New Faces in New Places; Two Track Experts, Highlight Clash Entry List
The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season will get started on Sunday, February 2 with the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium. The annual preseason exhibition event moves to the historic 0.250-mile short track after a three-year stay at a makeshift 0.250-mile paved short track inside the confines of the LA Memorial Coliseum.
On Monday afternoon, NASCAR dropped an entry list for the Cook Out Clash, which features 39 cars. While Sunday's race will not be a points-paying event, it will mark the first chance for fans to get a look at all of the new faces in new places after a busy NASCAR Cup Series silly season led to a lot of shuffling in the NASCAR Cup Series garage.
New Faces, New Places
If you unplugged during the offseason and didn't keep up with the silly season moves in the NASCAR Cup Series, you'll likely be very surprised to see some of the driver roster for the 2025 season. Here is a breakdown of all of the full-time drivers, who are seeking a fresh start this year:
Driver | 2025 Team | 2024 Team |
|---|---|---|
No. 4 Front Row Motorsports | No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing | |
No. 10 Kaulig Racing | (part-time) No. 16 Kaulig Racing / No. 33 Richard Childress Racing | |
No. 16 Kaulig Racing | (part-time) No. 13 Kaulig Racing / No. 16 Kaulig Racing | |
No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing | No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing | |
No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing | No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing | |
No. 34 Front Row Motorsports | No. 38 Front Row Motorsports | |
No. 35 23XI Racing | (part-time) No. 15 Rick Ware Racing | |
No. 38 Front Row Motorsports | No. 71 Spire Motorsports | |
No. 41 Haas Factory Team | (Xfinity) No. 00 Stewart-Haas Racing | |
No. 51 Rick Ware Racing | (part-time) No. 15 Rick Ware Racing | |
No. 60 RFK Racing | No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing | |
No. 71 Spire Motorsports | No. 34 Front Row Motorsports | |
No. 88 Trackhouse Racing | (part-time) No. 13 Kaulig Racing / No. 16 Kaulig Racing |
Two Bowman Gray Experts get Dream NASCAR Cup Series Opportunity
Tim Brown and Burt Myers, who have a wealth of experience at The Madhouse (Bowman Gray Stadium) will get a chance to attempt their NASCAR Cup Series debut, albeit in an exhibition event on Sunday.
Brown, 53, is the winningest driver in the history of the modified division at Bowman Gray Stadium with more than 100 victories. Myers is a 12-time Bowman Gray Stadium track champion in the modified division. Brown will pilot the No. 15 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Rick Ware Racing while Myers will drive the No. 50 Chevrolet for Team AmeriVet.
2025 Cook Out Clash Entry List
Here is the full 39-car entry list for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium:
Entry | Car No. | Driver | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing |
2 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske |
3 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing |
4 | 4 | Noah Gragson | Front Row Motorsports |
5 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports |
6 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing |
7 | 7 | Justin Haley | Spire Motorsports |
8 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing |
9 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports |
10 | 10 | Ty Dillon | Kaulig Racing |
11 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing |
12 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske |
13 | 15* | Tim Brown | Rick Ware Racing |
14 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing |
15 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing |
16 | 19 | Chase Briscoe | Joe Gibbs Racing |
17 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing |
18 | 21 | Josh Berry | Wood Brothers Racing |
19 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske |
20 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing |
21 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports |
22 | 34 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports |
23 | 35 | Riley Herbst | 23XI Racing |
24 | 38 | Zane Smith | Front Row Motorsports |
25 | 41 | Cole Custer | Haas Factory Team |
26 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | LEGACY MOTOR CLUB |
27 | 43 | Erik Jones | LEGACY MOTOR CLUB |
28 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing |
29 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Hyak Motorsports |
30 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports |
31 | 50* | Burt Myers | Team AmeriVet |
32 | 51 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing |
33 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing |
34 | 60 | Ryan Preece | RFK Racing |
35 | 66* | Garrett Smithley | Garage 66 |
36 | 71 | Michael McDowell | Spire Motorsports |
37 | 77 | Carson Hocevar | Spire Motorsports |
38 | 88 | Shane van Gisbergen | Trackhouse Racing |
39 | 99 | Daniel Suarez | Trackhouse Racing |
* indicates "Open" entry
# indicates NASCAR Cup Series rookie of the year contender
(i) indicates drivers ineligible to score points in the NASCAR Cup Series
Toby Christie is the Editor-in-Chief of Racing America. He has 15 years of experience as a motorsports journalist and has been with Racing America since 2023.
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