NASCAR
The 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series Will Have a Very Stacked Lineup
One by one, the grid is slowly taking shape for the new season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. 2024 will have one of the most eclectic, dynamic, and fun groups of Saturday drivers seen in years. Here’s a breakdown of each powerhouse team and their chances at greatness in the Playoffs and beyond.
Joe Gibbs Racing
The gold standard of modern-day Xfinity Series teams returns fully locked and loaded for 2024. Joe Gibbs Racing will have four Toyotas compete full-time, with two young drivers gunning for the championship. JGR won a combined 11 Xfinity races in 2023, and now aim even higher.
The Toyota powerhouse welcomes in young talents Sheldon Creed and Chandler Smith. Both of these highly-touted prospects will be JGR’s title-eligible combatants, with the Nos. 19 and 20 cars seeing a rotation of drivers. JGR has proven to be the strongest and most well-equipped Xfinity team for over a decade. Having two drivers all new to their system may show some growing pains, but should pay off with ample winning chances. Expect their two all-star cars to be regular spoilers too in victory lane.
JR Motorsports
After making up two of 2023’s Championship 4, very little will change within the walls at JR Motorsports. The only major change is the loss of Josh Berry. Teenager Sammy Smith will slide into the No. 8 seat to take over in the veteran’s absence.
Across all four of their teams, JRM had a very mixed-results 2023 effort. Justin Allgaier put together another superb season, winning four times en route to a title runner-up. Sam Mayer came to life as well in the second half of 2023, winning four races and asserting himself as a contender. The Nos. 8 and 9 teams were winless, but each had their moments of glory. The aforementioned Smith and Brandon Jones both have work ahead to return their rides to victory lane.
Smith joins JRM’s lineup after a rookie season in the JGR stable, where he won once and ended up sixth in points. 2023 fell a bit short of 2022’s JRM success of three cars in the Championship race, 2024 will try and match this high point.
Stewart-Haas Racing
The defending championship-winning team, Stewart-Haas Racing will see no driver changes. Cole Custer is back to battle for another title, while Riley Herbst also hopes to continue his late 2023 surge. The Ford team may be especially dangerous in the new year; both the 00 and 98 were two of the best cars on a weekly basis to close 2023. Herbst found victory lane for the first time, despite missing the Playoffs, and Custer came in clutch in overtime at Phoenix.
Custer largely attributes his team’s Playoff performance uptick to Herbst. “It was really good working with Riley (Herbst) this year, we were able to really bounce ideas off each other,” Custer said. “How our teams worked together meshed really well. If we didn’t have the No. 98 team in our camp, I don’t think we would have won the championship. That’s how well the teams communicated. He was a huge part of it all.”
Confidence is assuredly sky-high in both SHR camps. Custer is finally at the top of the heap for Xfinity after two past title runner-ups, with a chance to go back-to-back. Herbst also put the competition on notice to close out 2023, five-straight top-fives were punctuated by his dominant Las Vegas win. If any sense of this execution returns in 2024, Stewart-Haas should be a team to beat once again.
Richard Childress Racing
The two-car Chevrolet team out of Welcome will see half of its lineup be new for 2024. Replacing Sheldon Creed in the No. 2 Camaro will be Jesse Love, competing as an Xfinity Series rookie. Love is the reigning ARCA Menards Series Champion, where he won 10 times a season ago. Love will be paired up with Xfinity veteran Austin Hill. The RCR No. 21 won four times in 2023 but just missed out on a Championship 4 berth.
Between one of the most prolific young talents in years and an established leader, RCR is poised for a banner year. Hill will kick off 2024 going for a threepeat in the Daytona season opener. Wins should come aplenty for Hill, while Love’s learning curve is still an unknown.
Kaulig Racing
2023 was an admittedly down year by Kaulig Racing standards. Following this however, they enter 2024 with perhaps the most interesting driver lineup in Xfinity competition. AJ Allmendinger drops back down to take over the No. 16 once again. Josh Williams is the new face in the flagship No. 11. Piloting the all new No. 97 entry in joint collaboration with Team Trackhouse will be Shane van Gisbergen. These three dynamic drivers are surely going to contend for loads of wins and all put forth potential Playoff runs.
This list only scrapes the surface of talented drivers ready to take flight in the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series. This group alone accounts for 13 title contending teams; someone notable will not make the 12-man Playoffs. Combined with an equally-skilled midfield group of teams, the race for the Playoff cut line could be one of the most entertaining fights seen in years. Daytona looms ever closer for every team, it will be a treat to watch the Xfinity Series put on another thrilling show in the new year.
Written by Peter Stratta
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