Rumor Mill: Connor Zilisch Moving to Hendrick Motorsports?
What’s Happening? The upcoming NASCAR Silly Season is finally shaping up to be as wild as expected, as new reports are…
NASCAR Silly Season is finally starting to heat up, and given recent rumors, it seems like at least one major team will have a high-profile opening. So if Riley Herbst moves on after this season, who drives the No. 35 in 2027?
After a quiet start to what is expected to be a wild 2027 NASCAR Cup Series Silly Season, NASCAR fans finally got their first taste of the chaos this week, when NASCAR insiders Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports and Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic both dropped their first updates on talks in the garage area.
Among the many takeaways from these reports, including talks of Trackhouse Racing Rookie Connor Zilisch’s interest in a future at Hendrick Motorsports, was a potential opening at 23XI Racing.
This opening would come in their No. 35, with driver Riley Herbst deep in talks to drive the new (full-time) No. 84 for Jimmie Johnson’s Legacy Motor Club in 2027.
What’s Happening? The upcoming NASCAR Silly Season is finally shaping up to be as wild as expected, as new reports are…
Entering 2026, there was no guarantee that Herbst would leave the team at year’s end.
But, while neither said it was set in stone, Bianchi reported that LMC’s third driver search is “effectively over” and that Herbst and the team will sign a new deal to keep him in the Toyota camp for 2027.
When or if this car opens up, it could be the top open seat in the NASCAR Cup Series (given that Hendrick Motorsports does not move on from Alex Bowman).
While this could be a high-profile driver search, NASCAR fans who have watched the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series over the past few seasons have no questions about who will drive the No. 35 in 2027.
What’s Happening? NASCAR Silly Season is in full swing, with drivers on contract seasons already signing and re-signing with teams for…
While you could push out a handful of names, like prospects or even current Cup Series names, the future for 23XI is clear.
Last season, the team signed NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series standout Corey Heim to a developmental deal. That season, Heim dominated the Truck Series, breaking records and winning a title, but he also impressed in limited starts with 23XI.
This year, Heim is racing a split schedule in the Craftsman Truck and Cup Series, upping his total starts from 4 in 2025 to 12.
Fans already saw this plan as Heim dipping his toes in the Cup Series waters before moving to Cup full-time, and rumors of Herbst moving to LMC only seem to confirm this speculation.
Of course, nothing is confirmed until the team announces it, and in his report, Bob Pockrass noted that a full-time promotion for Heim would not be a surprise; still, as he puts it, “Sponsorship is the key.”
Sponsorship has been a rumored problem for Heim, something 23XI will have to shore up amid the potential loss of Herbst and his long-running sponsor, Monster Energy.
What’s Happening? NASCAR drivers, much like any athletes, have a period of free agency and multi-million dollar contracts. Based on information…
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