JR Motorsports
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| Owner(s) | Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Rick Hendrick Kelley Earnhardt Miller |
|---|---|
| Base | Mooresville, North Carolina |
| Series | Nationwide Series |
| Race drivers | 5. Kasey Kahne/Brad Sweet 7. Regan Smith 88. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. |
| Sponsors | 5. Great Clips 7. Unilever / TaxSlayer.com 88. Unilever TaxSlayer |
| Manufacturer | Chevrolet |
| Career | |
| Debut | 2005 Ford 300 |
| Races competed | 177 |
| Drivers' Championships | 0 |
| Race victories | 11 |
| Pole positions | 5 |
JR Motorsports is a NASCAR team based in Mooresville, North Carolina, co-owned by NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Dale Earnhardt, Jr., his sister Kelley Earnhardt Miller, and the owner of his Cup ride Rick Hendrick. It currently fields the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro for Cup driver Kasey Kahne and USAC driver Brad Sweet, the No. 7 TaxSlayer.com Camaro for Regan Smith and the No. 88 Camaro for Earnhardt, Jr. part-time.
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History of JR Motorsports [edit]
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, when T. J. Majors drove street stock division at Concord Motorsport Park, in North Carolina. The first win for the team came at Motor Mile Speedway in Radford, VA, in 2004. (At the time, Dale Earnhardt Jr was co-owner of another racing venture, Chance 2 Motorsports.)
Today the team operates out of a 66,000-square-foot (6,100 m2) race shop near Mooresville, North Carolina. Upon Earnhardt, Jr.'s signing with Hendrick Motorsports the Hendrick and JR Nationwide Series teams were merged.
Nationwide Series [edit]
#5 car history [edit]
The 5 team started in 2006 as the 83 team. It was driven by Shane Huffman with sponsorship from the Make a Wish Foundation. The car returned in 2008 driven by Dale Earnhardt Jr with the US Navy sponsoring. In 2010, JR Motorsports and Richard Childress Racing announced that the number would switch from 83 to 3 with Dale Earnhardt, Jr. driving the car at Daytona in July with Wrangler sponsoring the car. This was a tribute to Dale Earnhardt, being inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in May. Earnhardt Jr. won the race in the No. 3 car. In 2011, the team changed numbers from 3 to 5 which was JR Motorsports' 3rd entry, with Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Ron Fellows running a handful of races part-time. The car returned in 2012 once more with Dale Jr. and Fellows driving, and Regan Smith would win the Ford 200 after announcing joining the team. The car was originally slated for Smith in 2013, but he was moved to the No. 7 when Jr's Cup teammate Kasey Kahne and USAC driver Brad Sweet signed to drive the No. 5 with sponsorship from Great Clips.
#7 car history [edit]
The No. 7 car joined in 2008 as the No. 5 as part of the merger with Hendrick Motorsports' Nationwide teams. It was driven by Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Martin Truex, Jr., Mark Martin, Landon Cassill, Ron Fellows and Adrian Fernandez,[1] with sponsorship from Lowe's (Johnson and Fernandez), National Guard (Truex, Earnhardt Jr and Cassill). Delphi, (Martin) and Godaddy.com (Earnhardt and Fellows). The 5 car won two races in 2008, with Martin at Las Vegas and Ron Fellows in Montreal, the first NASCAR race run in the rain. The 5 car returned in 2009 with sponsorship from Fastenal, GoDaddy.com, Unilever and Delphi.[dated info] The team's best finish was a third with Earnhardt at Atlanta. The team changed numbers from 5 to 7 with Danica Patrick driving about 12 races with JR Motorsports in with GoDaddy.com sponsorship in 2010, The schedule was filled out with Scott Wimmer, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Landon Cassill, Steve Arpin, Josh Wise and J. R. Fitzpatrick. Patrick will run 12 races with GoDaddy, with her best finish of 4th at Las Vegas. Wise returned to the team for a few races, recording a few top tens. Dale Jr. drove the 7 at Talladega, and Cup drivers Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne and Jamie McMurray drove the car too. Danica Patrick drove the No. 7 full-time in 2012 while contesting a limited Cup schedule with Stewart-Haas Racing. Patrick departed the team for 2013, and Regan Smith will drive the car in 2013.
