Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Breaks Silence on Rumors Over Dumping HYAK for Spire Motorsports

2023 Daytona 500 champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s career was on cross roads when JTDG Racing, now HYAK Motorsports, came calling. Since then, he has been leading the team from upfront through their highs and lows, securing race wins by outperforming the cars or extracting more speed in more than one occasions.

Recently there has been some rumors that Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will finally end his journey with the Chevy team to join Spire Motorsports, the midfield team on the rise with Carson Hocevar as their star man. This would have mark the end of a partnership that produced a Daytona 500 win, a Talladega win and multiple close calls in six years.

But Ricky Stenhouse Jr. isn’t going anywhere as the veteran racer addressed the rumors and put an end to it on his most recent appearance on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. He asserted that he isn’t planning to go anywhere as he has signed a contract extension with the team last year and will be racing for them in the upcoming 2026 season.

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.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. said via SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

The veteran declared that the only change that could happen in his contract situation with HYAL is a potential extension. He also addressed the teams concerning form this year and asserted that everyone back at the race shop is working hard end the season strong and place them in a better spot for the coming tears.

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. 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.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. added.

🖋️ "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

The 2025 Cup season hasn’t been kind to Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

The veteran driver came into the 2025 season alongside the No:47 with a lot of hopes after his impressive 2024 season. Last year from 36 races, he scored one win at Talladega and five top-10 finishes, earning him P25 finish in the championship table.

One of the major reasons for his success has been the fact that he was able to limit the streak of poor runs, finishes outside the top-20, to just a handful of races before making comeback. But these years this hasn’t been the case, as the HYAK team is going through one of their worst streaks ever.

He started the 2025 season stronger than many other veteran drivers of the sport. His Chevy was in the top-20 in six of the first ten races. The P5 finish he secured at Atlanta Motor Speedway was the best run, as the team continued to be strong in the superspeedways.

In the next ten races, things turned for the worst, as his from started to drop as the season got close to playoff and multiple drivers started emerge. Though he was able to score five top-20 finishes, there remaining finishes were outside the top-30, earning him limited points to add to the table.

After race week 18, he hasn’t finished the race inside the top-10 and in the last seven races had three more outside the top-30 finishes, showing no sign of progress. At the moment the team has no positive momentum on their side. But there are nine more races left for them to redeem themselves with a win or a streak of top-10s.

Also Read: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Brands Chase Briscoe as “Dangerous” After Southern 500 Triumph