Why Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is betting on HYAK Motorsports through 2026

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has put an end to the rumors suggesting his move away from HYAK Motorsports to Spire Motorsports in 2026. This has raised the question of why the four-time race winner has gone all in with the squad that fields a solitary racecar in the top league of stock car racing in the United States.

Stenhouse Jr. was given his first full-time role by Roush Fenway Racing (now RFK Racing) and remained with the squad until 2019. His former team decided to replace him with Chris Buescher. This led to a simple exchange of drivers between the two teams.

Since then, the 37-year-old has brought home two race victories for the squad. Moreover, with the help of Cup Series heavyweight Hendrick Motorsports' technical alliance, he has helped the team achieve three top-10 finishes in 2025.

Though his 2025 campaign has not been as successful as he would have hoped for, earning a multi-year contract in 2024 by the team's owners would have been Ricky Stenhouse Jr.'s best bet to continue in the Cup Series field, as SM came into the picture later down the line.

Thus, going into 2026, the Memphis-born driver would hope to help the squad secure strong results, as HYAK helped him get through thick and thin at the premier league of NASCAR the past few years.

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Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has experienced the ownership change first-hand at HYAK Motorsports

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. driving the No. 47 charter for HYAK Motorsports - Source: Imagn

HYAK Motorsports was previously known as JTG Daugherty Racing. But, with a fraction of the ownership leaving the squad last year, it was soon rebranded to its current name.

Reflecting on how the rebrand has not changed the No. 47 squad during the 2025 season, and how it still had the same determination, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. said, via Forbes:

"Nothing has changed on the competition side. My team has stayed the same with my engineers and shop guys. I think that’s what helped us get off to a hot start. We focused this offseason on what we needed to get better at from last year...

"Executing was pretty high on the list. We still need to get our speed better. But even when we had cars that weren’t as we needed them to be, we worked the system with strategy, good restarts and just came out with good finishes."

Though Stenhouse Jr. did not make it to the playoffs in 2025, his aim of better execution could be reflected in his race results. Despite a subpar average starting position, the four-time race winner has a better Sunday more often than not, with the highlight of his year coming at Atlanta, with a top-five that day.