Hendrick Motorsports pokes fun at Denny Hamlin with Snickers photo: "That was all Rick"
In a July edition of Denny Hamlin's podcast, Actions Detrimental, Hamlin was speaking about the then-struggling Hendrick Motorsports. "They need to have a Snickers," Hamlin said of HMS during the summer. "They've not been themselves in a while." Well, after beating Hamlin and the rest of Joe Gibbs Racing to the championship in November, the No. 5 team took a photo with Kyle Larson, Jeff.
Across the NASCAR Cup Series garage, crew chiefs from Hendrick Motorsports, Team Penske, Joe Gibbs Racing, and 23XI Racing are operating on razor-thin Next Gen parity margins—where pit-road gun speed, Goodyear tire pressure bleed schedules, and stage-point aggression dictate track position. Behind the scenes in the paddock, team principals, race engineers, and performance analysts treat developments like this as a critical data point—adjusting simulator correlation programs, driver run plans, and media messaging ahead of the next green flag. Reporting originally surfaced via motorsport.com, and our Apex Daily Paddock Desk has broken down the sporting, technical, and championship context below so you have the complete picture in under two minutes.
- Garage & Short/Intermediate Track Execution: Next Gen aerodynamic sensitivity in dirty air makes qualifying track position, green-flag pit cycle execution, and stage-end restarts the decisive levers on Sunday.
- Playoff & Owner Points Implications: Every stage point and top-10 finish compounds across the Cup Series calendar, shaping charter valuations, manufacturer prestige, and Playoff seeding.
- Broadcast & Weekend Watch Window: Follow live NASCAR Cup Series practice, qualifying telemetry, and Sunday afternoon race coverage across FOX, FS1, NBC, USA Network, and Prime Video.
Across the wider NASCAR paddock, this development connects directly to several active storylines on the Apex Daily wire: read our full briefing on Cup Series field gives Larson his flowers, plus The story of how Larson won his third title depends on who you ask, and Who won the teammate battles of NASCAR Cup 2026?. For deeper technical context, explore our original US Central & Eastern Time (CST/EST) Racing TV Guide →.
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NASCAR Cup Series races air live across NBC, USA Network, FOX, FS1, and Peacock. Full US CST/EST TV Guide → · NASCAR Standings & Hub →