For the eighth time this year, Richard Childress Racing added the No. 33 Chevrolet to their lineup for this past Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway, and for the fifth time this year, it was Xfinity Series driver Austin Hill behind the wheel.
Hill, who won Saturday's Xfinity Series race at Talladega but did not advance to the Championship 4 since he was eliminated in the previous round, finished in 22nd place in Sunday's Cup Series race, good for his best finish since he finished in ninth on the streets of Chicago in early July. That ninth place finish was the best for the No. 33 car since 2011.
But the No. 33 car is not on the entry list for this weekend's race at Martinsville Speedway, and it is not expected to return for the season finale at Phoenix Raceway next weekend either.
Richard Childress Racing back to two cars for the rest of 2025
Austin Dillon drives the team's No. 3 Chevrolet full-time and was eliminated in the opening round of the playoffs, while Kyle Busch drives the team's No. 8 Chevrolet full-time and did not qualify for the postseason.
Jesse Love is the other driver who has driven the No. 33 Chevrolet this season, and he also competes full-time for Richard Childress Racing's Xfinity Series team. Love is not only still in championship contention, but he remains above the Championship 4 cut line with only one more race remaining on the round of 8 schedule.
After there were four part-time cars on the entry list at Talladega, only one is on the entry list at Martinsville this weekend, and that is the No. 66 Garage 66 Ford, which is once again set to be driven by Casey Mears.
The No. 62 Beard Motorsports Chevrolet, driven by Anthony Alfredo at Talladega, and the No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet, driven by B.J. McLeod at Talladega, are not on this weekend's entry list, and neither one is expected to return for Phoenix either.
Tune in to NBC at 2:00 p.m. ET this Sunday, October 26 for the live broadcast of the Xfinity 500 from Martinsville Speedway. Start a free trial of FuboTV today if you have not yet had the opportunity to do so!