JR Motorsports
Encyclopedia
JR Motorsports is a NASCAR
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...

 team based in Mooresville, North Carolina
Mooresville, North Carolina
Mooresville is a large suburban town in southern Iredell County, North Carolina, USA. It is in the Metrolina metro area. The population was 32,133 at the 2010 United States Census...

, co-owned by NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
* NOTE: References to "Earnhardt", "he", and "him" refer to the subject of this article, unless otherwise specified. References to his father will include "Sr."...

, his sister Kelley Earnhardt Miller, cousin and former crew chief Tony Eury, Jr.
Tony Eury, Jr.
Tony Eury Jr. is the crew chief for the JR Motorsports #7 Go Daddy Chevrolet Impala driven by Danica Patrick and Kelly Bires in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Eury had been the head of Hendrick Motorsports Research and development group but, previous to that, he served as crew chief for Dale...

, and the owner of his Cup ride Rick Hendrick
Rick Hendrick
Joseph Riddick Hendrick III , better known as Rick Hendrick, is the current owner of the American NASCAR team, Hendrick Motorsports and founder of the Hendrick Automotive Group and Hendrick Marrow Program. He attended Park View High School in South Hill, Virginia, and began his career in auto...

. It currently fields the No. 7 GoDaddy.com/Tax Slayer Chevrolet Impala
Chevrolet Impala
The Chevrolet Impala is a full-size automobile built by the Chevrolet division of General Motors introduced for the 1958 model year. Deriving its name from the southern African antelope, Chevrolet's most expensive passenger model through 1965 had become the best-selling automobile in the United...

 for IZOD IndyCar Series driver Danica Patrick
Danica Patrick
Danica Sue Patrick is an American auto racing driver, model and advertising spokeswoman. She is the most successful woman in the history of American open-wheel racing, being the only woman to win in the IndyCar Series as well as holding the highest finish by a woman at the Indianapolis 500 of 3rd...

, Josh Wise
Josh Wise
Josh Wise is a NASCAR driver who currently runs in its Nationwide Series. He drives the #7 Chevrolet Impala for JR Motorsports and the #39 Ford Mustang for Go Green Racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. He is a former member of the driver development program for Michael Waltrip Racing...

, and team owner Dale Jr. and the No. 88 Grand Touring Vodka/Unilever
Unilever
Unilever is a British-Dutch multinational corporation that owns many of the world's consumer product brands in foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products....

 Chevrolet driven by Aric Almirola
Aric Almirola
Aric A. Almirola is a Cuban-American stock car driver in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. He currently drives the #88 Unilever/Grand Touring Vodka Chevrolet Impala for JR Motorsports. Almirola attended the University of Central Florida working on a degree in mechanical engineering before leaving to...

 in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.

History of JR Motorsports

JR Motorsports began in a shed on the property of Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
Dale Earnhardt, Inc. was a NASCAR-related organization located in Mooresville, North Carolina, United States working to continue the legacy of Dale Earnhardt. It was originally formed in 1980 by seven-time Winston Cup champion Dale Earnhardt who died in a crash on the closing lap of the 2001...

 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. 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
Concord Motorsport Park
Concord Speedway is a motorsports facility located in the town of Midland, North Carolina, southeast of Concord, North Carolina. The track held twelve NASCAR Grand National events between 1956 and 1964.-History:...

, in North Carolina. The first win for the team came at Motor Mile Speedway in Radford, VA, in 2004. (At the time, Earnhardt, Jr. was co-owner of another racing venture, Chance 2 Motorsports
Chance 2 Motorsports
Chance 2 Motorsports is a former NASCAR racing team that was founded by Teresa Earnhardt and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in 2003. Although connected with Dale Earnhardt, Inc., the race team founded by Dale Earnhardt, Sr. and run by Teresa Earnhardt after his death, the two were separate operations.The team...

.)

Today the team operates out of a 66000 square feet (6,131.6 m²) race shop near Mooresville, North Carolina
Mooresville, North Carolina
Mooresville is a large suburban town in southern Iredell County, North Carolina, USA. It is in the Metrolina metro area. The population was 32,133 at the 2010 United States Census...

. Upon Earnhardt, Jr.'s signing with Hendrick Motorsports the Hendrick and JR Nationwide Series teams were merged.

