NASCAR: 3 burning silly season questions entering 2024

Of the 36 charter entries, 35 have confirmed drivers for the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season, and 34 of those 35 cars are set to be driven full-time by a single driver.

As for the other entries, there are still a few questions that remain as the calendar turns to 2024 and the focus begins to shift to the season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway in February.

In fact, one of those questions pertains to a driver whose switch to a new team was confirmed all the way back in July.

Here are three silly season questions that still need to be answered before the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season.

1. Who is replacing A.J. Allmendinger?

So far, the only replacement for Allmendinger behind the wheel of the No. 16 Chevrolet is...Allmendinger. Kaulig Racing confirmed that Allmendinger, who is set to compete full-time for their Xfinity Series team, is set to drive the car in the Daytona 500, but no other drivers have been confirmed for the entry throughout the 36-race season.

Ty Dillon had long been rumored to become Allmendinger's replacement, but with a full-time ride seemingly out of the picture for the former Spire Motorsports driver, is it still possible that he will be one of several drivers to pilot the No. 16 Chevrolet throughout the year?

2. What is Justin Haley's car number?

We are going on six months since Justin Haley made his surprising decision to move from Kaulig Racing to Rick Ware Racing for the 2024 season, but the team still have not confirmed his car number. Will he drive the No. 15 Ford or the No. 51 Ford -- or will the team potentially move him from car to car, depending on where each team ranks in the owner standings?

Before Cody Ware's arrest and suspension back in April, Ware had driven the No. 51 Ford full-time since the start of the 2022 season, and the No. 15 Ford had been a shared entry.

3. Speaking of Cody Ware...

What are Rick Ware's plans for his son in 2024? Cody was recently reinstated by NASCAR and thus became eligible to return to the series for the 2024 season. But will he be back as a full-time driver -- or even as a part-time driver?

Given the fact that Rick Ware Racing already signed Haley to drive full-time, it's highly unlikely that they will have Ware do the same. They have historically run at least one shared entry. However, the fact that Haley remains their only confirmed driver may indicate that perhaps they were waiting to see what happened with Ware's legal situation before making any additional moves.

They are also in dire need of a top 33 finish in the owner standings to keep NASCAR from having the opportunity to repossess their charters, so perhaps having multiple full-time drivers is the way to go.