The 2024 NASCAR silly season drama isn’t just restricted to the Cup garage, as the Xfinity Series is expected to have a major shake-up. Credit to Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s move in handing a full-time ride to up-and-coming talent Connor Zlilisch in the No. 88 JR Motorsports car. This has now left a couple of JRM drivers—Sam Mayer, Justin Allgaier, Sammy Smith, and Brandon Jones—on the edge regarding their future in the JRM cars next year.

A team can only field four full-time entries in each national series race. Therefore, going on the rumors and speculations online, it seems like Brandon Jones or Sam Mayer could be shown the exit door by the end of the 2024 season. Knowing that Sam Mayer has been driving the No. 1 car since 2022 but has 2 wins, 10 top 10s, and 7 top 5s this season, maybe he could save his seat for 2025.

Coming to Brandon Jones, he couldn’t win a single race this season and currently sits 14th in the Xfinity series standings. While the other two, Sammy Smith and Justin Allgaier, on the other hand, won 0 and 1, respectively. So even though Smith has yet to secure a chequered this season, JR Motorsports has confirmed that he will be returning, having signed a multi-year contract with the team.

Currently, Smith and Connor Zilisch are the only two drivers confirmed for JR Motorsports as they gear up for the 2025 season. Even prominent NASCAR journalist Bob Pockrass shared his take on the JRM line-up for 2025. Taking to X, the NASCAR reporter wrote, “Connor Zilisch will be in the JRM No. 88 full time next year. I’d expect JRM lineup likely to be Allgaier, Zilisch, SSmith and other car(s) TBD.”

Given the performance on the track this season, a shake-up at JR Motorsports was expected. Jones, who made his way to JRM from Joe Gibbs Racing in 2023, hasn’t been able to hit his stride and has been winless in 53 starts with the No. 9 team. But the story is different for the 21-year-old, Sam Mayer, who believes he has showcased his talents enough at the Xfinity level and wants to move up to the Cup Series.

However, this new development completely flips the script for the two drivers, who might have to scramble for new jobs. Not just Bob Pockrass, even the fans started to predict how Zilisch’s arrival could shape up the 2025 JRM driver line-up.

Is Sam Mayer Cup bound and another JR motorsports driver returning to JGR?

Mayer has been linked to a move to the Cup Series, given that FRM has yet to announce a driver for their third entry. But this fan wasn’t sold on the prospect and stated that he would end up in the same shoes as Harrison Burton, “If Mayer goes to the FRM, he might be like Harson Burton. Dude, not cup ready.”

JR Motorsports is indeed one of the top contenders for the championship, but a streak of poor performance on track has jeopardized Brandon Jones’ future with the team. Meanwhile, this fan also wasn’t sure if Mayer was cut out to compete at the Cup level. “I have no idea where Jones is going. You shouldn’t be in the series if you can’t make the playoffs in a JRM car. And I don’t think Mayer is ready for Cup yet.”

Adding to the theme of prediction, a fan shared a surprising lineup that excludes both Sam Mayer and Brandon Jones: “2025 JRM Lineup Predictions. 1 Sammy Smith 7 Justin Allgaier 9 Carson Kvapil (R) 88 Connor Zilisch. The 8 car could be either a part-time or full-time all star car.”

It has to be noted that the Haas Factory team has one opening, potentially two, with Cole Custer already securing a Cup ride and Riley Herbst linked to 23XI Racing. This was picked on by a race fan who predicted the future of the two JR Motorsports drivers in question, “Gotta be Jones going to Haas Factory team or back to JGR and Mayer to cup with Kaulig, FRM, or Spire.”

A curious user even wanted to know if the JR Motorsports is considering running only three full-time cars along with a single part-time entry for 2025. “So Bob will they have one of the 4 four main cars as the part time car now ?”

Given the unpredictable nature of this silly season, it is hard to say what Dale Earnhardt Jr. will decide regarding his driver line-up. However, with Connor Zilisch’s arrival, a change is imminent in the team, and it is a concern for both Mayer and Jones.