The NASCAR Cup Series rumor mill has been in full force over the last few weeks, and the main rotating rumors have been tied to the No. 7 Spire Motorsports entry, which is currently being driven by Justin Haley.
Among the many rumors, which have yet to be confirmed by an official announcement from Spire Motorsports, have included Haley returning, or the ride being taken over by Daniel Suarez, who is leaving Trackhouse Racing at the end of the season, Corey Heim, who is currently locked in with Toyota, or Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
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Stenhouse, the driver of the No. 47 HYAK Motorsports Chevrolet, has officially taken his name out of the rumor mill as he confirmed in an interview on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that he has a contract in place to remain the driver of the No. 47 Chevrolet for the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, as he signed a multi-year extension last year.
?? "I'm here through '26."
Amid rumors about his future, Ricky @StenhouseJr says he'll be with @HYAKMotorsports for the 2026 season.
Full Interview–> https://t.co/MKhd9eLpQA pic.twitter.com/Cij8IDtC5A
— SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) (@SiriusXMNASCAR) September 2, 2025
“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,” Stenhouse explained.
Stenhouse, 37, started the 2025 season off at a fevered pace with the No. 47 HYAK Motorsports team as they ranked 13th in the championship standings following an 11th-place result in May’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Since then, things have spiraled out of control a bit for Stenhouse, who now ranks 29th in the championship standings. As he looks forward to next season, Stenhouse says the focus in the HYAK Motorsports shop is to unlock some things, which will allow them to build momentum for next season.
“For me, [Crew Chief] Mike [Kelley] and the boys, like I said, we’re working hard on trying to figure out how we can get some consistency and a little bit more speed heading into the offseason so we can hit the ground running for next year,” Stenhouse said. “I’ve got a great group of guys who work hard, and we all want the same thing. I’ll be at the 47 the rest of this year, and the offseason, and going into ’26.”
With the rumor of Stenhouse potentially moving from HYAK Motorsports to Spire Motorsports next season officially put to bed, the options available for the No. 7 Spire team in 2026 are becoming clearer.
Haley, 26, scored a third-place finish in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway a couple of weeks ago, as he narrowly missed out on winning to advance into the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Haley has one top-five finish and two top-10s through the opening 27 races of the 2025 season.
It’s been a bit of a rocky road for Haley, who started the season with Rodney Childers as his crew chief. Childers departed the organization after Bristol Motor Speedway, the ninth race of the season. Spire Motorsports competition director Ryan Sparks has filled in as the interim crew chief for Haley since Childers left the team.
Haley ranks 30th in the championship standings heading into this weekend’s Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway.
