Complete schedule }
Limited schedule ;Notes:
Changes Teams • On October 23, 2017, it was announced that
Biagi–DenBeste Racing would end their partnership with
Richard Petty Motorsports and create a new alliance with
Stewart–Haas Racing. The team was then called Stewart–Haas Racing with Biagi–DenBeste. The team fielded 2 teams.
Cole Custer drove the No. 00
Ford Mustang GT full-time for a second consecutive season. The No. 41 team was renumbered as the No. 98 team and ran part-time with
Kevin Harvick,
Chase Briscoe, and
Aric Almirola. In 2017, Biagi-DenBeste Racing fielded the No. 98 Ford, running part-time with drivers
Aric Almirola,
Casey Mears, and
Bubba Wallace • With their switch from Toyota to Ford, it was also announced that
JGL Racing would have a technical alliance with
Roush Fenway Racing. •
Richard Childress Racing shut down two teams: the No. 33 and the No. 62. •
Precision Performance Motorsports shut down its No. 46 team to move to the
Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge. •
JGL Racing reopened the No. 28 entry for at least 21 races for
Dylan Lupton, after shutting down this car at the end of 2017 because of a lack of sponsorship (with
Dakoda Armstrong). They also tried to expand the schedule to the full season. •
Go Green Racing returned to the Xfinity Series full-time, fielding the No. 35 entry with
Joey Gase as their driver. This was Go Green's first season in the Xfinity Series since 2013 and their first in NASCAR following their merger with FAS Lane Racing to create
Go Fas Racing in December 2013. •
JD Motorsports announced a fourth full-time ride, the No. 15 entry initially to be split by veteran drivers including
Joe Nemechek and
Reed Sorenson. However, this plan was cancelled because
Matt Mills was expected to drive the No. 15 car full-time, except the inaugural Daytona race, which had Nemechek behind the wheel. •
JP Motorsports purchased cars from
TriStar Motorsports and announced their intentions to run a full season in the No. 55
Toyota Camry on January 18, 2018. At the time of the announcement, Jason Houghtaling was named as crew chief but other information like drivers and sponsors was not immediately released, however
Stephen Leicht was later revealed as the full-time driver. On February 5, it was announced that they had acquired an additional Joe Gibbs Racing chassis and would field another full-time team, the No. 45, with
Josh Bilicki as the driver. •
B. J. McLeod Motorsports announced that the partnership with
SS-Green Light Racing to field the No. 99 full-time was finished. As a consequence, the No. 99 car would likely return to part-time racing. •
NextGen Motorsports increased their 2018 schedule as they would fielding for multiple drivers. The car number is TBA, due to JP Motorsports taking their No. 55. •
DGM Racing announced that
Alex Labbé would drive the full Season in 2018 with a Chevrolet. The car was built by Richard Childress Racing and prepared by
King Autosport. Former driver in
King Autosport Mario Gosselin will be his crew chief.
Alex Labbé was the 2017
NASCAR Pinty's Series champion with the No. 32 car for
Go Fas Racing. • New team NXT Motorsports announced that
Gray Gaulding will drive the season-opener at Daytona with a Toyota. The team has acquired cars from Joe Gibbs Racing. •
RSS Racing used three cars in the season-opener: The No. 38 for
Jeff Green, No. 39 for
J. J. Yeley and No. 93 for owner
Ryan Sieg without start-and-park for any of them. It looks that the team will use these three cars full-time in 2018. Last year, Sieg drove the No. 39 Chevrolet full-time, while the Nos. 38 and 93 were a part-time start-and-park team, driven by Green,
Gray Gaulding and
Stephen Leicht.
Drivers • On April 25, 2017, it was announced
Dale Earnhardt Jr. would retire from full-time driving in the
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS), but also announced he intends to participate in two races for
JR Motorsports in the Xfinity Series. He has confirmed the second Richmond race as one of the two races.
