Hendrick Motorsports Tag

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor With William Byron moving to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and the No. 24 team for Hendrick Motorsports in 2018, there was one piece of the puzzle missing. Who would be his crew chief for his upcoming rookie season? On Wednesday, the mystery was solved as Darian Grubb, who currently returned to the pit box as crew chief for Kasey Kahne and the No. 5 team on an interim basis, was named as full-time crew chief for Byron next season. Byron currently drives forRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Racing on short tracks, Martinsville in particular, tends to amp up the aggressiveness in the closing laps and in Sunday’s First Data 500, Chase Elliott found himself on the receiving end of the aggressive driving by Denny Hamlin, ending up in the wall and putting a damper on the end of a stellar day for the No. 24 team. Elliott, who led 123 laps on the day, looked to be in the catbird seat for his first career win and a ticket to Homestead asRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor “They touch once! Twice! Drag race! Jimmie Johnson!” When looking back at memorable moments at Martinsville Speedway, the duel between Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon in the spring of 2007 is often near the top of the list. The race, which featured the much maligned Car of Tomorrow in only its second outing, would turn into a Chevrolet showcase with the four drivers that dominated the race all driving a car with a bowtie on the grill. Dale Earnhardt, Jr, Denny Hamlin,Read More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor For Jimmie Johnson to be able to keep his hopes of an eighth Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship alive, he’ll have to make it through Sunday’s elimination race at Kansas to do so. One may think that shouldn’t be too tough a task for the No. 48 team, but with only seven points separating him from the cut-off line, anything could happen by the time the checkered flag falls on the Hollywood Casino 400. The Round of 12 got off to a decent startRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor The 2001 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season started off with profound loss, but also ushered in an era of unprecedented growth for the series as they made their way to new markets and new tracks later in the year. One of those new tracks/markets was Kansas Speedway, a 1.5-mile intermediate oval just outside of Kansas City that would make its debut in September 2001. Jason Leffler and points leader Jeff Gordon would start on the front row, but it wouldn’t take long for thingsRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor It wasn’t the finish many in Junior Nation wished for at the start of the day, but after one of the wildest Talladega races in recent memory, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. finishes out his career at the track in one piece, bringing home a seventh-place finish. Though it wasn’t a storybook finish that he would have liked to deliver for himself and his passionate fan base, Earnhardt was still appreciative that he was at least relevant for the win in his last start at Talladega. “ThisRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor In his final start at Talladega Superspeedway, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. will start exactly where he intends on finishing Sunday’s race – in first. Talladega has served as Earnhardt’s most successful track, with six wins, but in all of the accolades he has gotten over the years at Talladega, he had never won a pole on the 2.66-mile track, but that all changed on Friday afternoon. With wild applause from the fans in the stands, Earnhardt was the fastest in the first round of qualifying andRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor There are few tracks where Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is more revered than at Talladega Superspeedway. As his final season in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series nears its finale next month, he visits Talladega one final time this weekend for the Alabama 500, where he will look to add a seventh win to his already impressive resume at the track. The 2017 season hasn’t gone as well as the No. 88 team would have liked with just one top-five finish and five top-10 finishes allRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Heading into Talladega, Chase Elliott has found himself among the most consistent drivers in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, with the 21-year old driver for Hendrick Motorsports sitting fourth in points and on the cusp of winning his first Cup Series race. Throughout the season, Elliott has been among the fastest of his teammates, despite not yet finding his way to victory lane. Finishing as a runner-up four times this season and three times in the last four races, there is no doubtRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor As Dale Earnhardt, Jr’s full-time career in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series continues to wind down, this weekend, he heads to Talladega Superspeedway – the track he has been the most productive at – for the final time. With Sunday’s Alabama 500 being his last ride around the 2.66 mile facility, this week’s “Throwback Thursday Theater” takes a look back at his triumphant Talladega moments over the years. 2001 EA Sports 500 – October 21, 2001 After winning at Daytona earlier in the yearRead More