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| 2023 NASCAR RCA Cup Series (Johnsonverse) | |||
| Previous: | 2022 | Next: | 2024 |
The 2023 NASCAR RCA Cup Series was the 75th season for NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States and the 52nd season for the modern-era Cup Series. The season started with the Dodge/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway on January 29, which was followed by the Busch Clash at the Irwindale Event Center on February 5. That race was followed by the Gatorade 125 qualifying races and the 65th running of the Daytona 500 on February 19, both at Daytona International Speedway. The season ended with the Los Angeles Times 500 at Ontario Motor Speedway on December 10. Ross Chastain entered this season as the defending champion after clinching his first championship at Iowa Speedway the previous year. Anna Yeun of Team Yamanaka clinched the championship at San Jose, her first in the series.
This was the final season for Stewart-Foyt Racing driver Kevin Harvick, who announced his plans to retire at the end of the season on January 12, 2023, Spire Motorsports driver Aric Almirola, and Andretti Autosport driver Kurt Busch, who announced his plans to retire at the end of the season in December 2022. This was also the final season for TNN commentator Neil Bonnett, who announced that he would retire from broadcasting at the end of the season in January 2023. Kurt Busch succeeded Bonnett starting in 2024.
Teams, drivers and manufacturers[]
Manufacturers[]
Complete schedule[]
| Manufacturer | Team | No. | Race driver | Crew chief | Model | Primary Sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chevrolet | Earnhardt-Childress Racing * | 01 | Justin Haley | 2023 Impala | U.S. Army | |
| 3 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Wrangler | ||||
| 8 | Tyler Reddick | National Guard | ||||
| 38 | Josh Berry | Pennzoil | ||||
| 81 | Martin Truex Jr. | Bass Pro Shops | ||||
| Hendrick Motorsports | 5 | William Byron | Alan Gustafson | 2023 Camaro | Farmers | |
| 24 | Kyle Larson | Steve Letarte | Axalta | |||
| 25 | Noah Gragson (R) | Lowe's | ||||
| 52 | Casey Atwood | Chad Knaus | M&M's | |||
| Dodge | AK Racing | 7 | James Kulwicki | 2023 Avenger | Zerex by Valvoline | |
| 11 | Tina Cooke | Microsoft | ||||
| Chip Ganassi Racing | 1 | Stephen Leicht | 2023 Challenger | UAW-Delphi | ||
| 41 | Crissy Hillsworth | Target | ||||
| 46 | Bryan Clauson | Tums | ||||
| Elliott-Evernham Motorsports | 9 | Chase Elliott | 2023 Dart | Coors Light | ||
| 13 | Matt DiBenedetto | Nickelodeon | ||||
| 94 | Alex Coletti | Flonase | ||||
| Furniture Row Racing | 77 | Corey LaJoie | 2023 Charger | Golden Corral | ||
| 78 | Emi Charendoff | Cole Pearn | 5-Hour Energy | |||
| Petty Enterprises | 43 | Adam Petty | Mike Shiplett | 2023 Challenger | STP | |
| 44 | Chad McCumbee | Kevin Buskirk | McDonald's | |||
| 63 | Josh Petty (R) | Motorola | ||||
| Team Penske | 02 | Joey Logano | 2023 Challenger | Verizon | ||
| 2 | James Buescher | Miller Lite | ||||
| 12 | Ryan Blaney | Circuit City | ||||
| Trackhouse Racing | 40 | Jane Brewer | 2023 Charger | Kmart | ||
| 42 | Daniel Suárez | Juicy Fruit | ||||
| 45 | Alana Houston | UPS | ||||
| Ford | Allison-Yates Racing | 28 | Robbie Allison | Jimmy Fennig | 2023 Mustang | Texaco/Havoline |
| 88 | Chase Briscoe | Citi Financial | ||||
| Brett Favre Racing | 15 | Parker Kligerman | 2023 Mustang | Nike/Sony | ||
| 90 | Katrina Goode | FujiFilm | ||||
| Roush-Keselowski Racing | 6 | Carla Alvarez | Drew Blickensderfer | 2023 Roush Mustang | Best Buy | |
| 16 | Chris Buescher | Donnie Wingo | 3M | |||
| 99 | Brad Keselowski | Bob Osborne | Office Depot | |||
| Wood Brothers Racing | 21 | Austin Cindric | Donnie Wingo | 2023 Shelby Mustang | Motorcraft | |
| Honda | Andretti Autosport | 27 | Kurt Busch | 2023 Accord | DHL | |
| JTG Daugherty Racing | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Todd Berrier | 2023 Accord | Kroger | |
| Michael Waltrip Racing * | 00 | Brian Vickers | Rodney Childers | 2023 Civic | Aaron's Dream Machine | |
| 17 | Macy Waltrip | NAPA Auto Parts | ||||
| Spire Motorsports | 30 | Aric Almirola | Bootie Barker | 2023 Civic | GEICO | |
| Nissan | Front Row Motorsports | 33 | Jane Ritter | 2023 Maxima | Speedco | |
| 34 | Steff Crawford | Jay Guy | Love's Travel Stops | |||
| 35 | Hunter Nemechek | Long John Silver's | ||||
| Moroso-Rudd Racing | 82 | Denzel Lane | 2023 Maxima | Mountain Dew | ||
| 83 | Michelle Basone | Tide | ||||
| 84 | Boston Reid | RCA | ||||
| Team Yamanaka | 0 | Anna Yeun (R) | 2023 Maxima | Fila | ||
| Pontiac | Combos Racing | 73 | Alana Burleson | 2023 G8 | ||
| GMS Racing | 51 | Alex Bowman | Nick Harrison
Jimmy Elledge |
2023 G8 | Marvel Comics | |
| Stewart-Foyt Racing | 4 | Kevin Harvick | 2023 Trans-Am | Budweiser | ||
