The NASCAR 2020 Banquet and Awards ceremonies are history. Time to ‘Look Ahead’. During the off-season, this is a snapshot of where drivers finished in 2020 and what’s ahead for them in the new season. Drivers who finished in the top 20 in points for the NASCAR Cup Series, XFINITY Series and Gander Outdoors (now renamed Camping World) Truck Series will be covered. Since many teams have yet to firm up their 2021 plans, follow NASCAR Headlines and “Player” News on this site for the latest driver updates.[[ad:athena]]
With 76 days to go until the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season-opening Daytona 500, here are a few brief driver recaps followed by a tentative list of 2021 Cup Driver/Team lineups. Teams in that list are full-time and plan on entering all events.
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
2020: Christopher Bell (Leavine Family Racing #95 Toyota Camry) - In 36 races, the Norman, OK native scored 2 top-fives, 7 top-tens, had a 20.25 average finish, 23.9 average start, led 18 laps and closed out the season 20th in the NCS standings. Bell’s best season finish was 3rd-place in the October 28th Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.
2021: Leavine Family Racing announced in the summer that 2020 would be their last season competing in NASCAR. They sold all of the teams assets at the end of the season. Bell was contracted to return to the #95 in 2021 and had a planned move to Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) in 2022. JGR released Erik Jones at the end of 2020 opening a spot for Bell in the JGR #20 Toyota Camry. Kyle Busch’s crew chief for the JGR #18 Cup team has also moved over in that role to lead Bell’s #20 team in 2021. No firm plans yet on sponsorship for the team.
2020: Tyler Reddick (Richard Childress Racing #8 Chevrolet Camaro) - In 36 races, the Corning, CA native scored 3 top-fives, 9 top-tens, had a 17.5 average finish, 18.6 average start, led 30 laps and closed out the season 19th in the NCS standings. Reddick’s best 2020 finish was a runner-up in the July 19th O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Fort Worth.
2021: Reddick will return for another full-time season in RCR’s #8 Camaro. Randall Burdett will also return as crew chief for the team. No firm plans on sponsorship at this time.
NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS)
2020: Tommy Joe Martins (Martins Motorsports #44 Chevrolet Camaro) - In 32 races, the Como, MS native scored 1 top-ten, had a 22.09 average finish, 25.5 average start, led 3 laps and closed out the season 20th in the NXS standings.
2021: Martins is the owner of the #44 team and has announced he will return for another full NXS season. Crew chief Danny Johnson will continue leading the Camaro team. No word on sponsorship at this time.
2020: Jesse Little (JD Motorsports #4 Chevrolet Camaro) - In 33 races, the Sherrills Ford, NC native scored 2 top-tens, had a 21.03 average finish, 19.4 average start, led 5 laps and closed out the season 19th in the NXS standings.
2021: No plans announced for a ride for Jesse Little in any NASCAR series next season. Also, no firm plans for any of JD Motorsports teams have been announced.
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NTS)
2020: Spencer Boyd (Young’s Motorsports #20 Chevrolet Silverado) - In 23 races, the Creve Coeur, MO native scored 6 top-twenties, had a 24.22 average finish, 25.3 average start, led 1 lap and closed out the season 20th in the truck standings. Boyd’s best finish this past season was a 14th place in the October 25th SpeedyCash.com 400 at Fort Worth.
2021: It was announced on November 25th that Boyd would be returning for his third full season in the Young’s #20 Chevrolet truck. Joe Lax will continue as crew chief for the team.
2020: Chandler Smith (Kyle Busch Motorsports #51 Toyota Tundra) - In 12 races, the Talking Rock, GA native, who shared the ride with multiple teammates, scored 5 top-fives, 5 top-tens, had a 15.0 average finish, 10.0 average start, led 37 lap and closed out the season 19th in the truck standings. His best finishes were 3rd places at Talladega and Phoenix. Smith also drove the #20 Toyota for Venturini Motorsports in 13 of the 20 ARCA Menards Series 2020 races. He scored 2 wins, 2 poles, 8 top-fives, 10 top-tens, led 332 laps and closed out the AMS standings 10th in points.
