2021 Silly Season

The 2021 silly season was the 1st silly season of the Coca-Cola AutoSim Cup Series, and occurred after the 2021 Season, preceding the 2022 Season.

Retirees

Five drivers retired this season, only two of which were active drivers- Derrike Cope, the driver for the Rick Ware Racing #15 Chevrolet, and Kevin Harvick, the previous season's champion, who last drove the Stewart-Haas Racing #4 Ford. The three other retirees were: David Starr, Mike Harmon, and Norm Benning.

Schedule

4 tracks swapped dates this season. Race #26 (the Regular Season finale) the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona, swapped dates with Race #11, the Barren Wasteland 400 at Kansas Speedway. Additionally, the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway (Race #35) swapped dates with Race #10, the GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

Sponsorship

4 drivers obtained new sponsors- Christopher Bell, driving the Joe Gibbs Racing #20, gained AMD, Kyle Larson in the Hendrick #5 obtained Federal Mogul, Corey LaJoie in the Spire Motorsports #7 signed Permatex and Denny Hamlin, in the JGR #11, gained Aaron's as a sponsor.

Team Status

Roush Fenway Racing's #17 Ford, fielded for Chris Buescher in 2021, reverted to a part-time schedule. Buescher was removed in favour of Josh Reaume, who signed a 1-year contract to drive the #17.

New Teams/Drivers

Kaulig Racing joined the Coca-Cola Cup Series, fielding the #16 Chevrolet part-time for Chris Buescher. Buescher was signed until the end of 2023.

The #33 Team Penske Ford, previously driven part-time by Austin Cindric, became a full-time car. Cindric was signed to drive the #33 until the end of the 2023 season.

The #4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, vacated by Kevin Harvick, was now driven by John Hunter Nemechek. Nemechek's contract lasted until the end of 2024.

Thad Moffitt signed a 2-year deal to drive for StarCom Racing's #00 Chevrolet full-time.

Riley Herbst signed a 3-year deal to drive the Rick Ware Racing #53 Chevrolet full-time.

Tate Fogleman signed a 1-year deal to drive the Go Fas Racing #32 Ford part-time.

Gus Dean signed a contract of unknown length to drive the Rick Ware Racing #15 Chevrolet full-time.