Getty Sheldon Creed (right) races GMS teammate Zane Smith (left) at Phoenix.
When the 2022 NASCAR season begins, there will be a new, cost-effective stock car available to all of the organizations. Now another team is making the leap to the Cup Series to work with the Next Gen car. GMS Racing, the organization behind 2020 Truck Series champion Sheldon Creed, has announced that it will form a Cup team for 2022.
GMS issued a press release on Thursday, June 17, announcing the news. The team did not provide any information about the driver or schedule, only saying that they are actively seeking sponsorship opportunities. Other news will become available to the media in the future. For now, GMS will focus on the ARCA Menards and Camping World Truck Series seasons.
“GMS is always looking forward and I believe this is the next step for the team in that process,” said team owner Maury Gallagher, per Jayski. “We have the goal to be a championship caliber team in any series in which we compete, and I am excited to watch the team grow in the coming years.”
GMS Racing Has Achieved Considerable Success in Little Time
GettyJohnny Sauter and GMS Racing celebrate the 2016 Truck Series championship.
Originally formed in 2014, GMS has not been part of the NASCAR circuit for long, but the team has achieved a significant amount of success in its brief history. GMS has registered 61 wins across the ARCA Menards Series, Camping World Truck Series, and the Xfinity Series.
The list of victories includes five total championships. Creed won the Truck Series title in 2020 while Johnny Sauter captured it in 2016. Grant Enfinger, who currently races in the Truck Series for ThorSport, won the 2015 ARCA Menards Series championship. GMS also won the ARCA East championship in 2019 and 2020.
GMS will now attempt to make an impact on the NASCAR Cup Series. New teams have struggled in the past to contend for wins, but the introduction of the Next Gen car will make races more competitive. Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon, in particular, said to ABC News after testing one of the prototypes that the setups “will go out the window” and that the new stock cars will “level the playing field” early in the season.
“GMS has always risen to the occasion and proven that we are a team capable of competing at every level of this sport,” added Mike Beam, president of GMS Racing, per Jayski. “We have been preparing to make this step and with the addition of the Next Gen car in 2020, this seemed like the perfect opportunity to make the move.”
The 2022 Season Will Feature Some Major Changes
GettyAJ Allmendinger (left) races Justin Haley (right) at Texas.
The 2021 season is still moving ahead at full steam, but many people are looking ahead to 2022 due to the number of upcoming changes. The season will feature several changes with drivers moving to new cars while teams make the leap to the Cup Series.
Both GMS Racing and Kaulig Racing will field Cup cars during the season and will reveal the identities of their drivers in the near future. Similarly, JR Motorsports could also field a team in the top series. Although Dale Earnhardt Jr. has not confirmed that this move will happen.
While Xfinity and Truck Series teams plan for a move to Cup, current teams look for new talent to add to the roster. Both 23XI Racing and Trackhouse Racing will try to field a second car during the 2022 season while adding a veteran presence. However, both teams are reportedly targeting 2004 Cup Series champion Kurt Busch for the second car.
There are several other drivers that will enter free agency and potentially move to new teams. Brad Keselowski could take on a driver-owner role at Roush Fenway Racing while Wood Brothers Racing driver Matt DiBenedetto could move to a new vehicle with Austin Cindric moving from Xfinity to Cup. There are several other potential moves that could shake up the 2022 season.
For now, the NASCAR drivers will continue to compete in 2021 while pursuing championship trophies. The next races on the schedule will take place at Nashville Superspeedway on June 18-20, marking the first time in 37 years that the Cup Series competes in the Music City area.