Rick Hendrick and Roger Penske have been at the center of NASCAR chatter ever since their names surfaced in the sport’s antitrust lawsuit. With 23XI/FRM calling for their deposition, the two men denied a full-blown proceeding, asking for a toned-down version of it. With Judge Kenneth Bell denying the request, the names of the NASCAR elite will remain in the witness list.
The legal battle is over about whether they’d be limited or full depositions, but Hendrick’s name continues to steal the spotlight for a different reason. This time, it’s about the buzz surrounding Hendrick Motorsports’ latest Chevrolet cars.
Rick Hendrick Drops Major Announcement Around the New Chevrolet Cup Series Cars
The 2025 campaign was a bag of mixed affairs for the Hendrick Motorsports campaign, especially for the team’s flag bearer, Kyle Larson. Having ultimately secured the Cup title dramatically, it looked like Larson wouldn’t be able to make it out of the Round of 16 at one point.
While many started questioning the No. 5 driver’s skills, the real issue lay with the performance of the Chevrolet car, which has effectively remained unchanged since 2020.
Owing to the same, the entire HMS setup has struggled with consistency, but all that might soon change for the better, given Mr. Hendrick’s most recent words.
Speaking to SiriusXM NASCAR Radio recently, the legendary team owner did not want to spill too many details about the upcoming package, as he wants to leave that to the Chevrolet officials. However, the HMS owner has revealed that the official unveiling of the car will take place on Friday, Nov. 14.
“I think Chevrolet is going make the official announcement Friday, so I better not lead into that, but you know it’s going to be, you know, I’m excited about it, can I say that. I think we’ve been given up a little bit to the Toyotas and the Fords and they had a shot at the Apple, you know, and made their cars better. And so we have a turn to work on our car a little bit. And so I think Chervallet is going to announce it Friday. So you don’t have to wait very long.”
While Hendrick steered clear of divulging too much, he has revealed some details about what to expect from the new cars. With NASCAR allowing for increased power on short tracks starting in 2026, HMS expects its cars to be closer to those of Toyota and Ford, given that the redesign will add downforce to their vehicles.
The news comes shortly after Chevrolet received approval from NASCAR officials for a new body style. Aiming to replace the discontinued Camaro lineup, Chevrolet took all necessary measures to earn the sanctioning body’s validation in the testing process.
With that achieved, it is now time for the OEM to finally unveil what the new car would look like, as HMS aims to close the gap to Toyota and Ford.
Heading into the 2026 season, HMS will have a target on its back, given that the team will be the defending champion. As such, they’ll need to contend for wins regularly, and an overhauled car might be the way to do it.