#3 car history

JR Motorsports and Richard Childress Racing
Richard Childress Racing
RCR Enterprises, LLC, doing business as Richard Childress Racing, is a NASCAR team based in Welcome, North Carolina, and is owned and operated by former driver Richard Childress...

 announced that Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
* NOTE: References to "Earnhardt", "he", and "him" refer to the subject of this article, unless otherwise specified. References to his father will include "Sr."...

 would drive the No. 3 car at Daytona
Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, one of the most prestigious races in NASCAR. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosts races of ARCA, AMA Superbike, Grand-Am and Motocross...

 on July 2, 2010, with Wrangler sponsoring the car as a tribute to Dale and Kelley's late father, Dale Earnhardt, who was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame
NASCAR Hall of Fame
The NASCAR Hall of Fame honors drivers who have shown exceptional skill at NASCAR driving, all-time great crew chiefs and owners, and other major contributors to competition within the sanctioning body. NASCAR committed itself to building a Hall of Fame and on March 6, 2006, the city of Charlotte,...

 on May 11, 2010. Earnhardt Jr. won the Subway Jalapeño 250 in the No. 3 car.

#5 car history

This will be JR Motorsports' 3rd entry in 2011, with Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
* NOTE: References to "Earnhardt", "he", and "him" refer to the subject of this article, unless otherwise specified. References to his father will include "Sr."...

 running a handful of races part-time.

#7 car history

The No. 7 car joined in 2008 as the No. 5 as part of the merger with Hendrick Motorsports
Hendrick Motorsports
Hendrick Motorsports , originally named All Star Racing, is a current American auto racing team created in 1984 by Rick Hendrick. The team currently competes in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with Chevrolet Impalas...

' Nationwide teams. It was driven by seven drivers in 2008; Jimmie Johnson
Jimmie Johnson
Jimmie Kenneth Johnson is an American NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race car driver. He currently drives the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports....

, Earnhardt, Jr., Martin Truex, Jr., Mark Martin and Landon Cassill
Landon Cassill
Landon Douglas Cassill is a driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series. He is a test driver for Hendrick Motorsports. He currently drives the #51 Chevrolet Impala for Phoenix Racing in the Sprint Cup Series....

 as well as road course specialists Ron Fellows
Ron Fellows
Ron Fellows is an accomplished Canadian SCCA Trans-Am, IMSA, and American Le Mans Series driver, and a NASCAR Road course ringer.-Early career:...

 and Adrian Fernandez
Adrian Fernández
José Adrián Fernández Mier is a Mexican racing driver and co-owner of the Fernandez Racing team.-Early career:...

, with sponsorship from Lowe's
Lowe's
Lowe's Companies, Inc. is a U.S.-based chain of retail home improvement and appliance stores. Founded in 1946 in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, the chain now serves more than 14 million customers a week in its 1,710 stores in the United States and 20 in Canada. Expansion into Canada began in...

, National Guard
United States National Guard
The National Guard of the United States is a reserve military force composed of state National Guard militia members or units under federally recognized active or inactive armed force service for the United States. Militia members are citizen soldiers, meaning they work part time for the National...

, Delphi, and Godaddy.com. The 5 car won twice in 2008, with Martin at Las Vegas
Sam's Town 300
The Sam's Town 300 is a NASCAR Nationwide Series stock car race held at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada. It has been scheduled as either the third, fourth, or fifth race of the season for the Nationwide Series since it was first held in 1997....

 and Ron Fellows
Ron Fellows
Ron Fellows is an accomplished Canadian SCCA Trans-Am, IMSA, and American Le Mans Series driver, and a NASCAR Road course ringer.-Early career:...

 in Montreal
NAPA Auto Parts 200
The NAPA Auto Parts 200 Presented by Dodge is a NASCAR Nationwide Series race that takes place at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Quebec, Canada since 2007. It takes place in August, replacing the Champ Car World Series and Atlantic Championship Grand Prix of Montreal...

, the first NASCAR race run in wet conditions. The 5 car ran 21 races with sponsorship from Fastenal
Fastenal
Fastenal Co is an American company based in Winona, Minnesota. Selling industrial and construction supplies and services including inventory management services, Fastenal refers to itself as an industrial supply company, but Reuters calls it an industrial distributor.-History:Founded in 1967 by...