| 10 | Kyle Busch | Tony Gibson | Valvoline | |||
| 14 | Ross Chastain | Greg Zipadelli | Home Depot | |||
| Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing * | 18 | Christopher Bell | 2023 Camry | Yahoo! | |
| 19 | Erik Jones | GameStop | ||||
| 20 | Denny Hamlin | Steve Addington | FedEx | |||
| 80 | Ty Gibbs (R) | Darian Grubb | Rheem | |||
| Jordan-Davis Racing | 22 | Kasey Kahne | 2023 Camry | Caterpillar | ||
| 23 | Bubba Wallace | Dr Pepper | ||||
| Swan Racing | 37 | Johanna Long | Steve Lane | 2023 Avalon | Petco | |
| Team Red Bull | 85 | Ryan Truex | Jimmy Elledge | 2023 Avalon | Red Bull | |
| 86 | Michael McDowell | Ryan Pemberton | Red Bull |
Limited schedule[]
Confirmed changes[]
Schedule[]
| No. | Race title | Track | Date | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dodge/Save Mart 350 | Sonoma Raceway, Sonoma | January 29 | WBC |
| Busch Clash | Irwindale Event Center, Irwindale | February 5 | WBC | |
| Gatorade 125's | Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach | February 16 | TNN | |
| 2 | 65th Daytona 500 by STP | February 19 | WBC | |
| 3 | Subway 400 | Rockingham Speedway, Rockingham | February 26 | WBC |
| 4 | Pennzoil 400 | Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas | March 4 | WBC |
| 5 | TranSouth Financial 400 | Darlington Raceway, Darlington | March 11 | WBC |
| 6 | San Jose 500 | San Jose Motorplex, Gilroy | March 18 | WBC |
| 7 | STP 500 | Martinsville Speedway, Ridgeway | March 25 | TNN |
| 8 | Harley-Davidson 250 | Road America, Lake Elkhart | April 1 | WBC |
| 9 | Texas 500 | Texas World Speedway, College Station | April 8 | WBC |
| 10 | Hollywood Casino 400 | Kansas Speedway, Kansas City | April 15 | TNN |
| 11 | Pontiac Excitement 400 | Richmond Raceway, Richmond | April 22 | TNN |
| 12 | GEICO 500 | Talladega Superspeedway, Lincoln | April 29 | WBC |
| 13 | QuikTrip Tokyo 500 | Tokyo Superspeedway, Tama | May 6 | WBC |
| 14 | First Union 400 | North Wilkesboro Speedway, North Wilkesboro | May 13 | WBC |
| RCA Open | North Wilkesboro Speedway, North Wilkesboro | May 20 | TNN | |
| RCA All-Star Challenge | WBC | |||
| 15 | Coca-Cola 600 | Charlotte Motor Speedway, Charlotte | May 28 | WBC |
| 16 | Ally 400 | Nashville Superspeedway, Lebanon | June 4 | TNN |
| 17 | Pabst Blue Ribbon 400 | The Milwaukee Mile, West Allis | June 11 | WBC |
| 18 | Motorcraft 400 | Nazareth Speedway, Nazareth | June 18 | WBC |
| 19 | Camping World 400 | Chicago Motor Speedway, Cicero | June 25 | TNN |
| 20 | Grant Park 220 | Chicago Street Course, Chicago | July 2 | WBC |
| 21 | Music City USA 420 | Fairgrounds Speedway, Nashville | July 9 | WBC |
| 22 | Budweiser 400 | Riverside International Raceway, Moreno Valley | July 16 | WBC |
| 23 | Ambetter Health 400 | Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hampton | July 23 | WBC |
| 24 | New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Loudon | July 30 | ||
| 25 | Pocono Raceway, Long Pond | August 6 | ||
| 26 | Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen | August 23 | ||
| 27 | Coke Zero Sugar 400 | Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach | August 20 | |
| 28 | Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol | August 27 | ||
| 29 | Darlington Raceway, Darlington | September 3 | ||
| 30 | Walt Disney World Speedway, Lake Buena Vista | September 10 | ||
| 31 | Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Speedway | September 17 |
Confirmed changes[]
Chicago Street Course[]
After NASCAR used a Chicago Street Course track in the 2021 Dale Earnhardt eNASCAR Pro Invitational Series, it was speculated that NASCAR would like to make it a reality and have a street race in Chicago on the Cup Series schedule in the future. On July 7, 2022, Jordan Bianchi from The Athletic reported that an official announcement of this being added to the Cup Series schedule would come on July 19. On June 17, Adam Stern from Sports Business Journal suggested that the Chicago Street Course could replace TBA on the 2023 Cup Series schedule as TBA. Both the addition of the Chicago street race to the schedule and the fact that it would replace the race at TBA came on July 19.
Results[]
| No. | Race | Pole Position | Most Laps Led | Winning Driver | Manufacturer/Model |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dodge/Save Mart 350 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Ross Chastain | Josh Petty | Dodge Challenger |
| Busch Clash | Aric Almirola | Adam Petty | Martin Truex Jr. | Chevrolet Camaro | |
| Gatorade 125 1 | |||||
| Gatorade 125 2 | |||||
| 2 | 65th Daytona 500 by STP | Alex Bowman | TBA | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | Nissan GT-R |
| 3 | Subway 400 | TBA | TBA | Adam Petty | Dodge Challenger |
| 4 | Pennzoil 400 | Chase Elliott | Chevrolet Camaro |
Logos[]