Chase Elliott will drive the No. 88 in the season-opener at Daytona. • On September 14, 2017, it was announced that
Tyler Reddick would be driving full-time for
JR Motorsports in 2018, driving the No. 9
Chevrolet Camaro SS. He replaces
William Byron who will be driving the No. 24
Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in the MENCS. In 2017, Reddick drove the No. 42 Chevrolet part-time for
Chip Ganassi Racing, sharing the ride with
Kyle Larson,
Justin Marks, and
Alex Bowman. • On October 5, 2017, it was announced that
Matt Tifft would be leaving
Joe Gibbs Racing at the end of 2017, and joining
Richard Childress Racing in 2018 to drive the No. 2 Chevrolet. In 2017, Tifft drove the No. 19
Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. • On October 13, 2017, it was announced that
Christopher Bell would drive full-time for Joe Gibbs Racing in 2018, driving the No. 20 Toyota. Bell will also be competing for Rookie of the Year Honors. In 2017, Bell drove the No. 4
Toyota Tundra full-time for
Kyle Busch Motorsports in the
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, winning the championship in the process, and part-time for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Xfinity Series, driving the No. 18 & No. 20 Toyotas. • On October 19, 2017, it was announced that
Spencer Boyd would drive full-time in 2018 for
SS-Green Light Racing in a renumbered No. 76 car, crew chief Jason Miller and sponsorship from Grunt Style. In 2017, Boyd ran part-time in SS-Green Light's No. 07 entry and part-time in the
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series for several teams. • In October 2017, it was announced that
Joey Gase will not return to
Jimmy Means Racing. Gase will explore more opportunities in the Cup Series. • On November 15, 2017, it was announced that
Brandon Jones would be joining Joe Gibbs Racing to drive the No. 19 Toyota, replacing
Matt Tifft. In 2017, Jones drove the No. 33 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing, as well as the No. 99
MDM Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado in the
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. • On November 15, 2017, it was announced that
Ryan Preece would be driving the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota in at least 10 races. Preece will share the ride with
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers
Kyle Busch,
Denny Hamlin,
Erik Jones, and
Daniel Suárez. In 2017, Preece drove in the
NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour while also making a few starts for JGR, driving the No. 18 & No. 20 Toyotas. Preece won the July 2017 race at Iowa. On February 17, it was announced that
Kyle Benjamin, who made 4 starts for Gibbs in 2017, would drive the No. 18 at Atlanta and Iowa in July. On April 13, it was announced that
Noah Gragson, who currently drives the No. 18
Toyota Tundra for
Kyle Busch Motorsports in the
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, would make his Xfinity Series debut at Richmond in April and will drive the car at Talladega in April and Dover in May. On June 11, it was announced that
Riley Herbst who drives the No. 18 Toyota in the ARCA Series for Joe Gibbs would make his debut at Iowa in June. • On November 17, 2017, it was announced that
Kaz Grala will drive the No. 24
Ford Mustang GT for
JGL Racing in 2018. Grala will also compete for Rookie of the Year Honors. In 2017, Grala drove the No. 33
Chevrolet Silverado for
GMS Racing in the
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. However, due to a lack of sponsorship on May 15, 2018, it was announced that Grala announced he had been released by JGL as the team was shutting down its No. 24 car. • On November 20, 2017, it was announced that
Roush Fenway Racing would be running the No. 60 Ford full-time in 2018 as a developmental team in cooperation with Ford and
Team Penske.
Ty Majeski,
Chase Briscoe, and
Austin Cindric will all drive the No. 60. Briscoe and Majeski will drive the car for 12 races each and Cindric will drive for 9 races. This will be the first full-time season for the No. 60 team since winning the Championship with
Chris Buescher in 2015. In 2017, Majeski drove part-time in the
ARCA Racing Series while also making a few starts in the No. 60 for Roush, while Cindric and Briscoe drove full-time in the
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series for the now defunct
Brad Keselowski Racing, driving the No. 19 and No. 29
Ford F-150 respectively. Briscoe will also drive the No. 98 Ford for
Stewart–Haas Racing with
Biagi–DenBeste in 5 races at Bristol in April, Talladega in May, Both Charlotte Races, and the fall playoff race at Kansas. • On December 11, 2017, it was announced that
John Hunter Nemechek will drive the No. 42 Chevrolet for
Chip Ganassi Racing part-time in 2018, sharing the ride with
Kyle Larson and
Jamie McMurray. In 2017, Nemechek drove the No. 8
NEMCO Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado in the
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. • On January 5, 2018, it was announced that
Joey Gase will drive a new No. 35 entry for
Go Green Racing full-time in 2018. Gase last drove for
Means Racing full-time in the Xfinity Series in 2017, as well as for
Premium Motorsports and
BK Racing part-time in the Cup Series. His crew chief will be Patrick Donahue, who worked with Gase at BK Racing. • On January 9, 2018, it was announced that