2021: Kyle Busch Motorsports has yet to announce their complete lineup for the season but Smith will most likely be part of it. He will also be active in the AMS as well.
2021 Tentative Cup Series Team Chart
| Car | Driver | Owner | Crew Chief | Sponsor |
| 00 Chevy | Quin Houff | StarCom Racing | George Church | - |
| 1 Chevy | Kurt Busch | Chip Ganassi Racing | Matt McCall | Monster Energy |
| 2 Ford | Brad Keselowski | Team Penske | Jeremy Bullins | Discount Tire |
| 3 Chevy | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Justin Alexander | - |
| 4 Ford | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Rodney Childers | Busch Beer, Mobil 1, Hunt Brothers Pizza |
| 5 Chevy | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Cliff Daniels | - |
| 6 Ford | Ryan Newman | Roush Fenway Racing | Scott Graves | Oscar Mayer, Wyndham Rewards |
| 8 Chevy | Tyler Reddick | Richard Childress Racing | Randall Burdett | Okuma |
| 9 Chevy | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Alan Gustafson | NAPA Auto Parts, Hooters |
| 10 Ford | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Mike Bugarewics | Smithfield |
| 11 Toyota | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Chris Gabehart | FedEx |
| 12 Ford | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Todd Gordon | - |
| 14 Ford | Chase Briscoe - R | Stewart-Haas Racing | - | HighPoint |
| 15 Chevy | - | Rick Ware Racing | Pat Tryson | - |
| 17 Ford | Chris Buescher | Roush Fenway Racing | Luke Lambert | - |
| 18 Toyota | Kyle Busch | Joe Gibbs Racing | Ben Beshore | M&Ms, Skittles, Pedigree, InterstateBatteries |
| 19 Toyota | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | James Small | Auto Owners Ins. |
| 20 Toyota | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Adam Stevens | Rheem |
| 21 Ford | Matt DiBenedetto | Wood Brothers Racing | Greg Erwin | Motorcraft/Quick Lane |
| 22 Ford | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Paul Wolfe | Shell-Pennzoil,AAA, Autotrader, MoneyLion |
| 23 Toyota | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Mike Wheeler | - |
| 24 Chevy | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Rudy Fugle | Axalta,Liberty University |
| 27 Chevy | - | Rick Ware Racing | Mike Hillman Sr. | - |
| 34 Ford | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Drew Blickensderfer | - |
| 37 Chevy | Ryan Preece | JTG Daugherty Racing | Trent Owens | Kroger, Bush’s Beans |
| 38 Ford | - | Front Row Motorsports | Seth Barbour | - |
| 41 Ford | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Mike Shiplett | - |
| 42 Chevy | Ross Chastain | Chip Ganassi Racing | - | McDonald’s |
| 43 Chevy | Erik Jones | Richard Petty Motorsports | Jerry Baxter | Victory Junction |
| 47 Chevy | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Brian Pattie | Kroger, NOS Energy Drink |
| 48 Chevy | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Greg Ives | Ally Financial |
| 51 Chevy | - | Rick Ware Racing | Jason Houghtaling | - |
| 53 Chevy | - | Rick Ware Racing | Todd Parrott | - |
| 66 Toyota | Timmy Hill | MBM Motorsports | Steven Idol | - |
| 77 Chevy | - | Spire Motorsports | Peter Sospenzo | - |
| 78 Ford | BJ McLeod | Live Fast Motorsports | - | - |
| 96 Toyota | - | Gaunt Brothers Racing | - | - |
| 99 Chevy | Daniel Suarez | Trackhouse Racing | Travis Mack | - |
| ?? Chevy | - | Spire Motorsports | - | - |
| R-Rookie of The Year |
