As of now, Ross Chastain is the one and only NASCAR Cup Series driver planning to take full advantage of NASCAR's rules for Cup drivers with more than three years of experience regarding competing in the Xfinity Series this season.
Those drivers are allowed to compete in up to five Xfinity Series races per year and five Truck Series races per year, and Chastain is the only one who had five Xfinity Series starts on his schedule for 2025.
Now all five of those starts have come and gone, with the fifth and final race of Chastain's 2025 Xfinity Series schedule taking place this past weekend at Iowa Speedway, where he finished in a season-high third place.
Ross Chastain replacement confirmed for Watkins Glen
Chastain also finished in eighth place at Circuit of the Americas, fourth at Darlington Raceway, and fifth at Nashville Superspeedway before being knocked out of the race at Dover Motor Speedway with a rear gear issue.
In all five races, he drove a fifth JR Motorsports entry, the No. 9 Chevrolet. He had never previously competed for Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s team at the Xfinity level.
But even with Chastain's 2025 slate complete, the team are planning to field the No. 9 car again this weekend for another familiar face who runs full-time for Trackhouse Racing at the Cup level: Shane van Gisbergen.
Van Gisbergen made his first start of the 2025 Xfinity Series season in the No. 9 car on the streets of Chicago and won, and he made his second start of the year the following weekend at Sonoma Raceway, where he finished in second place after being outdueled by JR Motorsports full-time driver Connor Zilisch.
Zilisch is the driver whom many believe is set to replace Daniel Suarez and become Trackhouse Racing's newest full-time driver in 2026.
Beyond this weekend, JR Motorsports only plan to field the No. 9 Chevrolet one more time in 2025. They plan to run it in the October playoff race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval. Connor Mosack is set to drive it in that race for the first time this year; the full-time Cup drivers are not eligible to run playoff races.
The CW Network is set to provide live coverage of the Mission 200 at The Glen from Watkins Glen International starting at 3:00 p.m. ET this Saturday, August 9, so start a free trial of FuboTV now and don't miss it!