Kaulig Racing had released
Blake Koch and that
Ryan Truex would replace him in the No. 11 Chevrolet. In 2017, Truex raced full-time in the
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, driving the No. 16 Toyota Tundra for
Hattori Racing Enterprises. This will be Truex's first full-time season in the Xfinity series after driving part-time for
Michael Waltrip Racing in 2010 and 2011, Joe Gibbs Racing in 2011 and 2012, and
Biagi-DenBeste Racing in 2015. • On January 16, 2018, it was announced that
Jamie McMurray will make his return to the Xfinity Series, in which he had not competed since 2013. He will drive part-time in the No. 42 car for
Chip Ganassi Racing with
Kyle Larson and
John Hunter Nemechek. • On January 24, 2018, it was announced that
Shane Lee,
Jeb Burton, and
Brendan Gaughan would all drive part-time for Richard Childress Racing in 2018, driving the No. 3 Chevrolet. They will share the ride with MENCS drivers
Austin Dillon and
Ty Dillon. Lee will make his Xfinity series debut at Bristol in April, Burton will make his return at Richmond in April, and Gaughan will drive in the road course races at Mid-Ohio, Road America, and at Charlotte on the new Roval layout. In 2017, Lee drove full-time in the
ARCA Racing Series for
Cunningham Motorsports, Burton drove a part-time schedule in the Xfinity Series, driving the No. 24 Toyota for
JGL Racing, while Gaughan competed full-time in the Xfinity Series, driving the No. 62 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. • On February 2, 2018, it was announced that
Matt Mills will drive the No. 15 Chevrolet for
JD Motorsports full-time starting at Atlanta. Mills most recently drove part-time for
B. J. McLeod Motorsports,
NextGen Motorsports, and
Martins Motorsports in 2017. However he was released after DNQing at Texas, and again after running Pocono and Michigan. He would end up running the second races at Richmond and Dover with B.J. Mcleod Motorsports. • On February 7, 2018
Jimmy Means Racing announced that
David Starr will drive the No. 52 car full-time. • On February 8, 2018, it was revealed that
Austin Cindric would run a full schedule in the Xfinity Series. Cindric will drive for
Penske Racing in either the Nos. 12 or 22 in all races in which he does not drive the No. 60 car for
Roush Fenway Racing. • On May 2, 2018, NASCAR announced that
Spencer Gallagher was issued a substance abuse penalty and was suspended indefinitely. He also lost his playoff eligibility with the suspension. This came just a week after Gallagher scored his first NASCAR win at Talladega.
Johnny Sauter was announced as his replacement for Dover and
Chase Elliott will drive the car at Charlotte, Pocono, Chicago, Daytona, and Bristol and
Alex Bowman will drive the car at Michigan .
Justin Haley, who drives the No. 24
Chevrolet Silverado in the
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series for GMS Racing, drove the No. 23 at Iowa in June, and will also a drive a 2nd GMS Car at Daytona in July and Watkins Glen. On July 4, 2018, Gallagher was reinstated and returned to the No. 23 car at Kentucky. On October 19, 2018, Gallagher announced his retirement from racing at the end of the season. He will take on a more managerial role in GMS racing starting in 2019. • On May 7, 2018, it was announced that
IndyCar Series driver
Conor Daly will make his Xfinity Series debut at
Road America driving the No. 6
Roush Fenway Racing Ford. • On August 15, 2018, Elliott Sadler announced his retirement at the end of 2018. His replacement for 2019 onwards is Noah Gragson.
Crew chiefs • Brian Wilson will take over the Crew Chief duties for the No. 22
Team Penske Ford Mustang GT after it was announced that Greg Erwin would be moving up to the
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series to be
Paul Menard's crew chief at
Wood Brothers Racing. •
Jason Ratcliff will move over from the No. 20 MENCS team to the No. 20 Xfinity Series team to be the crew chief for
Christopher Bell. Chris Gabehardt, who was the previous crew chief for the No. 20, will move over to the No. 19 team to be Brandon Jones' crew chief, replacing Matt Beckham. • Chad Norris will take over as Crew Chief at
GMS Racing for the No. 23 for
Spencer Gallagher. Norris was the Crew Chief for
Brennan Poole in the No. 48 at
Chip Ganassi Racing in 2017. • Shane Wilson will take over as Crew Chief at
JGL Racing for the No. 24 for
Kaz Grala. Wilson was the Crew Chief for
Brendan Gaughan in the No. 62 at
Richard Childress Racing in 2017. • Jason Houghtaling will move from
MBM Motorsports to
JP Motorsports to crew chief the startup team's No. 55 entry.
Manufacturers participation. For the season finale,
Carl Long placed a tribute decal on his "Zombie Dodge" car. •
JGL Racing would switch from
Toyota to
Ford this season. JGL Racing had been running Toyota cars from 2015 to 2017. • This was the final season of the
Toyota Camry, which was replaced by the
Supra in
2019. • This was also the final season of
Dodge as a manufacturer. In the
2013 season, Dodge stopped factory support after
Penske Racing switched to Ford. Because of this, the former Penske
Challengers used by smaller teams were nicknamed "Zombie Dodges". The new flange-fit composite body rules have made the welded steel-bodied Challengers ineligible to compete in 2019. ==Rule changes==