With great power comes great responsibility, and Rick Hendrick’s drivers know it all too well. Nothing but perfection is expected at Hendrick Motorsports, a standard that ramps up pressure on drivers and often pushes them into the center of an online hate storm. But one of Rick Hendrick’s rising stars has cracked the code, and the criticism no longer gets to him as easily.

“So now I kind of just try and not look at it at all, and just do my own thing. At the end of the day, it’s my job and my career, and I’ve also, you know, come to realize that God has a plan for everything. So stuff that I don’t achieve, it’s just his plan. I think I’ve found peace with that. I think that’s my best way of blocking out all the noise,” Corey Day said on the Braking Points podcast.

As a 20-year-old prospect making the jump from dirt racing into NASCAR, Corey Day’s initial results in the Truck Series and part-time NASCAR schedule drew intense online skepticism.

Some comments on social platforms pointed to his lack of standout finishes and labeled his performances underwhelming, especially given his backing from HMS and high expectations as a top young talent.

One NASCAR influencer bluntly criticized his stats after a crash at Martinsville Speedway last year, suggesting Day hadn’t yet justified the surrounding hype.

Then on Reddit and other fan hubs, there are threads where some users reacted harshly to Day’s early outings.

In one discussion about his promotion to a full-time ride for 2026, a subset of fans dismissed him as “trash” when he had a couple of early wrecks, attributing that to a lack of experience rather than giving him time to develop.

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For a young driver, that kind of scrutiny can be damaging, and the California native has admitted that managing the emotional side of the sport has been a challenge. However, Kyle Larson’s protégé has found a way around it.

“I think everyone handles it differently,” he reflected. “For me, I used to be very emotionally driven in this sport; some are stoic, but for me, that [stoicism] didn’t really work. I would find myself super happy when I won or things went really good, and then I would find myself really, really down in the dumps when stuff didn’t go well. And looking online would kind of make that better or worse per se.”

But as the young ace prepares himself for his full-time ride in the No. 17 SS Chevrolet for HMS, Rick Hendrick‘s Cup Series drivers are expected to stay up to the mark, especially his championship driver, Kyle Larson.

Hendrick’s top driver defies pressure to defend Cup title

As the No. 5 Chevrolet team prepares to defend its NASCAR Cup title, crew chief Cliff Daniels said the biggest challenge won’t be other cars on the track. Instead, he believes the actual threats are internal, the kind that can quietly appear after success. He points to two issues he is determined to prevent: complacency and entitlement.

“I think it’s human nature. When you have success, and you get the accolades that come with that, it’s a very subconscious thing that creeps in. You’re validated, you’re proven, you’ve done it. And the entitlement is, ‘Hey, we’re on top. We’re the team,” Daniels said.

Daniels has been thinking about the risks since last season ended, and he is already working to keep the team grounded. The first test comes on Wednesday at The Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium, which was delayed several times because of snow and cold. The next step is the Daytona 500 on February 15.

Kyle Larson, meanwhile, is approaching the new season with a straightforward mindset. He’s not focused on last year or the pressure of defending a title; he is just ready to race again.

“For me, I just like racing, and it’s been a little while since I’ve been in the Cup car,” the 33-year-old said. “But I don’t really go into the season even thinking about last year at all. Just excited to get going. Excited to see what the new (Chevrolet) body is like. Hopefully, it’s good.”

There will be plenty of chances to adjust in 2026. NASCAR is introducing a new body style, updating the horsepower package for tracks under 1.5 miles, and bringing back the Chase playoff under the new system. The top 16 drivers after 26 races will reset once and then compete in a 10-race run to the championship, a setup that would have worked in Larson’s favor the last two seasons.

For Daniels, the changes are a chance to rebuild and reframe the team’s approach, something that is part of the challenge of staying on top.