Rick Hendrick Tag

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor After Hendrick Motorsports announced that Kasey Kahne would be out of the No. 5 car at the end of the 2017 season, Internet speculation ran wild on who would fill his seat, with most reports pointing to William Byron being the most logical choice to take his place. On Wednesday, Byron’s move up to the Monster Energy Cup Series became official as Hendrick announced that he will debut in NASCAR’s premier series next season. Byron’s move cements the Hendrick lineup for 2018 as he willRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Just two weeks ago, Kasey Kahne was celebrating his first win since 2014 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and had seemed to help his prospects of staying with Hendrick Motorsports for another year, but even a win in one of the biggest races on the schedule couldn’t keep Kahne with the team he has driven for since 2012. On Monday, Hendrick Motorsports announced that Kahne had been released from the final year of his contract, allowing him to pursue other opportunities for the 2018 season. “KaseyRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor With a 102-race winless streak hanging over his head more than halfway through the 2017 season and only three top-10 finishes in the first 19 races of the year, the rumor mill has been swirling on what exactly Kasey Kahne’s future would be behind the wheel of the No. 5 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports in 2018 and beyond. On Sunday afternoon, Kahne silenced the noise surrounding his future by willing his way to a win in the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis, holding off Brad KeselowskiRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor The long awaited question on who would drive the No. 88 Chevrolet for the retiring Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in 2018 has now been answered and the driver is a familiar one for Hendrick Motorsports and the No. 88 team. On Thursday, Hendrick Motorsports announced that Alex Bowman, who expertly filled in for Earnhardt while he was recovering from his concussion last season, would climb behind the wheel for the team next season, with sponsorship from Nationwide and Axalta continuing on. The 24-year old Arizona nativeRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor Less than two weeks after Jimmie Johnson signed a contract extension to stay at Hendrick Motorsports through 2020, the organization’s youngest driver, Chase Elliott, has also signed a contract extension of his own to keep him in the seat of the No. 24 Chevrolet through the 2022 season. Elliott’s contract was not set to expire until the end of the 2018 season, but the extension gives the four-car organization some much needed stability for the future. “It means the world to me to be aRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Editor One of the most prolific partnerships in NASCAR history is sticking together for a little while longer. On Friday, Hendrick Motorsports announced that seven-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson had signed a contract extension with the team to keep him behind the wheel of the No. 48 Chevrolet through the 2020 season. Johnson’s long-time sponsor, Lowe’s also re-upped their contract for another year as their colors will adorn the side of Johnson’s car for all 38 races through 2018. “My relationship withRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor These days Jimmie Johnson is considered one of the greatest of all-time with seven championships and 80 wins to his name, but there was a time when the California native was a fresh faced rookie just looking to make a mark on the sport. As the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to Auto Club Speedway this weekend, we’ll take a look back at the 2002 NAPA 500 in this week’s “Throwback Thursday Theater”, where Johnson scored the first of his many wins. Johnson signedRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor With the majority of the races for the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season already sponsored, Chase Elliott and his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team still had a few races to fill, but on Monday the team announced a new sponsor to join the fold for Elliott’s sophomore season. Hooters, which has sponsored a car in over 150 races in the Cup Series over the years, most notably for Alan Kulwicki’s 1992 championship season, returned to NASCAR last season after a long hiatus andRead More

By Brian Eberly, Contributing Writer *Editor’s note: Motorsports Tribune will be previewing the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season for 24 drivers. We will release one driver preview per day over a 24-day stretch. Age: 36 Years in Cup: 13 Career Wins: 17 Biggest Accomplishment: 2006 Season (Six wins and an 8th-place finish in the standings) There’s no doubt that now is the time to perform for Kasey Kahne. The 2017 season will mark Kahne’s sixth with Henrick Motorsports behind the wheel of the No. 5 Chevrolet and his thirdRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Chip Ganassi sees the relationship between his team and fellow NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick’s only improving as they move forward. Hendrick Motorsports has supplied engines to Chip Ganassi Racing since the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. However, after Stewart-Haas Racing elected to move from Chevrolet to Ford, which is set to start in 2017, it terminated the alliance built up between SHR and Hendrick. This situation led to speculation that CGR may become even more closely affiliated with the 11-time NASCARRead More