Entering the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season, William Byron was the only one of Hendrick Motorsports' four drivers who did not have a contract in place to return to the team next year.
Not that there was ever any doubt, given the fact that Byron entered the year with nine wins and two Championship 4 appearances since 2023, but he added to his case for a long-term contract extension with his second consecutive Daytona 500 win to open up the 2025 season.
Now Byron has agreed to a contract extension with Hendrick Motorsports to continue driving the No. 24 Chevrolet through the 2029 season, extending his contract by four years.
He has driven for Rick Hendrick's team since 2018, the year after he won the Xfinity Series championship for JR Motorsports, and has racked up 14 wins during that stretch. He has not missed the playoffs since his rookie season.
Team Penske's Ryan Blaney is the only other driver who hasn't missed the Championship 4 since 2022.
Hendrick Motorsports seats now all taken for 2026
As for the rest of Hendrick's team, Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman are both under contract through the 2026 season. Chase Elliott is under contract through the 2027 season.
Larson's extension seems like a no-brainer, and Elliott's most recent extension was confirmed just before he entered his most recent contract year in 2022, so there is no particular sense of urgency there either. Larson has been with the team since 2021, and Elliott has been there since 2016.
Bowman, on the other hand, always ends up being involved in replacement rumors as the de facto number four driver at Hendrick Motorsports, but he is easily the strongest "weak link" of any team in the Cup Series garage.
Given the fact that those rumors are always quickly shot down, Bowman, who has also been with Hendrick Motorsports since 2018, should have no issue getting a new deal done, unless Hendrick end up having the opportunity to sign somebody who would be an indisputable upgrade.