The 2024 NASCAR season is officially upon us, folks!
On Friday, NASCAR released the preliminary entry list for the 2024 Busch Light Clash, which is set to take place on Sunday, February 4 at the LA Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles California.
There are 36 drivers shown on the preliminary entry list, each of which holds a charter in the NASCAR Cup Series. The sanctioning body requires all chartered entries to participate in the pre-season exhibition event.
Among the notable year-to-year changes:
- Josh Berry will pilot the No. 4 SunnyD Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing, replacing the now-retired Kevin Harvick.
- Noah Gragson is also making his on-track debut with Stewart-Haas Racing in the Busch Light Clash, piloting the No. 10 Rush Truck Centers Ford Mustang.
- Driving the No. 15 Ford Mustang, Kaz Grala is beginning the largest NASCAR Cup Series campaign of his career, where he’ll run a combined 26 events for Rick Ware Racing (25) and Front Row Motorsports (Daytona 500).
- Josh Williams has been given the nod to compete in the 2024 Busch Light Clash, piloting the No. 16 Chevrolet for Kaulig Racing. Allmendinger is the only driver announced to pilot the entry, thus far, in 2024.
- Daniel Hemric is back for seconds in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2024, competing full-time in the No. 31 Chevrolet for Kaulig Racing, replacing Justin Haley.
- Fresh off a strong season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, John Hunter Nemechek is back at NASCAR’s top level in 2024, piloting the No. 42 Toyota Camry XSE for LEGACY MOTOR CLUB.
- Talk about a major change — Justin Haley is hitting the reset button in 2024 and joining Rick Ware Racing for a full-time campaign in the No. 51 Ford Mustang.
- Zane Smith has found a new house — a Trackhouse. Even though he’ll be driving the No. 71 for Spire Motorsports, his entry will be heavily aligned with Trackhouse Racing, after the Truck Series champion signed a multi-year contract with the team last Summer.
- More rookie stripes? More rookie stripes. Carson Hocevar will join Smith at Spire Motorsports in 2024, albeit without the Trackhouse affiliation, piloting the No. 77 Chevrolet Camaro full-time.
However, not all 36 drivers will get to compete in the 150-lap Busch Light Clash. Earlier this month, NASCAR announced the field size for the exhibition event would be shrunk down to 23 drivers, who will lock in through a series of heat races and a Last Chance Qualifier.
2024 Busch Light Clash Entry List:
| Entry | No. | Driver | Team | Crew Chief |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing Busch Beer Chevrolet | Phil Surgen |
| 2 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske Freightliner Ford | Brian Wilson |
| 3 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing BetMGM Chevrolet | Keith Rodden |
| 4 | 4 | Josh Berry | Stewart-Haas Racing SunnyD Ford | Rodney Childers |
| 5 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | Cliff Daniels |
| 6 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing Castrol EDGE Ford | Matt McCall |
| 7 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports CELSIUS Chevrolet | Ryan Sparks |
| 8 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing Morgan & Morgan Chevrolet | Randall Burnett |
| 9 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet | Alan Gustafson |
| 10 | 10 | Noah Gragson | Stewart-Haas Racing Rush Truck Centers Ford | Drew Blickensderfer |
| 11 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing Sport Clips Toyota | Chris Gabehart |
| 12 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske Menards Ford | Jonathan Hassler |
| 13 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Stewart-Haas Racing Mahindra Tractors Ford | Richard Boswell III |
| 14 | 15 | Kaz Grala | Rick Ware Racing N29 Captial Partners Ford | Billy Plourde |
| 15 | 16 | Josh Williams | Kaulig Racing Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet | Travis Mack |
| 16 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing Fastenal Ford | Scott Graves |
| 17 | 19 | Martin Truex, Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing Bass Pro Shops Toyota | James Small |
| 18 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing Mobil 1 Toyota | Adam Stevens |
| 19 | 21 | Harrison Burton | Wood Brothers Racing Motorcraft / QuickLane Ford | Jeremy Bullins |
| 20 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske Shell-Pennzoil Ford | Paul Wolfe |
| 21 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing Columbia Toyota | Bootie Barker |
| 22 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports Liberty University Chevrolet | Rudy Fugle |
| 23 | 31 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing Cirkul Chevrolet | Trent Owens |
| 24 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports Margaritaville at Sea Ford | Travis Peterson |
| 25 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports gener8tor Ford | Ryan Bergenty |
| 26 | 41 | Ryan Preece | Stewart-Haas Racing United Rentals Ford | Chad Johnston |
| 27 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | LEGACY MOTOR CLUB Dollar Tree Toyota | Ben Beshore |
| 28 | 43 | Erik Jones | LEGACY MOTOR CLUB Family Dollar Toyota | Dave Elenz |
| 29 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing Jordan Brand Toyota | Billy Scott |
| 30 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing Ralph's / Food 4 Less Chevrolet | Mike Kelley |
| 31 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports Ally Financial Chevrolet | Blake Harris |
| 32 | 51 | Justin Haley | Rick Ware Racing Walmart Health & Fitness Ford | Chris Lawson |
| 33 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing Monster Energy Toyota | Chris Gayle |
| 34 | 71 | Zane Smith | Spire Motorsports Focused Health Chevrolet | Stephen Doran |
| 35 | 77 | Carson Hocevar | Spire Motorsports Delaware Life Chevrolet | Luke Lambert |
| 36 | 99 | Daniel Suarez | Trackhouse Racing Worldwide Express Chevrolet | Matt Swiderski |
