NASCAR Cup Series team confirms expansion for 2025

Just one day after it was announced that Stewart-Haas Racing will be shutting down at the end of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season, it has been confirmed that Front Row Motorsports have acquired a third charter and plan to expand to three cars for the 2025 season.

While it wasn't specified from where they acquired the charter, the obvious belief is that they secured one of the four that currently belong to Stewart-Haas Racing. Fellow two-car teams 23XI Racing and Trackhouse Racing Team are also said to be among the frontrunners to secure one of the other three.

Front Row Motorsports have not yet confirmed any of their driver lineup next year, though it has been confirmed that Michael McDowell will not be back for what would have been an eighth season behind the wheel of the No. 34 Ford.

Front Row Motorsports expanding in 2025

McDowell is set to replace Zane Smith at Spire Motorsports behind the wheel of the No. 71 Chevrolet, opening up the door for Smith, a former Front Row Motorsports driver himself, to join Trackhouse Racing Team, provided they do indeed secure a third charter themselves.

Todd Gilliland is expected to return for a fourth season behind the wheel of the No. 38 Ford, though formal confirmation has not yet been made. As for the other two Front Row Motorsports cars, it's hard to imagine that at least one current Stewart-Haas Racing driver won't end up with Bob Jenkins' organization, especially amid the team's uptick in performance in recent years.

The team's purchase of a third charter comes as talks of a new charter agreement between NASCAR and teams heat up. The agreement is not said to be permanent, but it is believed that it will extend beyond the end of the new media rights deal, which is slated to run from 2025 through 2031.

There are rumors that teams will no longer be allowed to own more than three charters, save for Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing, the two remaining four-car teams that would be considered "grandfathered in".