After every season in NASCAR, there are some changes in drivers as well as crew changes and the upcoming 2022 season is the same.
One of the news during the 2021 season was that Aric Almirola would return to his No. 10 Ford at Stewart-Haas Racing for his fifth-consecutive season. However, to everyone’s surprise, he announced recently that he will be retiring at the end of the 2022 season. Last season, he had a very good season with three wins.
Another big news on the driver’s change, probably the biggest, is that of Brad Keselowski, who decided to cut ties with Team Penske for his new team RFK Racing as the owner/driver for the No. 6 car. He won won 34 Cup races and the 2012 championship with Team Penske.
Kurt Busch is another high profile move. After operating as a one-car team in their inaugural season, 23XI Racing decided to expand to a two-car team, bringing in Busch to partner with Bubba Wallace for the 2022 season. Busch has won in 19 of his 22 full-time season. His latest win came last season at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Possible drivers to replace Aric Almirola after his retirement
Austin Cindric will be looking to start his career in full-time Cup racing with No. 2 Team Penske Ford. The 2020 Xfinity champion who has 13 Xfinity wins will be a major contender to win Sunoco Rookie honors in 2022.
Harrison Burton is also set to make a jump from the Xfinity Series to the Cup Series driving for Wood Brothers Racing for their No. 21 Ford. He replaces Matt DiBenedetto, who will be driving in the Truck Series for the 2022 season as the driver of No. 25 Rackley W.A.R. Chevrolet.
Josh Bilicki is also on the move from his No. 52 Rick Ware Racing Ford to doing majority of races in the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet. Ross Chastain will now drive the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet as Trackhouse Racing purchased Chip Ganassi Racing.
After finishing his 20th year as a full-time Cup driver, Ryan Newman is still looking for a new ride. He said that he’d be open to a part-time deal but nothing has materialized as of yet.