Hendrick Motorsports Tag

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Sunday afternoon’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway was the elimination race for the Round of 12, leaving four drivers out of playoff contention upon the completion of 267 laps at the 1.5-mile oval. Despite the playoff drama, the race was fairly uneventful and featured just three caution flags, with the only non-stage break yellow for an expired engine on the No. 24 Chevrolet of William Byron. Chase Elliott earned his third victory in the last 11 races, beating Kyle Busch toRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service KANSAS CITY, Kan. – It took 99 races for Chase Elliott to get his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory. Ten events later, the scion of NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott has three wins, the latest coming at Kansas Speedway in the Sunday’s Round of 12 elimination race in the series Playoffs. Elliott took charge in the Hollywood Casino 400 when Kevin Harvick was hit with a pit road speeding penalty on his last green-flag pit stop on Lap 214 of 267. AfterRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor When Jimmie Johnson’s Chevrolet turned sideways and spun in the tri-oval on lap 63, it looked like it was going to be another one of those days for the seven-time champion. Not so fast. Though his car looked like it had visited a short track rather than a superspeedway where aerodynamics is key, Johnson was able to salvage a top-10 finish for himself and the No. 48 team. Returning to the track for the first time since Hendrick Motorsports announced that he and crew chief ChadRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service TALLADEGA, Ala. – All four Stewart-Haas Racing cars were amply endowed with speed for Saturday’s knockout qualifying session at Talladega Superspeedway. Kurt Busch was just glad he got the pick of the litter. “Four Stewart-Haas Fords—I’m really happy that I got the fast one,” Busch quipped after winning the pole for Sunday’s 1000Bulbs.com 500 (2 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) and lead an SHR sweep of the top four starting spots for the second race in the Monster Energy NASCARRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer It’s a dream come true for 37-year-old Kevin Meendering, who will become Jimmie Johnson’s crew chief beginning in 2019 after spending the last three seasons calling shots at JR Motorsports for Elliott Sadler in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Meendering will be Johnson’s second ever full-time crew chief after having Chad Knaus for 17 seasons, and during Thursday’s press conference, he spoke about this opportunity of working with the seven-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion. “Oh, it’s great. I’m excited for this opportunity for sure,” Meendering said.Read More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer “I have to say ultimately, it’s Rick’s call. It’s Hendrick Motorsports. We’ve had a lot of very open conversations and discussions but in the end, Rick is the one that makes the decisions,” Jimmie Johnson said on who made the call to split up a 17-year partnership with crew chief Chad Knaus. A day removed from the bombshell news of the NASCAR season took place, both Johnson and Knaus spoke for the first time about the announcement Thursday. It’s no secret the legendary duo has hadRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer What fans expected to be a career-long partnership will no longer be as the legendary duo of seven-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus will split at the end of the season after 17 seasons together. Hendrick Motorsports announced Wednesday that changes were made in both the No. 48 and No. 24 teams for the 2019 season. Knaus will now make the calls for William Byron, while current Xfinity Series crew chief Kevin Meendering has been promoted to becomeRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DOVER, Del. – What looked like a Stewart-Haas Racing victory parade for much of Sunday afternoon ended in a wild overtime scramble, with Chase Elliott taking the checkered flag in the Gander Outdoors 400 at Dover International Speedway. On considerably older tires, Elliott pulled ahead cleared runner-up Denny Hamlin through Turns 1 and 2 after a restart on Lap 403 and powered his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet across the finish line .265 second ahead of Hamlin’s Toyota. With the victory—his second of the seasonRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Chase Elliott was outside the Round of 12 cutoff line heading into Saturday’s Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond Raceway, and he’ll leave the 0.75-mile oval just 10 points to the good after finishing fourth and leading 34 of 400 laps. Elliott was on the outside looking in after an day-shortened 36th place finish due to a two-car crash at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Sept. 16. It put him in a vulnerable position of playing catch up, trailing 12th place Alex Bowman by nine points andRead More

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service RICHMOND, Va. – It’s been a mixed bag of emotions for NASCAR Playoff driver Chase Elliott this week. He received fantastic news that one of his major corporate sponsors, Hooters, would be re-upping with his Hendrick Motorsports No. 9 Chevrolet team through 2021. He also arrived at Richmond Raceway on Friday with a more immediate task at hand – righting his 2018 playoff ship. Elliott, 22, who crashed out and finished 36th in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoff opener at Las Vegas MotorRead More