NASCAR driver announcement leaves one team with no drivers for 2025

Front Row Motorsports recently confirmed that Zane Smith, who won the 2022 NASCAR Truck Series championship with the team, is indeed set to join their Cup Series team for the 2025 season, solidifying their three-car lineup.

Smith is set to drive the No. 38 Ford that had been driven by Todd Gilliland, while Gilliland is set to remain with the team but replace the Spire Motorsports-bound Michael McDowell behind the wheel of the No. 34 Ford.

Ex-Stewart-Haas Racing driver Noah Gragson is set to drive the third car, which the team plan to run using a third charter they have acquired from Stewart-Haas Racing. That car's number was recently confirmed as No. 4, a number that had been used by Stewart-Haas Racing before they shut down.

As a result of Smith's confirmation, which follows the confirmation that 23XI Racing also plan to expand from two cars to three and have signed Riley Herbst to drive their third chartered entry alongside Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick, 35 of the 36 chartered entries are set to be driven by full-time drivers in 2025.

The only remaining vacancy among chartered teams is at Rick Ware Racing.

Unlike in 2024, Rick Ware's team only plan to run one chartered entry in 2025. The charter they used to run the No. 15 Ford in 2024 has been leased out to RFK Racing, the team with which they have had a technical alliance since 2023. RFK Racing have added the No. 60 Ford for Ryan Preece, who is set to join Chris Buescher and team co-owner Brad Keselowski.

Justin Haley was initially supposed to drive the No. 51 Ford for Rick Ware Racing in 2025, but he was effectively "traded" to Spire Motorsports before the 2024 season ended and confirmed by the team for 2025 as well.

Corey LaJoie replaced him, but LaJoie was not confirmed by Rick Ware Racing for beyond the conclusion of 2024, and he is still without a seat for 2025.

As a result, the No. 51 Ford remains without a confirmed driver, and LaJoie is not the driver expected to get the nod to drive it.

According to Fox Sports' Bob Pockrass, Cody Ware is the lead candidate to drive that car, and should he be confirmed as a full-time driver, all 36 chartered entries would be driven by full-time drivers in 2025. There would not be any shared chartered entries like there have been each year since charters were added to the sport in 2016.

Ware, the son of team owner Rick Ware, drove the car full-time in 2022. He has competed in select races for the team each year since 2017.

Time is ticking for Rick Ware Racing to make a decision, as the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season is scheduled to get underway next month with the 67th annual Daytona 500. The "Great American Race" is set to be shown live on Fox from Daytona International Speedway beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 16.