, GoDaddy.com
Go Daddy
Go Daddy is an Internet domain registrar and Web hosting company that also sells e-business related software and services. In 2010, it reached more than 45 million domain names under management. Go Daddy is currently the largest ICANN-accredited registrar in the world, and is four times the size of...

, Unilever
Unilever
Unilever is a British-Dutch multinational corporation that owns many of the world's consumer product brands in foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products....

 and Delphi in 2009. The team's best finish was a third with Earnhardt at Atlanta. Danica Patrick
Danica Patrick
Danica Sue Patrick is an American auto racing driver, model and advertising spokeswoman. She is the most successful woman in the history of American open-wheel racing, being the only woman to win in the IndyCar Series as well as holding the highest finish by a woman at the Indianapolis 500 of 3rd...

 would drive about 12 races with JR Motorsports in with GoDaddy.com
Go Daddy
Go Daddy is an Internet domain registrar and Web hosting company that also sells e-business related software and services. In 2010, it reached more than 45 million domain names under management. Go Daddy is currently the largest ICANN-accredited registrar in the world, and is four times the size of...

 sponsorship as the No. 7 in 2010, and Earnhardt driving an additional four races. The schedule was filled out with Scott Wimmer
Scott Wimmer
Scott Wimmer is a NASCAR Nationwide Series driver. He has a total of 6 wins in the Nationwide Series. His brother Chris Wimmer competed in the Busch Series. Wimmer co-owns State Park Speedway in a Wausau suburb...

, Landon Cassill
Landon Cassill
Landon Douglas Cassill is a driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series. He is a test driver for Hendrick Motorsports. He currently drives the #51 Chevrolet Impala for Phoenix Racing in the Sprint Cup Series....

, Steve Arpin
Steve Arpin
Steve Arpin is a Canadian stock car driver competing in the ARCA RE/MAX Series, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and previously, the NASCAR Nationwide Series. His first season with ARCA was in 2009 finishing 7th in the championship standings and winning the ARCA RE/MAX Series Most Popular...

, Josh Wise and J. R. Fitzpatrick
J. R. Fitzpatrick
John Ryan Fitzpatrick is a Canadian stock car driver. He is currently the youngest driver to win the CASCAR Super Series championship...

 driving on road courses. Patrick will run 12 races with GoDaddy.com andWise will run 21 races, 6 with TaxSlayer.com on board, Dale Jr. will drive at Talladega, Kasey Kahne
Kasey Kahne
Kasey Kenneth Kahne is a NASCAR driver. He drives the #5 Farmers Insurance Group Chevrolet Impala for Hendrick Motorsports in the Sprint Cup Series....

 will make four starts beginning at Kentucky, and Josh Wise will fill out the schedule.

#88 car history

The No. 88 debuted in 2005 at the Ford 300
Ford 300
The Ford 300 is a NASCAR Nationwide Series race that takes place at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The race is part of the NASCAR Ford Championship Weekend, and is the final race of the season for the Nationwide Series....

 with Mark McFarland
Mark McFarland
Mark McFarland of Winchester, Virginia) Currently works as a crew chief for Matt DiBenedetto in the K&N Pro East Series. McFarland won the NASCAR Weekly Series national championship in 2003.-Early career:...

 driving with sponsorship from the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

, qualifying eighteenth and finishing twentieth. McFarland was named the full-time driver and had a seventh-place finish at Talladega Superspeedway
Talladega Superspeedway
Talladega Superspeedway is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama, United States. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base just outside the small city of Lincoln. It was constructed by International Speedway Corporation, a business controlled by the France Family, in...

, but was replaced by Shane Huffman
Shane Huffman
Shane Huffman is a former NASCAR and USAR driver. He drove the #40 Key Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado in the Craftsman Truck Series. In 2006 and 2007, he drove the #88 NAVY "Accelerate Your Life" Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS for JR Motorsports in the Busch Series.Shane Huffman returned to NASCAR...

 after twenty-one races, with Martin Truex, Jr.
Martin Truex Jr.
Martin Lee Truex Jr. is a NASCAR driver. He drives the #56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota Camry for Michael Waltrip Racing in the Sprint Cup Series. Truex is a two-time Nationwide Series champion; having won the title in 2004 and 2005. His younger brother, Ryan is a champion in the K&N Pro Series East...

 and Robby Gordon
Robby Gordon
Robert W. "Robby" Gordon is an American racecar driver who currently competes in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series as an owner-driver, driving the No. 7 Speed Energy Dodge Charger for Robby Gordon Motorsports, and also competes part-time in the Nationwide Series...

