"Hendrick alliance isn't helping Spire much": NASCAR fans react to Gene Haas shifting HFT to Chevrolet

Gene Haas' HFT shook the NASCAR sphere as it announced that it would switch from Ford to Chevrolet from 2026 onwards. This announcement was coupled with the team's decision to embark on a technical journey with Hendrick Motorsports, which is itself a Chevrolet team hoping for better results for the squad in the future, but fans reasoned otherwise by giving the example of Spire Motorsports in the Cup Series.

Haas had begun its NASCAR journey with Chevrolet back in 2009. This partnership stayed in place until the end of the 2016 season, when Gene Haas decided to change manufacturers from Chevy to Ford.

However, this change soon saw the team going from winning championships in its Chevy era to scoring a best third-place finish in the hands of Kevin Harvick. But, after this, the team never met its previous heights and went from being a four-charter team to downscaling to a sole charter from 2025 onwards.

The squad then announced that it would reunite with Chevy in 2026, along with building a new alliance with previous partner HM, leaving RFK Racing behind. Fans shared SM as evidence of not moving up the results ladder despite having a championship-winning outfit in a technical alliance:

"Hendrick alliance isn’t helping Spire that much. Don’t expect much with Haas."

Jimmy Tester

@jimmytester411

@A_S12 @HaasFactoryTeam @Ford @chevrolet @TeamHendrick @SBJ Hendrick alliance isn’t helping spire that much. Don’t expect much with haas

"It won't help, one fan wrote.

"🫤 I liked them with fords in Xfinity, another fan wrote.

Fans further shared their thoughts:

"I was just starting to like this team. Oh well, Dodge can't get here soon enough," one netizen wrote.

"Yep the reason it's due to Kaulig Racing switching to Dodge in 2026 truck series and in 2027 cup series when Dodge return to the cup series," another netizen wrote.

"We really went full circle. From single car Chevy/HMS alliance car, to four car powerhouse, back to a single car Chevy/HMS alliance car. It’s kind of a throwback in a way, a third netizen shared."

Gene Haas' HFT will be Hendrick Motorsports' third different team in a technical alliance, as SM and HYAK Motorsports are already in a coalition with the four-charter squad.

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Rick Hendrick is ecstatic about Gene Haas-owned HFT's alliance with Hendrick Motorsports

Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick - Source: Imagn

Hendrick Motorsports last won a championship in 2021, but the squad has often been thereabouts in the final four over the past few seasons. Moreover, the squad has all four of its drivers in the playoffs for the 2025 season, the only team to do so.

With the team hoping to build upon its empire in NASCAR and Gene Haas knocking on the door, HM owner Rick Hendrick shared how he has a long-standing history with Gene Haas' team, as he said (via Haas Factory Team):

"We have a long history with Gene and his organization, including winning championships together, so this feels almost like a homecoming. We’re proud to support Haas Factory Team and thrilled to work together to deliver more victories for Chevrolet."

Thus, Ford is slated to have four teams onboard its NASCAR program, with Chevy emerging as the lead manufacturer of the trio of car makers.