At the gates of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and his newly rebranded team Hyak Motorsports are still facing some sponsorship woes. Long-term partner Kroger Racing announced its departure from the team last season, leaving a huge void in the bank. The driver provided an update on where things stand in a recent interview with Fox Sports.
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He said, “We have got some partners and things that we are going to continue to announce as we get going here. But everybody at Hyak Motorsports is working really hard on the sponsorship side …” The upcoming season is Gordon Smith’s second as the team’s principal owner and Stenhouse Jr. couldn’t be more pleased with his support.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s team has a new name (Hyak) and fewer sponsors, but Stenhouse said team owner Gordon Smith is giving the team what it needs to perform. And beyond the change in the name, not much is different. pic.twitter.com/h7TAr53djZ
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) February 6, 2025
He noted that Smith has been in the sport for a long time and praised his efforts to provide the team with the resources it needs to function at a high level. “He is in it for the long haul,” he added. Kroger was associated with the team for the last five years. The brand shifted allegiances to RFK Racing at the end of the 2024 season.
SUNNYD, yet another long-term partner, announced last month that it would serve as a primary sponsor for the team in five races this year. It will continue to be an associate sponsor for the rest of the season. The bold orange colors of the brand’s scheme were featured on Stenhouse’s car in the Bowman Gray Stadium last weekend as well.
What Stenhouse Jr. thinks of his team being rebranded
Stenhouse made the playoffs in 2023 by winning the Daytona 500. However, he took a big step back in 2024 to finish 25th in points. He secured just six top 10s and three top 5s but had seven DNFs. With the team undergoing multiple changes in the ownership circle, rebranding became an inevitable result.
The name ‘Hyak’ translates to ‘fast’ in Chinook Jargon, a trade language used in the Pacific Northwest. The stakeholder group now includes Brad Daugherty, Gordon Smith, Ernie Cope, and Mark Hughes. Daugherty told NASCAR last year that the new name signifies the team’s desire to be the best.
Stenhouse added about the whole ordeal, “Rebranding a team can be exciting. I’m looking forward to continuing building this team up with a lot of the same great crew members we have had here. I’m focused on the competition side and getting our performance back that we had in 2023.” A few more dollars in the bank and Hyak Motorsports will be firing on all engines.
