What’s Happening?

This week, Hendrick Motorsports locked down Kyle Larson into the 2030s this weekend, preventing the star driver from even sniffing free agency, but in a year of potential major moves, what’s the next domino that will fall at HMS?

Entering the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, NASCAR fans knew Hendrick Motorsports was facing the annual will-they-wont-they free agency cycles of one of its four NASCAR Cup Series drivers.

Much like last season with William Byron, this year’s question had a pretty obvious answer: Will they resign Kyle Larson?

Larson, the team’s winningest driver of the decade, signed his first extension with the team in 2022, following his 10-win, championship season in 2021. This deal was set to expire at the end of this season, with teammates Chase Elliott to expire in 2027, and Alex Bowman in 2028.

But before there could be any rumors, speculation, or even hot takes about Larson’s future at Hendrick, the team locked down the California driver before the 2026 season even started, announcing his signing at Daytona International Speedway on Wednesday.

Even though Larson is locked in at HMS until 2031, the team’s Silly Season is just kicking off, as there is a chance another spot opens at NASCAR’s reigning championship organization.

The Decision

In 2023, Alex Bowman, in his sixth season at HMS, signed a five-year extension to remain in the team’s No. 48 until 2028. While Bowman was far from HMS’s best driver, he was a winner, a consistent threat for the playoffs, and had a loyal sponsor in Ally.

Over the next few seasons, Bowman would struggle with injuries, the Next Gen car, and finding victory lane, having won just one race since 2023, with two injury stents along the way.

But it still surprised fans this offseason, when, on January 26, 2026, Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports reported that Bowman was on a contract season, two years before his extension with HMS was supposed to be up.

Bowman is still in the depths of a 52-race winning streak, having not been to victory lane since the 2024 Chicago Street Race. Regardless, he has made the playoffs in all but one season of his eight full-time seasons at HMS.

So, will Hendrick make any changes in the No. 48 camp this Silly Season?

What Are Hendrick’s Options?

The first, and perhaps most obvious option, is to re-sign Bowman, given his consistency and winning record.

This could be on a short-term deal that gives HMS the flexibility to move on, should they find a suitable replacement, while also giving Bowman the chance to prove that he is right where he belongs.

But, with the Playoffs gone, including the win-and-in stipulation, Bowman could realistically struggle to make the NASCAR Chase, which is based on a mix of consistency and winning. However, this would be the result of a chaotic scenario for the No. 48 team.

If the team needed to move on from Bowman at year’s end, they could point to prospect Corey Day, who is driving in his first full-time NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season for the team this year.

Day, a sprint car racing prodigy, nearly raced full-time last year, splitting efforts between the NASCAR Craftsman Truck and Xfinity Series for a combined 20 starts. Though he struggled at times, he also showed that he had the talent to make it in asphalt racing.

If Day became a suitable replacement for Bowman by 2027, it would be a surprising development, only rivaled by that of Connor Zilisch replacing Daniel Suarez after 2025.

This thought is a hefty task for Day, as Zilisch’s run to the Cup Series came in part due to an unprecedented season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, with the Trackhouse Racing driver showing a level of skill that Day would have to show signs of early on and stick with throughout this season.

An Established Name?

So what if HMS wanted to go with an existing Cup Series driver?

In that same report in which Bob Pockrass revealed Bowman’s pending free agency, it was also noted that 23XI Racing’s top driver, Tyler Reddick, was slated to become a free agent at the end.

While 23XI would likely fight hard to keep the 30-year-old in-house after this season, if Hendrick wanted to move on from Bowman and did not have a suitable prospect to replace him, they could go big game hunting to snag the two-time NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series champion.

Now, it is worth pointing out that Reddick is coming off a down year, in which he failed to win a race just like Bowman. But, in comparison, the Toyota driver scored a 14.5 average finish, which was nearly three spots better than Bowman’s 17.4 that same season.

Nonetheless, until Hendrick makes a decision, this is all hypothetical; after all, Bowman could have a breakthrough season with the team and perhaps even look at places he could be a team’s top driver.

Even though this could be one of the wildest Silly Seasons in recent history, expect the Alex Bowman saga to drag late into the summer and into the Chase, as there are still a lot of loose ends to tie up across the garage.

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