JR Motorsports
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| Owner(s) Name(s) | Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Rick Hendrick |
| Racing Series | Nationwide Series USAR Pro Cup |
| Number of Championships | 0 |
| Car Number(s) | #5, #83, #88 (Nationwide) #71, #72, #73 (Late Model) |
| Driver(s) | Dale Earnhardt Jr./Casey Mears/Jimmie Johnson/Landon Cassill/Ron Fellows/Mark Martin/Martin Truex, Jr. (#5-Nationwide) Brad Keselowski (#88-Nationwide) Dale Earnhardt Jr.(#83-Nationwide) Scott Young (#71-Late Model) Curtis Truex (#73-Late Model) |
| Primary Sponsor(s) | Lowe's, GoDaddy.com, Delphi, National Guard (#5-Nationwide) United States Navy (#83, #88-Nationwide) Champion Spark Plugs (#88-USAR) R&B Transport Refinishing (#71 & #73 Late Models) |
| Shop Location | Mooresville, North Carolina |
| Homepage | JR Motorsports |
JR Motorsports is a NASCAR team based in Mooresville, North Carolina, co-owned by NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and the owner of his Cup ride Rick Hendrick that currently fields the #5 National Guard , #83 and #88 NAVY "Accelerate Your Life" Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.
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[edit] History of JR Motorsports
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This section does not cite any references or sources. (November 2007) Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
JR Motorsports began in a shed on the property of Dale Earnhardt, Inc. in 1998 with just one employee, as the marketing division of Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s race team. The original intent of the business was to help Earnhardt, Jr. sell t-shirts and negotiate sponsorship deals.[citation needed]
It wasn't until 2002 that Earnhardt, Jr. turned the business into a race team. That's when T. J. Majors drove the first race, in the street stock division, at Concord Motorsports Park, in North Carolina.
The first win for the team came at Motor Mile Speedway in Radford, VA, in 2004.
Today the team operates out of a 66,000 square foot state of the art race shop near Mooresville, North Carolina. JR Motorsports fields late model stock cars, a Hooters Pro Cup stock car, and the Number 88 car in the NASCAR Nationwide Series with sponsorship from the US Navy driven by Brad Keselowski.
[edit] Nationwide Series
[edit] Owner Statistics
| Year | Starts | Wins | Poles | Top Fives | Top Tens | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| 2006 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | |||||
| 2007 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | |||||
| 2008 | 31 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 15 | |||||
| 103 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 31 | ||||||
[edit] #5 car history
- See also: Hendrick Motorsports
The #5 car is inherited from the Hendrick Motorsports' Busch Series stable, competing in the series since 1984. Shortly after Dale Earnhardt, Jr. signed with Hendrick Motorsports in the Sprint Cup Series, Hendrick Motorsports announced that it would merge its operations with the JR stable to field a two-car team with the #5 and the #88, starting in 2008, using Hendrick engines and chasses.[1]
The #5 is scheduled to be driven by seven drivers in 2008 -- Jimmie Johnson, Earnhardt, Jr., Martin Truex, Jr., Mark Martin and Landon Cassill as well as road course specialists, Ron Fellows and Adrian Fernandez.[2] The #5 will include sponsorship from Lowe's, National Guard, Delphi, and Godaddy.com.
[edit] #83 car history
The history of the 83 starts with Martin Truex Jr. who drove it in 2006. Car #83 would then take a two year hiatus before being fielded by JR Motorsports with driver and owner Dale Earnhardt, Jr. behind the wheel at Lowe's Motor Speedway on May 24, 2008.
[edit] #88 car history
The No. 88 began the 2006 season driven by Mark McFarland, but he was replaced by Shane Huffman,[3][4] with Martin Truex, Jr. and Robby Gordon filling-in for certain races. On Tuesday July 3, 2007 Dale Earnhardt Jr. released Shane Huffman from driving the #88 Navy Chevy for JR Motorsports. Earnhardt, Jr. drove the #88 on July 6, 2007 in the Busch Series race at Daytona International Speedway.[5] Brad Keselowski will replace Shane Huffman for three races,[6] with "Road Course Specialist" and SCCA driver Andy Pilgrim to be in the car for the race in Montreal, and Watkins Glen.[7] Brad Keselowski finished the season.[8]. Brad won his first race at Nashville Superspeedway on June 7, 2008. Keselowski signed a two year contract with JR motorsports with the Navy returning as sponsor in 2008.[9].
