulig Racing have confirmed that A.J. Allmendinger, Noah Gragson and Daniel Hemric are all set to split time behind the wheel of the #16 Chevrolet throughout the year. While their exact schedules have not yet been confirmed, these are the only three drivers expected to drive this car in 2022.

But Spire Motorsports still need at least one more driver for their #77 Chevrolet, Live Fast Motorsports still need at least one more driver for their #78 Ford, and Rick Ware Racing still need at least one more driver for their #15 Ford.

Spire Motorsports confirmed that Josh Bilicki is set to drive the #77 Chevrolet for “the majority” of the season, but his schedule has not been fully confirmed. This car, like it has been in years past, is again set to be driven by multiple drivers, but he is the only one they have named thus far.

As for Live Fast Motorsports, B.J. McLeod is set to fulfill a similar role, just like he did last year when he competed in 28 races behind the wheel of the #78 Ford. The eight races he missed were the dirt race at Bristol Motor Speedway as well as the seven road course races. Who will fill in for him this year?

Rick Ware Racing have confirmed that David Ragan is set to drive the #15 Ford in the Daytona 500 and additional races, though those additional races have not yet been determined.

Additionally, Ryan Preece is set to drive the car in select races, due to the fact that he is the Stewart-Haas Racing reserve driver and the fact that Stewart-Haas Racing and Rick Ware Racing have a technical alliance. Garrett Smithley is also expected to be back with the team.

The 2022 season is scheduled to unofficially get underway on Sunday, February 6 with the Busch Light Clash at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, and it is officially scheduled to get underway on Sunday, February 20 with the 64th annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.