The squad previously competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series until joining forces with JR Motorsports. Hendrick Motorsports have operated multiple NASCAR Truck Series vehicles, most recently for development driver Chase Elliott in 2013. The team also has had success in the INDYCAR series with Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon.
In October 2014, it was announced that JR Motorsports would be merging operations with Richard Childress Racing to form a single organization. The two teams will remain separately owned and continue to operate under their current management teams. The merger will take place at the end of the season when all RCR drivers are expected to be released from their contracts.
JR Motorsports was founded in 2009 by Jimmy Jones and Jay Robinson. They initially entered the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series with a truck purchased from Hennessey Motorsports. Over the years they have become one of the top teams in both the Xfinity and Trucks Series.
Hendrick Motorsports was established in 1955 by Roy Hillard Hendrick. He originally bought an old car dealership in Richmond, Virginia, and over time became one of the top-producing automakers in America.
In 2000, Hendrick sold half of his stock to GE Capital for $370 million. He kept control of the other half and continued to run the company himself.
The team has also won 26 Xfinity Series races, 26 Truck Series races, and 7 ARCA Racing Series races. Hendrick Motorsports has four full-time Cup Series teams, including the No. 11 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE.
| Manufacturer | Chevrolet |
| Opened | 1984 |
| Career |
|---|
Chase Elliott, the 2014 NASCAR Nationwide Series winner and the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion, presently drives the No. 9 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports in the NASCAR Cup Series. He has two victories, both of them coming this season with his father as a co-driver. Chase began driving the No. 9 car in October 2017 when his father went to Europe to be with his wife who was giving birth to their first child. Before that, he drove the No. 5 car, which had been driven by his father before him, during several races in 2016.
Bill Elliott won seven races during his career. His best year was 1972 when he finished second in the points standings of the NASCAR Grand National series. He returned in 1973 but failed to finish higher than ninth place and was released by Roush Racing after that season.
He then moved over to Henry Blackman's team where he drove until 1979 when he decided to retire from full-time racing. However, he did have one more season in 1980 where he drove part-time for Richard Childress Racing. He ended his career with four consecutive top-10 finishes at the 1980 Daytona 500, the final race of the season.
Elliott returned to the track in 2001 at age 40 in an attempt to qualify for the Winston West Coast 300.
JR Motorsports Inc. Dale Earnhardt Jr. owns JR Motorsports, a professional motorsport team. JR Motorsports competes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with four full-time entrants and has three titles (2014, 2017 and 2018) as well as 46 series victories to its name. The team was founded in 1999 by Dale Earnhardt Sr., who died in 2001, and his brother Jeff Gordon. They were joined by their cousin Steve Grissom in 2000 and the team became known as "Grissom Racing". In 2002, Earnhardt Jr. bought out Grissom's share of the team and renamed it after himself.
It is one of only two teams not owned by Richard Childress Racing or Hendrick Motorsports (the other being Joe Gibbs Racing).
Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been very successful in both the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the Xfinity Series. He has seven championships at all levels from local short tracks to the highest level of NASCAR. He is also one of only five drivers that have won races in both the Cup Series and the Xfinity Series during their careers. The others are Bill Elliott, Darrell Waltrip, Mark Martin and Jimmie Johnson.
Earnhardt Jr. first started racing at age 17 in local short tracks around his home state of North Carolina. Over time he worked his way up through the amateur ranks until finally making his debut in the big leagues at age 21.
Larson, Alex Bowman, William Byron, and Chase Elliott are all signed until at least the 2022 Cup Series season with Hendrick Motorsports. Bowman signed a contract extension with the organization on June 18, putting him in the No. 48 Chevrolet through 2023. Larson signed with HMs in February 2019 after three seasons with Joe Gibbs Racing; he will drive the No. 5 Chevy across the 2021-2022 seasons. Byron signed with HMs in October 2018 after one season with Dragon Racing; he will drive the No. 7 Chevy across the 2020-2021 seasons. Elliott signed with HMs in January 2020 after one season with Go Fas Racing; he will drive the No. 9 Chevy across the 2020 Cup Series season.
Larson has been one of the most successful drivers in NASCAR history, winning four championships across two different series (Xfinity and Cup). He also has nine wins in the Cup Series, the most of any driver not named Johnson or Hamlin. Byron has had success in both the Xfinity and Cup Series with three victories in each series. He is coming off his first career Cup Series victory at Las Vegas in November. Elliott has only one other win in the Cup Series but has proven to be one of the best young drivers in the sport; he was nominated for the Rookie of the Year award in 2019 before losing out to Bowen.
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is the team's owner. He joined NASCAR in 1997 and has won six championships - three in Cup and three in Xfinity.
An owner is a person who owns a share of some form of enterprise. They are usually named in addition to one or more other people who are responsible for the management of the business. The word "owner" is used in accounting to describe the highest level responsible party for an entity. At this level, they are called "directors" or "shareholders." An owner cannot be employed by your company; they can only own shares in it. A person who owns shares in a company but does not take an active role in its operations is known as a "passive investor."
An owner will often have a hand in setting the direction of their business or organization. This may be through voting on important decisions such as hiring managers or board members, but also includes making suggestions about how things should be done. Owners are expected to be leaders within their organizations, and may be asked to give talks at conferences or appear on television programs to discuss issues relevant to their businesses.
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