#88 car history [edit]
The No. 88 debuted in 2005 at the Ford 300 with Mark McFarland driving with sponsorship from the United States Navy, qualifying eighteenth and finishing twentieth. McFarland was named the full-time driver and had a seventh-place finish at Talladega Superspeedway, but was replaced by Shane Huffman after twenty-one races,[2][3] with Martin Truex, Jr. and Robby Gordon filling-in for certain races. Huffman was hired as the full-time driver in 2007, and had two top-ten finishes before he was released from the ride as well.[4] Brad Keselowski was hired to replace Huffman for three races,[5] with SCCA driver Andy Pilgrim to be in the car for the race in Montreal and Watkins Glen.[6] Brad Keselowski finished the season with five top-ten finishes[7] signed a two year contract with JR Motorsports with the Navy returning as sponsor in 2008.[8] He won his first race at Nashville Superspeedway and later picked up another win at Bristol Motor Speedway, finishing third in points but lost the Navy sponsorship for 2009.[9] GoDaddy.com and Delphi Corporation sponsored the No. 88 for a total of 24 races in 2009, with Unilever sponsoring 11 races on the No. 88 car. Keselowski won four races and finished third in points for the second consecutive season before leaving for Penske Racing. Kelly Bires was signed to drive the No. 88 car for the full season, but was released 1/4th through it and he was replaced by Jamie McMurray, Elliott Sadler, Greg Sacks, Steve Arpin, Coleman Pressley, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Ron Fellows. Aric Almirola drove the car full-time in 2011 as a part of a 2 year deal with sponsorship from Unilever and ended up fourth in points in his first full time season. Almirola then left JRM after 2011 to join Richard Petty Motorsports in the Cup Series, while the No. 88 was taken by Cole Whitt in 2012 for his rookie season. Whitt had a consistent rookie season despite switching crew chiefs from Tony Eury, Sr to Bruce Cook. Whitt recorded a best finish of 4th at Daytona, Talladega, and Michigan, finishing 7th in the point standings but lost the Rookie of the year award to Austin Dillon. For 2013, the No. 88 will go to Dale Jr. to keep consistency with his Cup Series number, and will run a limited schedule.
Sprint Cup Series and future of JR Motorsports [edit]
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 a July 2010 debut at the Daytona International Speedway, 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]
Earnhardt did not end up moving his team to Sprint Cup and has remained in the Nationwide Series.
Other racing series [edit]
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This section does not cite any references or sources. (October 2012) |
JR Motorsports fields the No. 88 Speedco Chevrolet driven by Josh Berry. Berry captured the 2012 Motor Mile Speedway championship in 18 races while collecting 6 poles and 15 top 5 finishes.
Speed 1 [edit]
In 2007, JR Motorsports supplied cars for Speed Channel's NASCAR coverage. The Speed 1 fleet for NASCAR RaceDay included a superspeedway car, and car for intermediate tracks, and a Car of Tomorrow. Speed 1 was driven by Hermie Sadler.[11]
References [edit]
- ^ "Busch Series No. 5 driver lineup star-studded for '08". ESPN. September 21, 2007. Retrieved November 30, 2011.
- ^ From Team Press Release (August 10, 2006). "McFarland released as driver of No.88 car". NASCAR. Retrieved November 30, 2011.
- ^ By Ryan Smithson, NASCAR.COM (August 12, 2006). "Notebook: Junior explains McFarland firing". NASCAR. Retrieved November 30, 2011.
- ^ Earnhardt to drive JRM Busch car at Daytona[dead link]
- ^ Team Release (July 10, 2007). "JR Motorsports signs Keselowski to BGN deal". NASCAR. Retrieved November 30, 2011.
- ^ Earnhardt Jr. honoring dad's promise to Pilgrim
- ^ Keselowski to finish season with JR Motorsports[dead link]
- ^ Team Release (November 16, 2007). "Keselowski, Navy back with JR Motorsports in 2008". NASCAR. Retrieved November 30, 2011.
- ^ Joe Menzer (July 11, 2008). "Sponsorship woes stretch even to Junior's own team". NASCAR. Retrieved November 30, 2011.
- ^ GM Media Online: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Press Conference
- ^ Official Release (February 20, 2007). "Speed, JR Motorsports take fans inside car". NASCAR. Retrieved November 30, 2011.
External links [edit]
- JR Motorsports site
- Interview with Dale Earnhardt Jr. & Brad Keselowski by Joshua Hudson, July 2008, G.I. Jobs Magazine
- Dale Jr.
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