The NASCAR Cup Series field has changed some in 2025, but the top-end driver talent is still all across the lineup as teams head to Daytona for the Daytona 500 season opener this week.
With one future NASCAR Hall of Fame driver newly retired from full-time competition (Martin Truex Jr.), there are still several future Hall of Fame locks in the full-time ranks — and all five will contend in 2025.
That group doesn’t count young stars Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Christopher Bell and Tyler Reddick, all on varying paths towards a Hall of Fame career.
Where do NASCAR’s best active drivers fit in the context of the sport’s history and the NASCAR Hall of Fame heading into the season? Let’s take a look:
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Locks
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Kyle Busch
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Denny Hamlin
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Joey Logano
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Brad Keselowski
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Kyle Larson
All five are no doubters. Four are Cup champions, while Hamlin has accomplished everything in the sport besides a Cup title.
Logano (36 wins) and Larson (29 wins) are poised to be the next drivers to amass 50 career Cup Series victories. Busch and Keselowski are both still competitive, though their best work was done in iconic rides of yesteryear.
Young, but close
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Chase Elliott
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Ryan Blaney
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William Byron
Given what they’ve done in less than a decade of Cup Series driving, all three have a case to be locks already. Elliott (19 wins) and Blaney (13 wins) already have Cup titles, while Byron (13 wins, including the Daytona 500) is the youngest of the trio and could push well up the all-time wins list if he remains at Hendrick for the rest of his career.
Elliott is probably should be in the lock category already given his credentials and popularity, but probably is not quite a lock, is it? Odds are, he’ll secure lock status soon, maybe as soon as the Daytona 500 if he were to win it. Winning the Clash earlier this month helped too.
On the right path
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Christopher Bell
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Tyler Reddick
It feels like Bell and Reddick just started to become legitimate title contenders last season. But both have been factors over the last few years, with their best years ahead of them.
Bell, 30, has nine wins in five full-time Cup Series seasons, with the Martinsville final lap fiasco in the penultimate race overshadowing a 2024 season where he had career-bests in top-5s and average finish. He’s finished in the top five in points in each of the last three seasons. Bell is on the cusp of a breakthrough Cup title.
Reddick entered full-blown contender status in 2024 for the first time, with career-bests in top-5s, top-10s, average finish and his first Championship 4 appearance. At eight wins through five full seasons, the 29-year-old is poised for big things with 23XI Racing.
Needs a strong next decade, but can do it
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Alex Bowman
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Chris Buescher
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Ross Chastain
All three drivers have a multi-win season under their belts and are in competitive cars. All three drivers are now in their 30s.
Bowman is with Hendrick Motorsports but needs to win more races to keep up with teammates Larson, Elliott and Byron. Buescher is in Year 6 with RFK Racing and is trending upward with five wins over the last three seasons. Chastain similarly has five wins over the last three years and is trending in the right direction with Trackhouse.
What’s next for each? They’ll all be playoff contenders in 2025, but each will need a breakout year or two in the next decade to push for Hall of Fame honors.
(Note these three drivers already with legitimately good seasons in their careers, and think about how improbable Martin Truex Jr.’s run was from 2015-24. Truex entered 2015 with two career wins in Cup and in his second season with the unproven Furniture Row team. Now he’s a first-ballot Hall of Famer.)
Three veterans who have a case
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AJ Allmendinger
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Justin Allgaier
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Matt Crafton
Allmendinger’s case is fascinating. With three Cup wins and 18 Xfinity Series victories, the resume isn’t overwhelming. But he’s been one of NASCAR’s best road course racers for a while and will leave a legacy as one of the most versatile drivers in the 21st century after starting his career in Champ Car. He’ll be in the Cup Series full-time in 2025. What can he add to the ledger?
Allgaier and Crafton could have tougher paths, but both have solid credentials. Allgaier just earned his first Xfinity Series title last fall and is now in the top 10 for all-time wins in the series with 25. Crafton is a three-time Truck Series champion and is top-10 in all-time wins in that series. Allgaier should have multiple seasons’ worth of chances to add to his résumé, while Crafton’s results have trended downward over the last couple years.
My gut feeling: Crafton is in given all the titles, and Allgaier eventually gets in with a nod to being the dean of the Xfinity garage for a long time. Allmendinger? A couple more Cup wins wouldn’t hurt.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Which active NASCAR drivers are already locks into NASCAR Hall of Fame
