Hendrick Motorsports Tag

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor In his 29 previous starts at Martinsville, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. had come so close, so many times on capturing that elusive grandfather clock trophy. But in the 2014 Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500, the stars aligned for NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver, as he finally scored a win on the half-mile bullring that is Martinsville Speedway. Starting 23rd, Earnhardt first made his way to the lead on lap 192 for a 13 lap stint before being overtaken Matt Kenseth for one lap and then returned toRead More

By Seth Eggert, Staff Writer It seems possible that Jimmie Johnson’s slump is ending as he scored a top-10 finish at Auto Club Speedway. It was also the first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series top-10 finish since the Charlotte Playoff race last season, 10 races ago. Johnson was up front for much of the Auto Club 400. Johnson’s No. 48 Lowe’s for Pros Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 ran quietly inside the top-10 as the race drew to a close. In the final run to the finish, he was as high asRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Several Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and Xfinity Series teams were issued penalties by NASCAR Wednesday, notably impacting Chase Elliott’s No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports team. Elliott’s team received an L1-level penalty for a rear suspension violation following Sunday’s TicketGuardian 500 at ISM Raceway, where he finished a season-high third. The team was found to have violated Section 20.14.2, which deals with rear suspension and trailing arm angles/pinion angle shims. Elliott’s car didn’t meet the requirements as the Rule Book states it must be in completeRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor It’s the end of an era. Lowe’s Home Improvement, which has sponsored Jimmie Johnson and his No. 48 team at Hendrick Motorsports since the team came into the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in 2001, announced on Wednesday that they would not be returning to adorn Johnson’s Chevrolet in 2019. “Working with Hendrick Motorsports, Jimmie, Chad (Knaus) and the entire No. 48 team has been an incredible journey,” said Michael P. McDermott, Lowe’s chief customer officer. “Rick Hendrick and his organization have been exceptional partners,Read More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor If there’s one constant four races into the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, it is that Chase Elliott has been the standard bearer for Hendrick Motorsports. On Sunday at ISM Raceway in Phoenix, Elliott led the way for the organization once more, bringing home a third-place finish, the best of the season for both Elliott and HMS as a whole. “We had a good car,” said Elliott. “It was solid, you know? Alan (Gustafson, crew chief) made a good call there at theRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer ISM Raceway isn’t just Alex Bowman’s home track, but the site where his racing career positively changed after capturing his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series pole at Phoenix in November 2016. Bowman returned to the site of his career-defining weekend on Friday and looks to improve from his career-best sixth-place finish in Sunday’s TicketGuardian 500. In his last Cup trip to the “Valley of the Sun,” Bowman was a substitute driver for Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who sat out the final 18 races of theRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start for Jimmie Johnson and his No. 48 team, but the seven-time champion was able to rebound to a 12th place finish. After qualifying 14th, pre-race inspection issues, which saw the team fail inspection three times, led to the ejection of car chief Jesse Saunders and forced Johnson to start the race at the back of the field. “I’ve never been in this situation,” Johnson said. “Last weekend, there wereRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Hendrick Motorsports didn’t have its finest performance in recent memory after the four-car stable was unable to lead a lap during Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Dating back to last season, it marked the second time in three races they’ve failed to put their cars in front of the field. Despite an off performance, it didn’t stop William Byron from having fun on the worn out surface, beating Darrell “Bubba” Wallace, Jr. as the highest finishing full-time rookie in 18th.Read More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Eastman Performance Films, LLC announced at the Eastman’s Elite Dealer Conference in San Diego Friday they’ve struck a three-year deal with Hendrick Motorsports to sponsor Alex Bowman’s No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Eastman’s product LLumar Window Film will be Bowman’s primary sponsor for one race in 2018 and two races for both 2019 and 2020 seasons. Eastman now becomes the fourth primary sponsor for the No. 88 team this season, joining alongside Nationwide (19 races), Axalta (15 races) and Valvoline (two races). “We are pleasedRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – For Jimmie Johnson, the third time was not the charm. After losing two cars already in Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway, Johnson was down to his third car of the week for the Daytona 500 and things didn’t get any better for the seven-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion. Johnson started from the rear of the field and was working his way forward when disaster struck on the final lap of Stage 1. When Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. made a miraculous saveRead More