1 • Jamie McMurray • Chevrolet • Earnhardt Ganassi Racing McMurray, a Joplin, Mo., native, had a rough 2011 season, notching just four top-10 finishes. He was 27th in the final point standings.
2 • Brad Keselowski • Dodge • Penske Racing Keselowski is coming off a breakthrough season, with three wins and a spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. He was fifth in the final standings.
5 • Kasey Kahne • Chevrolet • Hendrick Motorsports Signed with Hendrick in early 2010 but had to wait until this season to get into his new seat. Brought his longtime crew chief with him.
9 • Marcos Ambrose • Ford • Richard Petty Motorsports Ambrose won his first career Sprint Cup Series race last season on the road course at Watkins Glen. He had 12 top-10 finishes and was 19th in the final points.
10 • Danica Patrick • Chevrolet • Stewart-Haas Racing Patrick is making her Sprint Cup Series debut in the Daytona 500 and will run 10 races for new boss Tony Stewart. She also will run the full Nationwide Series schedule for JR Motorsports.
00 • David Reutimann • Chevrolet • Tommy Baldwin Racing Lost his ride with Michael Waltrip Racing late in 2011 season. Has teamed with Baldwin to run 26 races in which Patrick does not compete, but actual entries will depend on sponsorship.
11 • Denny Hamlin • Toyota • Joe Gibbs Racing Had a miserable 2011 season after just missing out on the championship the previous year. Team replaced longtime crew chief Mike Ford in December with Darian Grubb, who led Tony Stewart to the title.
13 • Casey Mears • Ford • Germain Racing Beginning his second season with Germain Racing, Mears made all but the season-opening Daytona 500 last season. Team was a start-and-park at times last year but hopes to race entire season in 2012.
14 • Tony Stewart • Chevrolet • Stewart-Haas Racing Stewart turned it up at the start of the Chase, winning five of the 10 chase races and his third championship. But he overhauled his organization in the offseason, replacing crew chief Grubb with Steve Addington, who spent last year with Kurt Busch.
15 • Clint Bowyer • Toyota • Michael Waltrip Racing Bowyer begins his first season with MWR after six seasons with Richard Childress Racing. He won at Talladega last fall and finished 13th in points.
16 • Greg Biffle • Ford • Roush Fenway Racing Biffle had an off year and missed the Chase for the first time since 2007. He finished 16th in points with 10 top-10 finishes.
17 • Matt Kenseth • Ford • Roush Fenway Racing Had his best season in years in 2011, winning three races and finishing fourth in the final standings.
18 • Kyle Busch • Toyota • Joe Gibbs Racing Busch ended the regular season as the top seed in the Chase but faltered in his title run. Suspended by NASCAR for intentionally wrecking Ron Hornaday Jr. in a truck race at Texas, and that incident nearly cost him his job with JGR. Won't run in any Trucks Series races this year and is cutting back Nationwide participation.
20 • Joey Logano • Toyota • Joe Gibbs Racing Logano was rumored to be in danger of losing his job as JGR courted Carl Edwards over the summer. He's back, with a new crew chief, but in the final year of his contract.
21 • Trevor Bayne • Ford • Wood Brothers Racing An upset winner of the Daytona 500, Bayne didn't run the full season as sponsorship issues with the Wood Brothers and a bout with Lyme disease limited him to 17 events.
22 • AJ Allmendinger • Dodge • Penske Racing Landed the best job of his NASCAR career when Penske Racing parted ways with Kurt Busch in December. Goes into the season on a high after driving the final leg for the winning team in the prestigious Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona race.
24 • Jeff Gordon • Chevrolet • Hendrick Motorsports Gordon went into the Chase with high hopes of winning his fifth NASCAR championship. However, he had troubles at the start and finished eighth in the final points after a three-win season.
27 • Paul Menard • Chevrolet • Richard Childress Racing Scored the first win of his Cup career with an emotional victory at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Had a career-best eight top-10s and finished a career-best 17th in the final points.
29 • Kevin Harvick • Chevrolet • Richard Childress Racing Harvick won four races and figured to be a strong threat for the championship. Instead, he finished third in the standings for the second consecutive year.
30 • David Stremme • Toyota • Inception Motorsports Ran 18 races last season with a best finish of 32nd at Bristol.
31 • Jeff Burton • Chevrolet • Richard Childress Racing Had his third consecutive winless season and finished 20th in the standings — his lowest finish in the points since 1995. Goes into the year with a new crew chief.
34 • David Ragan • Ford • Front Row Motorsports Despite winning his first career race — at Daytona in July — Ragan lost his ride with Roush Fenway Racing when his sponsor pulled back. He landed with Front Row in January.
36 • Dave Blaney • Chevrolet • Tommy Baldwin Racing Finished season inside top-35 in points but lost his guaranteed spot in the Daytona 500 when the team made a deal with Stewart and Patrick for the points.
38 • David Gilliland • Ford • Front Row Motorsports Although he finished 30th in the final standings, Gilliland was outstanding in restrictor-plate races and was third in the Daytona 500.
39 • Ryan Newman • Chevrolet • Stewart-Haas Racing Newman won one race and had 17 top-10 finishes — his most since 2003. He finished 10th in the Chase.
42 • Juan Pablo Montoya • Chevrolet • Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Had a slow year as he notched just eight top-10 finishes and went winless. Finished 21st in the standings and goes into season with a first-year crew chief.
43 • Aric Almirola • Ford • Richard Petty Motorsports Landed a return to the Cup Series as part of late musical chairs created when Penske parted ways with Kurt Busch. Almirola replaced Allmendinger.
47 • Bobby Labonte • Toyota • JTG-Daugherty Racing Labonte, the 2000 Cup champion, hasn't won a race since 2003. Was 29th in points last season with two top-10s.
48 • Jimmie Johnson • Chevrolet • Hendrick Motorsports His streak of five consecutive titles was snapped last season as Johnson, who won a career-low two races, finished a career low sixth in points.
49 • J.J. Yeley • Toyota • Robinson-Blakeney Racing Ran 31 races last year, mostly in start-and-park situations.
51 • Kurt Busch • Chevrolet • Phoenix Racing Although he won two races and made the Chase, Busch struggled with anger issues and parted ways with Penske Racing at the end of the season. He has said he's seeing a sports psychologist.
55 • Mark Martin • Toyota • Michael Waltrip Racing Cutting back his schedule, Martin won't run all the races. Team owner Waltrip wants to run some events when Martin doesn't.
No. 56 • Martin Truex Jr. • Toyota • Michael Waltrip Racing Truex enters his third season at MWR still looking for his first victory and a berth for MWR in the Chase.
78 • Regan Smith • Chevrolet • Furniture Row Motorsports Had the best year of his career, winning at Darlington and finishing a career-best 26th in points.
87 • Joe Nemechek • Toyota • NEMCO Motorsports Started all 36 races last season but was running at the end of only one, Daytona in July. Completed 1,259 of 10,650 laps.
88 • Dale Earnhardt Jr. • Chevrolet • Hendrick Motorsports NASCAR's most popular driver made the Chase for the first time since 2008 but went winless for the third consecutive year. Finished seventh in the points.
98 • Michael McDowell • Ford • Phil Parsons Racing McDowell was a start-and-park for this team last year and was running at the end of three of his 32 starts.
99 • Carl Edwards • Ford • Roush Fenway Racing Columbia, Mo., native narrowly lost the championship to Tony Stewart in the season finale. Signed a contract with RFR in August, ending a frenzied free-agency period.
Associated Press
