{"id":1550660,"date":"2023-02-17T12:40:48","date_gmt":"2023-02-17T17:40:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/?p=1550660"},"modified":"2023-02-17T12:40:49","modified_gmt":"2023-02-17T17:40:49","slug":"xfinity-series-drivers-to-watch-ty-gibbs-and-noah-gragson-gone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/xfinity-series-drivers-to-watch-ty-gibbs-and-noah-gragson-gone\/","title":{"rendered":"Xfinity Series Preview: Drivers to Watch Now That Ty Gibbs and Noah Gragson Are Gone"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Poof! Just like that, Ty Gibbs<\/a>, Noah Gragson<\/a>, and AJ Allmendinger disappeared from the Xfinity Series<\/a>. But that doesn\u2019t mean the second-tier NASCAR<\/a> series is bereft of talent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, the combination of returning standouts and new arrivals eager to grab their shares of the 20 victories that Gibbs, Gragson, and Allmendinger scored last season should result in quite the battle to reach the Championship 4 at Phoenix Raceway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several in particular bear watching in the 2023 Xfinity Series season kicking off at Daytona:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Justin Allgaier and Josh Berry lead the JR Motorsports\u2019 Xfinity Series returnees<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"They're
They're back! Justin Allgaier and Josh Berry look on during qualifying for the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Darlington Raceway on Sept. 3, 2022. | Logan Riely\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To the surprise of no one, the JR Motorsports lineup is stacked once again. The team run by Dale Earnhardt Jr. has scored 27 victories since 2020, including three apiece last year by Justin Allgaier<\/a> and Josh Berry<\/a>, who made it to the Championship 4 with champion Ty Gibbs and Noah Gragson, their JRM teammate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With Gragson having graduated to full-time Cup Series duty, Earnhardt has recruited Brandon Jones from Joe Gibbs Racing<\/a>. Sam Mayer, seventh in the standings despite not winning a race, returns for his second full season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All four are clearly capable of big things, but Allgaier and Berry are the two who\u2019ll start the season as the drivers to beat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two Cup Series team owners have remade their Xfinity Series teams<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"NASCAR
NASCAR driver AJ Allmendinger poses for a photo during NASCAR Production Days at Charlotte Convention Center on Jan. 18, 2023. | Jared C. Tilton\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Joe Gibbs Racing has produced the past two Xfinity Series champions \u2013 Daniel Hemric in 2021 and Ty Gibbs last year. Hemric left before last season to join Kaulig Racing, and Gibbs has earned his promotion to the Cup Series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, JGR has done a quality job reloading by giving its full-time assignments to John Hunter Nemechek and Sammy Smith. JHN is a NASCAR veteran of more than 250 starts across the three national series. Smith, 18, won six times in the 2022 ARCA Menards Series and got his feet wet with nine Xfinity starts last summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kaulig Racing, which has fielded strong entries in recent years, is also reshaping its lineup following AJ Allmendinger\u2019s promotion to full-time Cup Series duty. \u201cDinger,\u201d Justin Haley, Kyle Busch, and Landon Cassill will share an \u201call-star car\u201d that could easily be the best in the series, even overshadowing Hemric and Kaulig newcomer Chandler Jones, who\u2019s making the jump from the Craftsman Truck Series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cole Custer has returned<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n

How is @ColeCuster<\/a> feelin' about this year? Excited and ready to dominate. pic.twitter.com\/VNeC4FZGZZ<\/a><\/p>— Stewart-Haas Racing (@StewartHaasRcng) February 6, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote>