NASCAR silly season is entirely underway again after a lull in the action stemming from the end of the racing year. There has been rapid movement in the NASCAR Xfinity and Truck Series as the end of 2022 is coming soon.
Most of the action correlates to Kyle Busch moving to Richard Childress Racing but other moves have happened due to Ty Gibbs advancing to the NASCAR Cup Series while the Truck Series is pure mayhem.
Let’s dive into the latest moves around the sport as NASCAR’s silly season continues to go forward with incredible momentum.
Related: Denny Hamlin provides big update on future at Joe Gibbs Racing
Recapping the NASCAR silly season moves to start December 2022
First off, the Joe Gibbs Racing lineup for the 2023 season is almost complete. While Gibbs and Brandon Jones departed the Xfinity Series program, the rebuild might be even better.
Sammy Smith will drive the No. 18 car while John Hunter Nemechek will take over the No. 20 car for the organization starting next season. Both drivers will be running on a full-time basis.
Meanwhile, the No. 19 car will be used as an “All-Star car” with Ryan Truex being the first driver announced. Truex will compete in at least six events with the other drivers to be named later.
Sam Hunt Racing will name its driver for the No. 26 car on Thursday afternoon. Kaz Grala would appear to be the likely candidate but it should be announced soon as the news keeps pouring out.
Down in the NASCAR Truck Series, it has been complete mayhem. Dean Thompson moves to the No. 5 truck in the fifth entry for TRICON Garage while his former teammate Carson Hocevar returns to the No. 42 truck with Niece Motorsports.
Rajah Caruth makes the jump to GMS Racing as he will pilot the No. 24 truck on a full-time basis. Caruth joins fellow rookie driver Daniel Dye with the two having experience racing against each other.
Christian Eckes moves to the No. 19 truck for McAnally–Hilgemann Racing as Derek Kraus is now out of a seat. Jake Garcia will be Eckes’ teammate as he pilots the No. 35 truck on a full-time basis.
ThorSport Racing is expected to name Hailie Deegan as Eckes’ replacement in the No. 98 truck as the organization is poised to make another switch over to the Ford camp after spending two seasons with Toyota.
This will end the search for both Deegan and Ford as they struggled to find her a seat in the Xfinity Series. Plus, there are more moves coming as Hattori Racing Enterprises and others have seats to announce for the 2023 season.
It has been a wild week of silly season action but the fun is not complete yet. Stay tuned for the latest updates on NASCAR silly season when more information about potential rides is provided.