NASCAR Cup Series: What happens to the two missing charters?

With 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports having opted not to sign NASCAR's new charter agreement ahead of the 2025 Cup Series season, NASCAR has made clear that they are prepared to run the season with 32 charters instead of the usual 36.

This admission makes sense, considering the fact that 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports are both two-car teams. But both agreed to acquire a third charter from the now defunct Stewart-Haas Racing to expand to three cars.

23XI Racing have even named Riley Herbst as their third driver alongside Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick, and Front Row Motorsports are expected to confirm former Truck Series champion Zane Smith as theirs alongside Todd Gilliland and newcomer Noah Gragson.

This means that there are only 30 charters accounted for as the 2025 season approaches, not 32.

NASCAR has admitted that the transfer of charters from Stewart-Haas Racing to 23XI Racing and Stewart-Haas Racing to Front Row Motorsports is not officially recognized since the two would-be buyers did not sign the new agreement.

One of the other two Stewart-Haas Racing charters has made its way to Trackhouse Racing Team, as they too have expanded to three cars for the 2025 season, and they actually signed the new agreement. The other is set to be retained by Stewart-Haas Racing co-owner Gene Haas to run the new Haas Factory Team as a one-car outfit.

But just because NASCAR doesn't accept the transfer of charters to 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports doesn't mean that those two charters will indeed be run by other teams, and NASCAR has no way of forcing other teams to run additional entries.

The only other team that expanded for the 2025 season did so without a Stewart-Haas Racing charter. RFK Racing are set to expand from two to three cars, with Rick Ware Racing set to lease out one of their two charters. The two teams have a technical alliance, and now Rick Ware's team only plan to run one car of their own.

So while NASCAR may be prepared to run the 2025 season with 32 chartered entries, the continued litigation and dispute involving 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports indicates that they might well be prepared to run it with only 30.

There is still very little reason to believe that 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports won't move forward with three cars each next year, even as open teams.

The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season is scheduled to get underway on Sunday, February 16 with the 67th annual Daytona 500. Fox is set to provide live coverage from Daytona International Speedway beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET.