NASCAR
What are Some New Year’s Resolutions for NASCAR Cup Series Teams?
A new year means a new season of racing will soon arrive. 2024 provides plenty of potential ahead for every NASCAR Cup Series team, whether or not they ended 2023 on a high note. A lot already looks different, with the Busch Light Clash now only a month away. Let’s take a look at every full-time team and give them some resolutions for the fast-approaching year.
Team Penske
The Cup Series Championship formula has seemingly been perfected by Team Penske. The last two years have seen one of their Ford Mustangs wield the Bill France Cup. A lot is looking up for 2024 between Joey Logano, reigning champ Ryan Blaney, and Austin Cindric. All three of their drivers did have weaknesses last year though that could be repaired.
Logano had a level of regression not seen out of the No. 22 in a decade. Only putting up one early-season win had the defending champ as an afterthought for much of the year. Wrecking out and DNFing the Bristol Playoff cut race ultimately sealed Logano’s short postseason fate. The 22 team must return to a frontrunning contender status and find peak consistency again. With a regular top-five presence will come more wins and Playoff bonus points Logano lacked a year ago.
Cindric was only the latest victim of the dreaded sophomore slump. Falling far short of his rookie year stats, the No. 2 only had five top-10s and finished a meager 24th in points. Cindric is a known threat on superspeedways and road courses alike, of which the regular season offers plenty. Should Cindric snag another win, Atlanta and Watkins Glen being in the first Playoff round could be his ticket to a deep run.
Blaney enters 2024 in a new position among his peers as the series’ top dog. It will be very intriguing to follow along with Driver 12 all season long and see how he shoulders this pressure as defending champion. The late Playoff schedule that saw the 12 team come to life in 2023 remains unchanged for 2024. A potential back-to-back effort could be in the cards again with more clutch victories. Blaney aspires that 2024 will have a similar ending to 2023. The 12 team making another Round of 8 appearance could lead to another Phoenix ticket.
Hendrick Motorsports
2024 is already a milestone season for Hendrick Motorsports, being the team’s 40th anniversary season. Half of the juggernaut shop rides into the new year on a high; Kyle Larson and William Byron both are fresh off multi-win years and Championship 4 appearances.
The other half of HMS must aim for more victories however. Injuries and missing time derailed the seasons for Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman. Both the Nos. 9 and 48 will need to hit the ground running in the new year if they are to return to the Playoffs. Wins are likely for each team, but they should hedge their bets by maintaining top-16 points positions too. Neither of these goals seem impossible for a Hendrick team, but there are questions surrounding both of these cars after dim 2023 efforts.
Joe Gibbs Racing
Much like Hendrick, Joe Gibbs Racing enters 2024 on a very mixed-results standing. The Playoff fate was sealed for their three contenders in a little over an hour’s time at Homestead. Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr were both sidelined near-simultaneously with mechanical issues. The race would be won however by Christopher Bell, who made his second-straight finale showing. The Toyota’s title dreams would be short-lived though, with brake issues leading to a Phoenix DNF.
Hamlin and Truex are both a year further into their 40s; father time ticks away for each of them. Hamlin still guns for the elusive championship, while Truex will try to put up another Regular Season Championship campaign and be a Playoff threat.
Bell is seemingly on the verge of a breakout season, with this team coming more into contender form. Sophomore Ty Gibbs also appears on the cusp of greatness, he may be the next first-time Cup winner. Speed is little question for this Toyota group, but rather postseason luck is what kept them from peak results.
23XI Racing
On track with a self-imposed Five Year Plan for a championship, 23XI Racing took a big leap forward in season number three. 2023 saw both the Nos. 23 and 45 make the Playoffs, and each ended up with a top-10 points result. Tyler Reddick appears as a future champion in the making, earning multiple victories and making the Round of 8. Bubba Wallace also put together his most complete season yet despite no win, taking home his best championship result.
In the new year, 23XI should simply wish for more wins to fall their way. This team is just completing an offseason move into a new, larger shop complex. With more space should come increased performance. Owner Denny Hamlin’s title aspirations for a half-decade seem more believable with each passing season.
RFK Racing
Seen by many as 2023’s breakout team, few predicted three wins and two top-eight championship spots from RFK Racing. Chris Buescher’s three late summer wins positioned him very nicely for the Playoffs. Co-owner Brad Keselowski may have struck out on victory lane, but he also had many winning chances. Buescher and Keselowski should simply aim for the same execution and pace seen a year ago. For team 6 however, they do need a smidge more luck to join the 17 as race winners.
No race has eluded Keselowski more in recent years than the Daytona 500, which he was leading late a year ago. In less than two months, RFK will likely bring rocketships to the high banks once again.
Trackhouse Racing
The voluntary ‘disruptor’ team in Cup, Trackhouse fell a bit from their 2022 high point. Ross Chastain did find victory lane twice including the season finale, but Daniel Suarez was not as lucky. Chastain has established the No. 1 as a consistent race winner and title threat. The 99 with Suarez however needs to find better footing to return to victory lane.
Suarez did show out on a few road courses over the past year, where his one win did come in 2022. Team 99 was likewise a few small execution errors away from some wins. Overall cleaner performances top-down on the 99 team will see them up front again alongside the 1.
Stewart-Haas Racing
The Ford foursome may be the most head-scratching team on this list heading into 2024. Aside from now-retired Kevin Harvick, the last three years have been largely dismal for Stewart-Haas. 2023 was the first winless season in this team’s history.
Harvick is replaced with rookie Josh Berry, and Aric Almirola’s seat is taken over by Noah Gragson. Teaming up alongside Chase Briscoe and Ryan Preece, SHR will have a very youthful 2024 lineup. None of their drivers have more than 150 Cup Series starts though, with only one victory among the four of them. 2024 is surely a rebuilding year for SHR. Their top resolution is to find increased performance from the new Ford Mustang Dark Horse.
Richard Childress Racing
Celebrating their 55th season of competition in 2024 will be Richard Childress Racing. Year one with Kyle Busch in the No. 8 saw three early season victories. A second half slump didn’t live up to expectations though. Teammate Austin Dillon was largely irrelevant for most of the year as well.
Busch will eye higher execution and consistent runs in the Playoffs, and Dillon will hope that speed trickles over to the No. 3 team.
Front Row Motorsports
The little team that could did a lot of punching above their weight class in 2023. Michael McDowell made the Playoffs by winning Indianapolis, and Todd Gilliland was not far off. Both drivers return to their same teams in 2024, something Michael McDowell recently said would be a huge asset.
Indy win aside, McDowell was most impressed with the top-10 run at Bristol in the fall, proving that Front Row can compete against the best on a traditional oval. FRM’s New Year’s wish should be to continue playing the underdog upset role.
JTG Daugherty Racing
2023 will live on well in JTG Daugherty Racing’s history, punctuated with Ricky Stenhouse Jr’s Daytona 500 victory. Aside from February though, the No. 47 Chevrolet did take a big step forward in consistency, finding nine top-10s. Stenhouse also remained inside the top-16 in points for nearly the entire regular season.
Building off these successes for 2024, Stenhouse has already said JTG needs to see better results in qualifying. More second round appearances on Saturdays will hopefully follow this team into the new year.
Kaulig Racing
At the time of this writing, Kaulig Racing still has open races in their No. 16 Chevrolet. Both of their cars will look different for 2024, losing Justin Haley and AJ Allmendinger for Daniel Hemric and a likely rotation of drivers.
Kaulig did squeak out a victory late in 2023 at the Charlotte Roval, further establishing themselves and Allmendinger as a revered road course combination. Both Kaulig teams however did end last year outside of the top 20 in points. A top-20 title effort from either car will do wonders for this still-young team.
Spire Motorsports
Perhaps the biggest question mark for 2024 performance surrounds Spire Motorsports. A two-car team a season ago, Spire will expand into a three-car operation, adding the No. 71 team with Zane Smith. Having Carson Hocevar also join their stable as another rookie should only elevate things too. Corey Lajoie continued his steady improvements throughout 2023 in the flagship No. 7 Chevrolet, earning three top-10s and 25th in points.
Both rookies may need some time to get their feet under them and adjust to the Next Gen car. Lajoie meanwhile should only further his underdog accolades and be in the running to steal a coveted Playoff berth.
Legacy Motor Club
Another team undergoing great offseason change is Legacy Motor Club. The Chevrolet team from a 2023 will show up in 2024 with Toyota branding. John Hunter Nemechek also takes over their No. 42. A manufacturer change is no small feat, and some learning curve is to be expected. Newcomer Toyota teams however have been quick to find pace historically.
A lack of Next Gen experience may hold Nemechek back for the first few weeks of 2024. For Erik Jones though, it is not out of the question to see the No. 43 find victory lane. Jones stunned with this team in the 2022 Playoffs at Darlington; they’ll aim for a repeat performance to come earlier this season.
Wood Brothers Racing
Harrison Burton returns for a third season in the famed Wood Brothers No. 21 Ford. After regressing in nearly every category for 2023 though, Burton needs some foundation for positive momentum this year. Starting in the 2023 Playoffs however, Burton was paired up with crew chief Jeremy Bullins. This veteran helped mold a younger Ryan Blaney into the champion he is today. Burton will hope for similar growth amidst a full season with the Penske maestro.
Rick Ware Racing
For what may be the first time in their team history, Rick Ware Racing has the potential for serious growth heading into a new year. In what many saw as a silly season shocker, Justin Haley left Kaulig Racing for a multi-year deal to join RWR. Haley will be the team’s anchor driver, while their other car has yet to land any suitor.
Multiple breakout Cup Series moments have come for Haley in the past. These are highlighted by his weather-shortened 2019 Daytona summer win. Haley will aim to make headlines for similar glimpses of outgunning their weight class. The Ford alliance with RFK Racing may prove very fruitful for RWR, and has the chance to help mold the past backmarker into a midpack entry.
Some of these New Year’s Resolutions will be easily met, while others will be hard to achieve. Following along with teams taking on major changes for 2024 will be especially engaging. The NASCAR season kicks off in less than a month with the Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. As racing inches ever closer, plenty of storylines are quickly taking shape.
Written by Peter Stratta
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