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Ahead of the NASCAR playoffs, a shakeup has taken place among the Cup Series teams including Harrison Burton's confirmed final year with Wood Brothers Racing. The North Carolina native is in his third full-time season but his single-car team has signed rookie Josh Berry to field their #21 Ford Mustang from 2025 onwards.
Additionally, with Stewart-Haas Racing's shutdown, Martin Truex Jr.'s retirement announcement, and drivers joining locking deals with other garages, many are without seats and might witness the next season as free agents. With that, let's look at three drivers whose odds of not having a Cup Series seat next year are high.
#1. Ryan Preece, NASCAR Cup Series 2024 rank 26
Ryan Preece is observing his fifth full-time Cup Series season and fields #41 Ford for SHR. Amid his team's upcoming shutdown, teammates Noah Gragson, Josh Berry, and Chase Briscoe have secured their 2025 seats with Front Row Motorsports, Wood Brothers Racing, and Joe Gibbs Racing, respectively.
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However, Preece has yet to affirm his future Cup Series team. With zero wins and 13 top-10s, from 170 races, the #41 driver's statistics don't boast about a promising display on the asphalt. Moreover, Preece is placed 26th in the regular season and playoff rankings which could hinder his endeavours of securing his Cup Series future.
#2. Harrison Burton, NASCAR Cup Series 2024 rank 33
Harrison Burton will be replaced by Josh Berry in 2025. Burton entered the NASCAR Cup Series scene in 2021 and competed in one race at the Talladega Superspeedway for Gaunt Brothers Racing. Since the 2022 season, the 23-year-old has been with Wood Brothers Racing and bagged a solitary top-5 in his rookie year at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
However, Burton's performance hasn't been up to the mark as he's collected five top-10s in addition to his 3rd-place finish at the IMS. The #21 Ford Mustang shares a technical alliance with Team Penske, which has won two consecutive Cup championships- in 2022 by Joey Logano and in 2023 by Ryan Blaney. Thus, the onus of outperforming the rivals is high on the WBR driver but he's failed to stand by it so far.
#3. John Hunter Nemechek, NASCAR Cup Series 2024 rank 30
The Legacy Motor Club driver kicked off his rookie Cup Series season in 2020 for Front Row Motorsports. However, after bagging five DNFs, more than his three top-10s, he was left without a seat for 2021. Thus, John Hunter Nemechek went back to Xfinity Racing for a couple of years before marking his return to the Cup Series.
After his impressive 2023 season in the NXS where he stood 4th in the championship for Joe Gibbs Racing, John Hunter Nemechek landed his second Cup Series opportunity with LMC. Still, this season, he has brought three top-10s from 20 races and as he's not under a multiyear deal, a poor performance might result in an unsecured Cup Series future.
