As the 2025 NASCAR season has ended, the mood at Hendrick Motorsports’ headquarters has moved away from the celebrations to critically evaluating their shortcomings. Although teammates Kyle Larson, William Byron, and Chase Elliott consistently

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occupied positions at the front, Alex Bowman’s No. 48 team struggled with a pattern of inconsistency and messy performance throughout the season. This has led Rick Hendrick to take some serious action on his entire team.

Restructuring the No. 48 of Hendrick Motorsports

​It’s officially confirmed that the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team will undergo a massive transformation for the upcoming season. Despite the heritage of the number once raced by Jimmie Johnson, the 2025 season for Bowman and his team proved to be a statistical valley that the organization could no longer ignore.

Jayski reports that after a disappointing 2025 season, the team is undergoing a major overhaul, with the organization confirming numerous new personnel for 2026.

“The No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team will have plenty of new faces on it in 2026. Mainly, Alex Bowman, crew chief Blake Harris, and spotter Kevin Hamlin are the only returning members.” Jayski posted on X.

Bowman was already coming off from struggles in his past seasons, especially 2024, when the Chicago Street Course was his only win. And last year was even worse. He failed to win a single race and had just six top-5s and two poles. Lack of execution on pit road and late-race adjustments were some key factors.

While Larson and Elliott continued being in the limelight, Bowman’s team felt like the odd man out at HMS. And he himself agrees to this.

“There’s no secret last year was a big struggle for us, and we’ve made an immense amount of changes to try to be better for 2026,” Alex Bowman said. “Everything from the top down, really, with the exception of me, Blake, and (spotter) Kevin (Hamlin), has been a change. So, all new faces on the team.”

Throughout 2025, Bowman’s team was frequently criticized for being “messy,” with the driver himself noting after the Daytona regular-season finale that his year was filled with mistakes that were often outside their control, but ultimately were fatal to their championship hopes.

Rick Hendrick has traditionally shown patience with his drivers; however, the absence of a significant playoff run in 2025 compelled him to take action. By keeping Harris and Bowman while changing the surrounding team, HMS is effectively isolating the factors of failure.

The message is clear: the leadership believes in the driver-crew chief pairing, but the execution at the car level fell significantly short of the HMS gold standard.

This approach to firing and hiring suggests that the organization is no longer willing to wait for chemistry to build naturally; they are now engineering it through a high-pressure infusion of new talent.

Aside from this, the team is making big efforts for the employees’ well-being.

Rick Hendrick indebted to Ray Evernham over major announcement

Rick Hendrick is reinforcing the foundation of his organization through massive infrastructural investments that secure the team’s long-term health and community presence.

Central to this vision is the establishment of the Atrium Health Levine Children’s outpatient clinic, located directly on the Hendrick Motorsports campus.

This project represents a 70M announcement that transcends racing, intertwining the team’s corporate headquarters with world-class pediatric care.

For Hendrick, these moves are about more than just the current season; they are about cementing a legacy of excellence that supports both his employees and the broader North Carolina region.

​The development of this facility also highlights the enduring influence of the people who helped build the HMS empire. Hendrick has noted he feels “forever indebted” to Ray Evernham, the legendary crew chief who guided Jeff Gordon to three championships and helped design the very campus that is now expanding.

This new phase of growth at the HMS HQ ensures that while the faces on the No. 48 team may change, the organizational stability remains unshakable.

By investing $70 million into the campus’s evolution, Hendrick is ensuring that his team remains a destination for top talent and a pillar of the community, providing a sophisticated backdrop for the high-pressure world of professional racing.