The word “Hyak” comes from Chinook Jargon, a Pacific Northwest trade language. It means ‘fast’ or ‘swift,’ and was carefully picked when the team rebranded from JTG Daugherty Racing ahead of 2025. And it was about intent. After all, the organization, whose roots stretch to 1995 as ST Motorsports, had weathered ownership changes, technical alliance shifts, and the transition to the charter era without ever going dark. But last week, for the first time, genuine shutdown speculation entered the conversation. And once again, by Monday morning, Hyak had answered it in the loudest possible way.
Garage rumors had been suggesting that Hyak Motorsports could potentially close its doors by the end of 2026, pointing to the team’s single-car structure and inconsistent results as signs of vulnerability. Amidst that, the team chose to establish truth by announcing a multi-year contract extension for Ricky Stenhouse Jr., ensuring the No. 47 Chevrolet stays at the centre of the organisation beyond 2027 – turning what had been a story about survival into one about commitment.
“I‘m thrilled to finally get this contract extension done. It’s something we’ve been working on for a while, and I‘m really thankful to everyone at Hyak Motorsports, especially Gordon,” Stenhouse said, not attempting to hide his relief.
“It‘s never easy being a single-car team, but the experience we’re gaining and the notebook we’re building is helping us get better and better. More than anything, this team feels like one big family. On and off the racetrack, we’re building something that has me really excited about the future of Hyak Motorsports and what we can accomplish together moving forward.”
There were a few factors behind the rumors picking up steam.
First, Kroger, the team’s primary sponsor for over a decade, had departed for RFK Racing ahead of 2025, creating a significant financial hole that the new ownership group under Gordon Smith has been working to fill since taking over in late 2023.
Second, Brad Keselowski had been publicly searching for a third charter to secure Ryan Preece’s future at RFK Racing beyond 2026, and with no charters on the open market, Hyak’s single charter, valued somewhere between $40 million and $80 million following the 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports settlement with NASCAR, made the team an obvious target for speculation.
Keselowski himself acknowledged the price range, saying: “As it stands today, there are no charters that I’m aware of that are for sale. If there was, we’ve certainly talked to everybody that we think could potentially sell one, and they know our interest.”
So, suddenly, people were talking about whether Stenhouse might lose his ride altogether. Still, the story around his uncertain future goes further than this.
In September 2025, reports named Stenhouse as a candidate to replace Justin Haley in the Spire Motorsports No. 7 Chevrolet for 2026, suggesting that Spire could negotiate a contract buyout if they wanted him badly enough. While Stenhouse was one of several names floated, his name carried the most traction, given Haley’s struggles.
In fact, Stenhouse had to address it directly on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, saying: “For me, you know, we re-did my contract last year with HYAK Motorsports. So, I’m here through [20]26, unless they tell me otherwise, or unless we redo another one and stay there for longer.”
Guess we know which option the team picked.
But team owner Gordon Smith was clear about where Stenhouse fits into that future.
“Ricky has been a huge part of what we’re building at Hyak Motorsports, and we’re proud to continue this partnership for years to come,” he said. “He brings experience, leadership, and a competitive mindset every weekend, and we believe there’s still a lot ahead for this team with Ricky in the No. 47.”
That confidence emerges from what Stenhouse has meant to the organisation since arriving in 2020.
All four of his career Cup Series wins have come at superspeedways. Two were with Roush Fenway Racing (Talladega and Daytona in 2017) and two with Hyak, namely the 2023 Daytona 500 and a last-lap, 0.006-second overtime photo-finish at Talladega in 2024 that ranks among the seventh-closest finishes in Cup Series history. And even during difficult stretches as a single-car operation, Stenhouse remained the face of the No. 47, helping keep it relevant against NASCAR’s powerhouse multi-car teams.
And as of now, through 12 races in 2026, he has one top five, a runner-up finish in the Daytona 500, and two top 10s, both at superspeedways.
Why are smaller NASCAR teams suddenly vulnerable?
Back in the day, smaller NASCAR teams could still find ways to grind out respectable results without having the deepest pockets in the garage. But this sport has changed dramatically in the charter era.
When NASCAR introduced the charter system back in 2016, a charter cost around $2 million. That same piece of paper is now worth anywhere between $40 and $80 million, and the 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports lawsuit settlement with NASCAR is a big reason why.
It essentially made charters permanent, which turned them from race entry guarantees into serious business assets. For context on how fast that happened, consider the fact that when Stewart-Haas Racing shut down in 2024, their four charters sold in the mid-$20 million range.
So, for smaller teams, the one thing keeping you on the grid every Sunday has gotten so valuable that a buyer offering cash might make more sense on paper than another season of racing. And the money part doesn’t get any easier once you’re actually racing.
Kroger leaving Hyak for RFK Racing is the clearest example of how badly a single sponsor departure hits a one-car outfit. When a big multi-car team loses a backer, it spreads the damage across three or four cars’ worth of sponsorship. But a single-car team takes the whole hit at once with nowhere to hide.
It’s why teams like Hyak don’t try to build everything themselves. Their technical alliance with Hendrick Motorsports gives them Chevrolet equipment, engine support, sim data, and car prep help, things that would cost a fortune to develop in-house.
And before landing in the HMS orbit, the team under the JTG Daugherty name did the same thing with both Michael Waltrip Racing and Richard Childress Racing, always chasing the same goal.
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