NASCAR: 3 drivers no longer competing full-time in 2023

Three drivers who competed full-time during the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season are no longer set to do so throughout the 2023 campaign.

The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season is officially scheduled to get underway this coming Sunday afternoon with the 65th annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway after the stars of the Cup Series got back into action two weekends ago with the Busch Light Clash preseason exhibition race at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

Several changes have been made to the driver lineup from 2022 to 2023, including a number of changes involving drivers switching teams and teams turning shared rides into rides for full-time drivers.

In total, just 26 of this year’s 33 full-time drivers competed full-time for the same organizations last year.

But three drivers who competed full-time during the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season are not set to be back full-time in 2023.

Those three drivers are Todd Gilliland, Cole Custer, and Kurt Busch, who competed for Front Row Motorsports, Stewart-Haas Racing, and 23XI Racing last year, respectively. At one point, it looked as though all three drivers would be back with their teams full-time for another season in 2023.

Gilliland was supposed to return for a second season behind the wheel of the No. 38 Ford. He is still set to do so, but he is set to share the ride with Zane Smith, who competes full-time for Front Row Motorsports’ Truck Series team. Gilliland is set to run 30 of 36 races on the 2023 schedule.

Custer lost his ride behind the wheel of the No. 41 Ford to Ryan Preece, largely due to the fact that he simply wasn’t performing as well as the team would have liked him to. Preece had signed with Stewart-Haas Racing as their reserve driver before the 2022 season and was the driver whom many believed would replace Aric Almirola before Almirola changed his mind on retirement.

Busch had a contract to return to the No. 45 Toyota, but those plans were forced to change after a single-car crash at Pocono Raceway in July left him with concussion-like symptoms. Nearly seven months later, he still hasn’t been cleared to return to action. Tyler Reddick is set to replace him after spending the last three seasons at Richard Childress Racing.

The other driver changes for 2023 include Kyle Busch replacing Reddick, Ty Gibbs replacing Busch at Joe Gibbs Racing, A.J. Allmendinger becoming a full-time driver for Kaulig Racing, Noah Gragson replacing Ty Dillon at Petty GMS Motorsports (now Legacy Motor Club), and Dillon becoming a full-time driver for Spire Motorsports.

Tune in to Fox at 2:30 p.m. ET this Sunday, February 19 for the live broadcast of the 65th annual Daytona 500 from Daytona International Speedway. Start a free trial of FuboTV now and don’t miss it!