A majority of the top NASCAR free agents in 2026 re-signed with their respective teams, resulting in minimal movement in the Cup Series for the upcoming 2027 season. However, it already appears that there will be major shakeups at the Cup level in 2028 with Connor Zilisch heading to Hendrick Motorsports and a top prospect potentially joining Spire Motorsports.
Alex Bowman announced last week that he’d be retiring from full-time racing next year, giving Hendrick a proven driver for the No. 48 car in 2027 and time to follow through on a succession plan. While it was originally believed that Hendrick’s top prospect Corey Day was the favorite to drive the No. 48 car in 2028, plans have changed.
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Hendrick is reportedly zeroed in on Zilisch, planning to make a hard push to sign the generational talent to a multiyear contract when his deal with Trackhouse expires after the 2027 season. Trackhouse Racing owner Justin Marks will then be in a precarious spot, with Zilisch’s teammates Shane van Gisbergen and Ross Chastain also on expiring deals next year.
During an appearance this week on Sirius XM NASCAR, Marks didn’t exactly put a rest to the NASCAR rumors that Zilisch will leave the team when his contract ends to race for Hendrick.
“2028, although it will be here quickly, is a little too far away I think for us to really be spending a lot of bandwidth on that at the moment.”
Trackhouse Racing owner Justin Marks on rumors of Connor Zilisch leaving for Hendrick Motorsports in 2028
If Zilisch drives the No. 48 car for HMS beginning in 2028, that leaves Day without a shot at a full-time ride with the team. William Byron, Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott are all signed to long-term deals. Given Zilisch’s potential, it’s within reason to believe Hendrick will have four drivers in their prime who are all capable of winning a Cup Series championship. So, Day might have to go elsewhere.
Regarding that, Kevin Harvick said this week on SPEED with Harvick and Buxton that there have been rumors that Day coul land with another Cup Series team within the next few years to gain experience in the Next Gen car.
“We hear a lot of rumors that he could possibly go into a different car to get experience on the Cup side. It will be interesting to see if Corey Day is placed at a Spire or somewhere that he has the opportunity to get some laps and see if he’s ready.”
Kevin Harvick on the future of Hendrick Motorsports prospect Corey Day
Day, who turns 21 in November, still has limited experience racing in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. In his first full season at OARS, he currently ranks fifth in points (719) and recorded his first two wins at this level. However, he’s also demonstrated that he has a lot of room for improvement, and Zilisch’s struggles as a rookie in the Cup Series show how massive the learning curve can be.
Spire is a team on the rise, with Carson Hocevar emerging as one of NASCAR’s newest stars and Daniel Suarez having career-best success at the Cup level just a year after his career seemed to be in jeopardy due to his struggles at Trackhouse. It could be the perfect opportunity for Day, especially if team owner Jeff Dickerson is eyeing him as Michael McDowell‘s replacement.
All of this also opens the door to a disastrous scenario for Trackhouse, where it loses all three of its current drivers after next season and doesn’t even have the on-track performance to warrant a better team trusting it to develop a young prospect. While racing with Spire instead of Hendrick might not be the ideal outcome for Day, he could still be racing at the Cup level in his early 20s with HMS waiting until he’s truly developed before bringing him on.
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