[edit] Sprint Cup Series and Future of JR Motorsports
During a press conference at Lowe's Motor Speedway on May 16, 2008, Dale Earnhardt Jr. stated that once the Nationwide Series starts using the Car of Tomorrow chassis, which is set for an August, 2009 debut at the intermediate tracks, his Nationwide teams possibly will leave the Nationwide Series, due to the costs of switching cars. When asked if he will move JR Motorsports to the Sprint Cup Series, Earnhardt Jr. said that due to the Nationwide Series and Sprint Cup Series almost having the same expensive costs, he might move the team to the Sprint Cup Series as early as 2009 "if the right opportunity comes along with the right sponsorship and driver..." [10]
[edit] Other racing series
JR Motorsports fields the No. 88 Champion Spark Plugs Chevrolet Monte Carlo driven by Richard Boswell in the USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series. The team also fields three late model stock cars; the No. 71 R&B Chevy driven by Scott Young, the No. 72 Monster Energy Drink Chevy driven by Jeremy McGrath, and the #73 R&B Chevy driven by Curtis Truex.
[edit] SPEED 1
In 2007, JR Motorsports are supplying cars for SPEED's NASCAR coverage. The SPEED 1 fleet for NASCAR RaceDay includes a superspeedway car, and car for intermediate tracks, and a Car of Tomorrow. SPEED 1 is driven by Hermie Sadler.[11]
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ JR Motorsports & Hendrick Motorsports to combine Busch Series operations
- ^ Busch Series No. 5 driver lineup star-studded for '08
- ^ McFarland released as driver of No.88 car
- ^ Notebook: Junior explains McFarland firing
- ^ Earnhardt to drive JRM Busch car at Daytona
- ^ JR Motorsports signs Keselowski to BGN deal
- ^ Earnhardt Jr. honoring dad's promise to Pilgrim
- ^ Keselowski to finish season with JR Motorsports
- ^ NASCAR.COM - Keselowski, Navy back with JR Motorsports in '08 - Nov 16, 2007
- ^ GM Media Online: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Press Conference
- ^ NASCAR.com: SPEED, JR Motorsports take fans inside car
| Chevrolet in NASCAR | ||
| Sprint Cup Teams | Dale Earnhardt, Inc. | Front Row Motorsports | Furniture Row Racing | Haas CNC Racing | Hendrick Motorsports | Richard Childress Racing | |
| Nationwide Series Teams | CJM Racing | Day Enterprise Racing | Elite 2 Racing | Front Row Motorsports | Jay Robinson Racing | JD Motorsports | JR Motorsports | Kevin Harvick Incorporated | Mac Hill Motorsports | ML Motorsports | Mac Hill Racing | MSRP Motorsports | Phoenix Racing | Richard Childress Racing | Rusty Wallace, Inc. | SKI Motorsports | |
| Craftsman Truck Series Teams | Kevin Harvick Incorporated | Key Motorsports | Morgan-Dollar Motorsports | MRD Motorsports | SS-Green Light Racing | TRG Motorsports | ThorSport Racing | Xpress Motorsports | |
| Hendrick Motorsports | |
| Sprint Cup drivers | Casey Mears (#5) | Jeff Gordon (#24) | Jimmie Johnson (#48) | Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (#88) |
| Driver development program (under JR Motorsports) |
Landon Cassill | Brad Keselowski | Curtis Truex |
| Partnerships and affiliations | Furniture Row Racing | Haas CNC Racing | JR Motorsports | Phoenix Racing |
| Sprint Cup crew chiefs | Alan Gustafson (#5) | Steve Letarte (#24) | Chad Knaus (#48) | Tony Eury, Jr. (#88) |
| Other | Rick Hendrick | Ricky Hendrick | Darian Grubb | Brian Whitesell |
