With the news that Alex Bowman plans to retire from full-time NASCAR Cup Series racing following the 2027 season, no time was wasted establishing a favorite to replace him in the No. Mark it down: Trackhouse's days will be numbered after their great hope predictably abandons themOnly four years ago, Trackhouse Racing was the story of the Cup Series. And they've both driven part-time in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series the past two seasons for Dale Earnhardt Jr., who for many years has toyed with the notion of buying a full-time Cup Series team. When (not if) Trackhouse loses Zilisch, the best solution for everybody will be for Marks to sell his operation. A JR Motorsports Cup team would become a direct Hendrick affiliate, which along with Spire Motorsports' alliance would allow Chevrolet to work more cohesively in hopes of catching up to Toyota.