With the curtain dropping over the 2024 season, now the near future is in conversation. The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season is merely months away. Accordingly, the racing community is mired deep in Silly Season rumors. This time, several twists and shuffles are expected to occur in the Cup Series, with major upheavals underway in the sport. For instance, the 23XI Racing-Front Row Motorsports legal drama throws a shade over the futures of some drivers like Bubba Wallace.

However, now speculation is rife about Rick Hendrick’s involvement in this conversation. The 75-year-old veteran openly avoided 23XI Racing’s strife with NASCAR, all in his team’s best interest. Hendrick Motorsports was one of the powerhouse teams this year and narrowly missed the championship. So Bubba Wallace’s insider is wary of including Hendrick in the rumor mills.

New rumor dropped by Bubba Wallace’s crew

Well, Stewart-Haas Racing’s demise brought forth the wildest spin to this Silly Season. The ripples of it will probably persist through next year. While both FRM and 23XI Racing were supposed to take two of SHR’s charters, now their prospects may lie elsewhere. The NASCAR lawsuit is not turning out suitable for the two rebellious teams, with a federal court denying them chartered spots. Instead, Brad Keselowski’s RFK Racing may acquire a charter, already announcing on November 19th that it would add a third car for Ryan Preece with the Kroger sponsorship. But where do Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick go?

Bubba Wallace‘s spotter, Freddie Kraft, dropped a curious post on X regarding this. Riddled with code words and reverse statements, his rumor read: “I’ll give you this. One thing I’m never sharing is ANY 23XI rumors. And it has nothing to do with Hocevar, or any HMS drivers 😂” This certainly spices things up a bit, as no whisper of an update has come up from either Spire Motorsports or HMS. Carson Hocevar posted three pictures of his No. 77 Spire car tailing HMS drivers Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, and Alex Bowman—with William Byron glaringly missing. Aside from that wordless hint, Rick Hendrick is staying mum on 2025 updates, which explains Kraft’s hesitation to include his team in the rumors.

After all, shaping up NASCAR’s most powerful team for 40 years does involve immense clout in the sport. Hendrick has always expected his drivers to win no matter the costs—whether they involved Kasey Kahne in 2015 or Alex Bowman in 2024. As of now, Hendrick’s four drivers are signed on through at least next year with no changes expected. But with Bubba Wallace’s confidant and Carson Hocevar dropping hints, changes may come. But the question remains: how will that intertwine HMS and 23XI Racing’s fates?

As far as the NASCAR lawsuit was concerned, Hendrick wanted none of that intertwined destiny.

Clarifying his prime goals in NASCAR

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Heralding a Cup Series team that has attained 312 race victories and 14 drivers and owners championships is no mean feat. Rick Hendrick keeps fostering this winning culture in his team by clearly stating his goals. Back in 2015, Kasey Kahne was the only HMS driver who could not clinch a playoff berth while his teammates did: Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. However, Hendrick expected the same thing from them—getting wins. “The cool thing about our deal is all the stuff is the same. We don’t play favorites over any of them. We give them the best stuff we’ve got—all four of them. So it won’t be any different the next few races.”

Anything seeking to jeopardize that winning mentality will fail to attract Hendrick’s interest. HMS was among the 13 teams that signed NASCAR’s 2025 charter deal, while 23XI and FRM stood out. Hendrick explained that it was in his team’s best interest, although the Race Team Alliance’s negotiation efforts fell through. “I think we worked really hard for two years, and it got down to, you’re not going to make everybody happy. And I think it got down to, I was just tired. Not everybody was happy. But in any negotiation, you’re not going to get everything you want, and so I felt it was a fair deal and we protected the charters, which was number one; we got the [revenue] increase; I feel a lot of things we didn’t like we got taken out, so I’m happy with where we were.”

Evidently, Hendrick and 23XI’s fates have been vastly apart. However, if Bubba Wallace’s spotter is right, then their fates will join sooner than expected.