2022 NASCAR Panasonic Cup Series (Johnsonverse)

The 2022 NASCAR Panasonic Cup Series will be the 74th season for NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States and the 51st season for the modern era Panasonic Cup Series. The season will start at Riverside International Raceway with the Budweiser 400. That race will be followed by the Busch Clash exhibition event, the Gatorade Twin 125's qualifying races, and the 64th running of the Daytona 500. The season will end with the Pepsi 400 at Daytona on November 6, followed by the NASCAR Thunder Special 100 exhibition race at Suzuka International Racing Course on November 13. This season will mark the debut of the Strictly Stock Car II, as well as the Panasonic Cup Series' return to Riverside and Ontario Motor Speedway for the first time since 1988 and 1995, respectively, and the first season with the NASCAR Thunder Special 100 since 1998 as well as the first time it's run at Suzuka since 1997.

Drivers

 * It was announced on June 15, 2021 that Busch Series driver Josh Berry (who had been driving full-time in that series since 2018) would move up to the Cup Series in 2022, driving for Dale Earnhardt, Inc. in the #1 Wrangler Jeans Chevrolet. Owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. revealed that Chip Ganassi Racing gave him permission to use the number. Ganassi’s old #1 will switch over to the #40, used between 1993 and 2008.

New Car
A new car, titled the Strictly Stock Car II, will make its debut for the 2022 season. The goal of the car is to make it even more accurate to showroom models than its predecessor, with new, single-lugnut wheels and the mirrors being replaced by monitors, although traditional mirrors are kept as a backup in case the monitors don't function.

In addition, teams are given more leeway in the number placement, with requirements being that the number's minimum size being the same as it was on the previous car, in order to still make it visible from a distance for spotters, pit crews and fans, as well as being placed somewhere between the wheels.

Manufacturer changes
Due to Buick's 2021 acquisition by Johnson and the reintroduction of the Regal to the North American market, it will return to NASCAR for the first time since 2020, with many of the same teams including Bobby Allison Racing. Otherwise, nothing else is changed from 2021.

Broadcasting changes
For 2022, more races will be broadcast on TNN, as well as Freeform, Speed Channel (for the first time since being sold to Johnson in 2012), and The NASCAR Network. ESPN will also air select weekend races.