What Are Hendrick Motorsports’ Options For the Future?

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What’s Happening?

It seems like once a year, fans gather to throw their hats in the ring to change the Hendrick Motorsports lineup. While HMS seems set with its current line, if they were to make a change in the coming years, what options would they have waiting in the wings?

Close to HMS, But No Official Ties

If HMS were to make a move in the coming seasons, they would have options beyond those drivers who have clear connections to the team. These three, for example, are closely related to HMS through their current teams.

Justin Haley

Some rumors this season had Justin Haley sliding all the way from Rick Ware Racing’s No. 51 to Alex Bowman’s No. 48. These rumors were, of course, false. However, Haley landed back in the HMS camp after RWR “traded” him to Spire Motorsports, which has a growing relationship with HMS.

Haley showed tremendous improvement this season in the No. 51 compared to his 2023 in Kaulig Racing’s No. 31. If that momentum were to continue into 2025, perhaps Hendrick may realistically consider him. As of right now, Haley is aging, so that could factor in if Hendrick were to make a move in the coming seasons.

Carson Kvapil

Carson Kvapil moved from late models to the second-highest level of stock car racing in 2024. Following successful part-time starts with JR Motorsports, Bass Pro Shops stepped up to the plate to supply Carson with the sponsorship he needed to compete in 2025.

While Carson is by no means for sure in the HMS system, he is. However, with his early promise and age, if he were to become a superstar, he could be the type that replaces an established driver. For now, the NASCAR world appears to be Kvapil’s proverbial oyster, but that comes with the asterisk that he must first prove he is the real deal in 2025.

Carson Hocevar

Another Carson is Carson Hocevar, the young talent who boldly leaped from Neice Motorsport’s Truck program in 2023 to a full-time Cup Series competition in 2024. Up against talent like Josh Berry and teammate Zane Smith, Hocevar walked away easily with the 2024 Cup Series Rookie of the Year award.

There are no rumors that Carson might race for HMS next season. However, much like Kvapil, he is slowly looking like a future star of the series. Maturity will go a long way for Carson, but after his 2024 season, you would think that Rick Hendrick and Jeff Gordon noticed his performance.

Known Relationship With HMS

These drivers are definitely involved with Hendrick Motorsports. In fact, both of them race with Hendrickcars.com in their race cars. For now they appear to be the next step for HMS, however, when that could be is unknown.

Corey Day

Following the trail of HMS’ Kyle Larson, Corey Day may be the most overlooked young prospect in all of NASCAR. Not that Day is underrated; the young driver, however, could be even better than most expect him to be. After hopping over from the dirt track scene to the NASCAR scene in 2025, there appears to be a future for Day in NASCAR.

Should this be with HMS? We don’t know yet. We do know that Day made two ARCA starts and four Truck Series starts in 2025 with Rick Hendrick’s Hendrickcars.com on the hood of his Chevrolet. Day could take longer to develop than others on this list, but with Hendrick’s packed house right now, that could be what HMS needs.

Rajah Caruth

Rajah Caruth may be one of the best stories in NASCAR right now. After making his start in iRacing, Rajah raced for the late GMS Racing last season before, seemingly out of nowhere, Rajah got a one-off start with HMS in the Xfinity Series.

Following this, Spire signed him full-time for a sophomore season in the Truck Series. To sweeten the deal, Hendrickcars.com would be a part-time sponsor. However, following great runs early in the year, Hendrickcars.com went full-time with Rajah. Since this extremely successful 2024 campaign, Rajah became the focus of all sorts of rumors about his future with HMS.

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Kauy Ostlien

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