Five NASCAR Drivers Who Need a Good 2025

The 2024 NASCAR season saw plenty of rough seasons for several drivers who have been very competitive or even been race winners. That even includes one of the biggest names in the sport. Kyle Busch went winless for the first time in his full-time Cup Series career. It wasn’t for lack of trying as he came so close several times last season. Others like Josh Berry and Noah Gragson are just trying to find their footing, especially with moving teams every other year. Many drivers in the Cup Series need a good 2025 season. Here are the five that need something good to happen the most.

Five NASCAR Cup Drivers Who Need a Good 2025

Kyle Busch

Busch is coming off his worst season, arguably of his NASCAR career, as he not only failed to win a race but also missed the playoffs. It was a down year for Richard Childress Racing as a whole, even with teammate Austin Dillon winning at Richmond. That was a highly controversial moment for the whole organization, and that pretty much summed up the season for Busch as well.

Kyle’s highlight moment from 2024 may have been his fist fight with Ricky Stenhouse Jr during the All-Star Race. He finished the 2024 season with 10 Top 10 finishes, along with five DNFs. He had two runner-up finishes getting bested by Harrison Burton at Daytona and by Chase Briscoe at Darlington. I certainly expected Busch to be very competitive driving for Childress.

Sure he did well in 2023 winning three times, but the moment has quickly dispersed for the No. 8 team. Looking ahead to the new season, Kyle has to find a way to have a good start to the season. A good start would be to try to win the Daytona 500 in his 21st attempt. The former Two-Time Cup Champion has to find some good luck in 2025.

Bubba Wallace

Bubba Wallace had plenty of highlight moments outside of the race car in 2024. That included the birth of his son. As for his on-track work. 2024 had its ups and downs. Sure he didn’t win, but statistically it was his best season to date. He finished with a career-high 14 Top 10 finishes and won his third career pole.

He just missed the playoffs, with several surprise winners, ultimately bumping him out. While his season didn’t result in a playoff berth, he certainly had his hand in helping teammate Tyler Reddick reach the Championship Four. 23XI Racing has set a precedent that they are here to stay and chase championships.

With a new crew chief this season, Bubba has to take that next step and find a way to win in the regular season. His two career cup wins have come during the playoffs. 2025 could be a make-or-break season for Wallace, especially with plenty of other hungry drivers chomping at the bit.

Erik Jones

It’s no secret that Legacy Motor Club’s switch to Toyota has been ugly. They are arguably the worst off of the higher-funded teams in the series right now. For a team that is co-owned by two of NASCAR’s seven-time champions, they have to be better. Erik Jones isn’t shying away from the fact that Legacy is struggling.

Jones is a three-time Cup race winner and has proven he can hang with the best the sport has to offer. However, the 2025 season will mark three years since Erik last went to victory lane. And his stats in 2024 were pretty bad. He finished 28th in the standings and only had two Top 10 finishes, which might have been LMC’s best races. Not to mention Jones missed two races because of a bad wreck that left him with a back injury.

Despite the struggles, he kept the car clean with only three DNFs. Jones has the talent to be a great NASCAR driver, he’s won the Southern 500 twice, there are plenty of drivers who can’t say that, including Richard Petty whose car number Erik drives.

Josh Berry

Josh Berry enters his second full-time season so there shouldn’t be a jump to panic with his inclusion here. This is more or less that Josh needs to stand out this season. Especially with him now behind the wheel of the Famed Wood Brothers No. 21 Ford. Harrison Burton went out with his first cup win, just last season, so there is no excuse that Berry can’t jump in this same car, and succeed.

Berry finished Top 10 four times last season driving the No. 4 car at the now-defunct Stewart-Haas Racing. Berry has certainly gotten a great opportunity to drive some historic numbers for historic teams thus far in his career. 2025 could be the perfect time for Josh to put himself on the list of breakout NASCAR drivers.

He’s shown the talent when he’s had the horses under him. Sure WBR hasn’t always had the horses, but Berry has shown a knack for superspeedway racing, and the No. 21 has always had speed at Daytona and Talladega.

Noah Gragson

Boy has Gragson had a bumpy path since making the jump to the Cup Series. He was flamboyant and looked like a star in the making after winning 13 races for JR Motorsports in the Xfinity Series. Reality hit in his rookie season with Legacy Motor Club. Not to mention a poor choice on social media, that ultimately cost him his ride with them.

In 2024 he returned with a new vibe, and an opportunity to drive for SHR, in the No. 10 Ford. While it was a learning year for Noah, he showcased that he still has potential, as he finished with seven Top 10s and even led 13 laps, the most to date he has ever led in a cup car. He also was able to finish 24th in the points.

However, once again plans out of his control saw him lose his ride. 2025 will mark his third cup season with a third different team. Gragson has been tabbed to drive a new third Front Row Motorsports car with a pretty familiar number in the series. Yep, it was made official that he will pilot the No. 4 Ford for FRM this week according to a team release shared via NASCAR.com.