What to Expect in the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Season

5 Things to be excited for in the new NASCAR Cup Series Season approaching.

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It was a difficult choice to choose the top 5 for the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Season, however we were able to narrow it down to these.

5. Toyota and Ford grab new gears. The new 2024 Toyota Camry and Ford Mustang make their way to the big stage of stock car racing this year. The new looks give each manufacturer a more competitive advantage in testing after the past few years of what seemingly has been a Chevrolet lead sport, disregarding the past two Ford Mustang TeammateChampions of Joey Logano (2022) and Ryan Blaney (2023)

4. Returning younglings. John Hunter Nemechek is back for his 2nd full time season after taking 3 years off from NASCAR’s top level to go race in the Xfinity and Craftsman Truck Series’ again. You’ll see Nemechek drive the #42 this year full time. Another returning young guy in Noah Gragson made some big moves this off season with the jump from Chevrolet to Ford to join Stewart HAAS Racing. Noah was suspended from the sport early 2023 and had undergone sensitivity training in order to make his return to NASCAR. The last one being Daniel Hemric. Hemric after an Xfinity Series Championship, is making his return to the Cup Series driving the #31 Chevrolet. Maybe even a return of the backflip.

3. The rookie battle. A fierce rookie battle is shaping up for the 2024 season. What was thought to be a strong battle last year, fell apart after Gragson’s departure. This year may be the best battle since 2016 when Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, Brian Scott and Chris Buscher were running for the title. This year we’ll see Josh Berry, a well known local racer and strong Xfinity Series competitor, Carson Hosevar, the controversial truck series regular of last year, and Zane Smith, a young outgoing driver that has raced in all series over the past 4-5 years. This years battle is going to be close given the performance of these teams last year.

2. The mixup in drivers in new spots. This doesn’t go for much of the front running teams like Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing or Penske. It more so applies to the mid field range teams like Kaulig, HAAS, Spire, Trackhouse and Legacy. So many changes, only time will tell if they were worth it. Teams are grabbing the young guys trying to grow their team. Grala, Haley, Gisbergan (Part Time), and all the drivers above moving and joining teams in what seems to be a big change in the garage layout. New guys, new crew, new team. That’s what starts a revolution in the NASCAR Garage and in Winner’s Circle.

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1. The Next Gen Car. It’s about time we start talking about the ability of the next gen racecar that NASCAR has developed, however, this year will be the 3rd year all teams will have raced with them. With two under their belts, most of the kinks have been worked through and worked out. Some package changes can still be went through for tracks like Martinsville and Bristol. The next gen car, while not racing on dirt this year, is being shown the diversity of a NASCAR schedule and race year like no other. How can the cars and teams keep up with changes? Has NASCAR’s new car really started saving the teams money like they said it would? This will be the year we find out.

Ready? Let’s Race.