2025 NASCAR Cup season could be telling for three teams

The 2025 NASCAR Cup season could provide a revealing study in three teams with different backgrounds but similar performances in the Next Gen car era.

RFK Racing, Trackhouse Racing and 23XI Racing all have different origins but their performance since 2022 provides a good measuring stick for each. All three teams also plan to expand to three full-time Cup teams in 2025.

While RFK Racing can trace its beginnings to 1988 and Trackhouse and 23XI Racing made their Cup debuts in 2021, they have all been on a similar path since 2022. That’s the year Brad Keselowski became co-owner of RFK Racing — leading a resurgence at that organization — and when both Trackhouse and 23XI Racing expanded to two Cup teams.

Since 2022, Trackhouse has eight Cup wins, 23XI Racing has seven and RFK Racing has six.

Since 2022, Trackhouse has 45 top-five finishes, 23XI Racing has 43 and RFK Racing has 36.

Since 2022, Trackhouse has 83 top-10 finishes, 23XI Racing has 80 and RFK has 79.

“I’m not, at least, looking to avoid comparisons against Trackhouse or 23XI,” Keselowski said in response to a question from NBC Sports. “In fact, I think they’re a great measuring stick for us.

“If I look at 23XI, Trackhouse and RFK, each one of us (in 2024) was two cars. Each one of us, at times, ran a third car part time. The three of us are going to three cars in ’25. We’re both kind of second in the pecking order of manufacturers. I think they’re a very fair barometer for us.

“I don’t want to get caught up and ‘hey, we’re only racing 23XI and Trackhouse.’ That’s not right, but I would say it’s natural and healthy to compare ourselves to each other.”

A key difference between those teams over the past three seasons is that RFK Racing is the only team not to have a driver reach the Championship 4. Ross Chastain finished second in 2022. Tyler Reddick placed fourth this year.

23XI Racing’s growth has come ahead of schedule for co-owner Denny Hamlin. He talked about a five-year plan for the team he co-owns with Michael Jordan to be title contenders. This year, the focus is on maintaining that level of success with Reddick and having Bubba Wallace — who had career highs in top fives and top 10s — continue that progress.

A challenge for 23XI Racing will be what happens in the lawsuit it filed with Front Row Motorsports against NASCAR. Depending on what happens could have an impact on 23XI Racing.

Shane van Gisbergen, who won the 2023 Chicago Street Race in a Project 91 car, will run full-time in Cup with Trackhouse in 2025.

Trackhouse Racing saw a decline in top fives and top 10s this past season. The organization had 10 top fives (down from 14 and 21 the previous two years) and 23 top 10s (down from 26 and 34 the previous two years).

Car owner Justin Marks knows that needs to change.

“There’s good moments (in 2024) and things we need to improve on,” Marks said this week during the Fifth Annual Race Industry Week sponsored by Racer.com, epartrade.com and Speed Sport.

“We’re at an interesting points right now in the NASCAR Cup Series. We’re toward the end of the early stage of the development cycle of the Next Gen car. What I mean by that is that the car is not new anymore. A lot of these teams, especially the legacy teams that have very, very deep workforces and tooling and technologies (and) have really found a way to make the cars go fast, to really exploit all of the speed out of the cars.

Joey Logano won the championship, but a case could be made for Tyler Reddick, Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell.

“When you look back at 2022, everything was new, it was a bit of a different competitive set that made the car go fast than it does now. We had a great year in ’22. We had a great year in ’23.

“In ’24, obviously high points, we got a car in the playoffs … both cars got to victory lane. That’s incredibly important for our business is to be in victory lane. More than anything, we want to be winners.

“Certainly, it was disappointing that the 1 (car of Ross Chastain) didn’t make the playoffs. I think there was some bad luck and some performance stuff. The win came too late to be able that happen (and make the playoffs).

“It was from a competitive standpoint, a year that leaves some to be desired. Really, honestly, it stoked the fire a little bit inside the company of doing a pretty deep internal audit and saying we won’t want to slide into mediocrity.”

Trackhouse Racing adds a third car with Shane van Gisbergen, who joins Chastain and Daniel Suarez. 23XI Racing is scheduled to add a third car with Riley Herbst, teaming with Reddick and Wallace. RFK Racing will add a third car with Ryan Preece, who will be teammates to Keselowski and Chris Buescher.

“This year coming up for us, year four (of becoming co-owner of RFK Racing), it’s a big transition, going to a third team and adding some more talent and players,” said Keselowski, who will be reunited with crew chief Jeremy Bullins. “I’m really curious how we’re going to perform.”

The same could be said at Trackhouse Racing and 23XI Racing for the 2025 season.