Hendrick Motorsports — Team Profile
Series: O'Reilly Auto Parts Series | Manufacturer: Chevrolet Base: Concord, North Carolina | Organization Tier: Elite
2026 O'Reilly Program
Hendrick Motorsports is running its first full-season O'Reilly Auto Parts Series program in 20 years in 2026, built around 20-year-old Corey Day in the No. 17. This is not a side project — it is a structured developmental investment from one of NASCAR's most accomplished organizations, with Adam Wall atop the pit box and HendrickCars.com as the primary sponsor.
| Car | Driver | Crew Chief |
|---|---|---|
| No. 17 | Corey Day | Adam Wall |
The Organization
Hendrick Motorsports was founded in 1984 by Rick Hendrick and is based in Concord, North Carolina. HMS is NASCAR's most decorated Cup organization — home to 14 Cup championships and drivers including Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. The organization fields four Cup cars while running the single-car O'Reilly program as a formal development lane for the first time since the early 2000s.
2026 Story
The Hendrick O'Reilly story is Corey Day, and Corey Day's story is pace before wins. Through eight races he sits fifth in points with 164 laps led (second-most in the series), seven top 10s, and a Martinsville runner-up — all without a victory. For a 20-year-old rookie in a Hendrick car, that profile is legitimately impressive. The laps-led number in particular confirms that the No. 17 has the outright speed to be in the game at most venues.
The organizational question is patience. Hendrick returned to the O'Reilly Series because it believes the level is worth using as a development runway — not because it expects championships in year one. But in a sport where every result gets read against the team's name, the patience required to let Day develop will be tested more at HMS than it would be at any other organization.