 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. Brad Keselowski
Brad Keselowski
Bradley Robert Keselowski is an American auto racing driver currently competing in the #2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger in the Sprint Cup Series and the #22 Discount Tire Company/Ruby Tuesday Dodge Challenger in the Nationwide Series for Penske Racing...

 was hired to replace Huffman for three races, with SCCA
Sports Car Club of America
The Sports Car Club of America is a club and sanctioning body supporting road racing, rallying, and autocross in the United States. Formed in 1944, it runs many programs for both amateur and professional racers.-History:...

 driver Andy Pilgrim
Andy Pilgrim
Andy Pilgrim is a British-born racing driver, whobecame a United States citizen in 1998. He began racing an IMSA Renault Cup Renault Alliance in the 80's. His serious professional racing began in 1996 when he made his 24 Hours of Le Mans debut. He joined the Chevrolet Corvette factory team in...

 to be in the car for the race in Montreal and Watkins Glen. Brad Keselowski
Brad Keselowski
Bradley Robert Keselowski is an American auto racing driver currently competing in the #2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger in the Sprint Cup Series and the #22 Discount Tire Company/Ruby Tuesday Dodge Challenger in the Nationwide Series for Penske Racing...

 finished the season with five top-ten finishes signed a two year contract with JR Motorsports with the Navy returning as sponsor in 2008. He won his first race at Nashville Superspeedway
Nashville Superspeedway
Nashville Superspeedway is a motor racing complex located in Gladeville, Tennessee , United States, about 30 miles southeast of Nashville. On August 2, 2011, it was announced that Nashville Superspeedway will not host any NASCAR events in 2012. It is a concrete oval track 1 1/3 miles in...

 and later picked up another win at Bristol Motor Speedway
Bristol Motor Speedway
Bristol Motor Speedway, formerly known as Bristol International Raceway and Bristol Raceway is a NASCAR short track venue located in Bristol, Tennessee. Constructed in 1960, it held its first NASCAR race on July 30, 1961...

, finishing third in points but lost the Navy sponsorship. 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
Penske Racing
Penske Racing is a racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series and NASCAR. They also previously competed in road racing, and Formula One. Penske Racing is a division of Penske Corporation, and is owned and chaired by Roger Penske...

. Kelly Bires
Kelly Bires
Kelly Bires is an American stock car driver. He currently drives the #25 Ford Mustang for Team Rensi Motorsports and the #18 International Comfort Products Corporation Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Nationwide Series.-Early career:Bires began karting at Sugar River Raceway in Brodhead,...

 started 2010 as driver of the No. 88 car, but was released on April 13 and replaced with Jamie McMurray
Jamie McMurray
James Christopher "Jamie" McMurray is a professional American race car driver. McMurray is best known for winning the 2002 UAW-GM Quality 500 as a substitute driver in his second Winston Cup start, and is one of three drivers to win both the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 in the same year...

 (who won at Atlanta) and Elliott Sadler
Elliott Sadler
Elliott William Barnes Sadler is a NASCAR driver. He currently drives the #2 OneMain Financial Chevrolet Impala for Kevin Harvick Inc. in the Nationwide Series. He is one of only 23 drivers to have won in each of NASCAR's top three series...

 for ten races, along with Greg Sacks
Greg Sacks
Greg Sacks is a NASCAR driver. He is married to his wife Vicky and lives in Ormond Beach, Florida. Together they had three children: Paul, Brian, and Rachel. He and his sons are partners in Grand Touring Vodka.Sacks has spent most of his career as a Research & Development driver for many NASCAR...

 at Daytona, Arpin, Coleman Pressley
Coleman Pressley
Coleman Pressley born is the 2010 UARA stars Champion and NASCAR driver who currently drives for the NASCAR Nationwide Series...

, Earnhardt, Jr., and Ron Fellows
Ron Fellows
Ron Fellows is an accomplished Canadian SCCA Trans-Am, IMSA, and American Le Mans Series driver, and a NASCAR Road course ringer.-Early career:...

 on road courses.

Former Truck Series driver Aric Almirola
Aric Almirola
Aric A. Almirola is a Cuban-American stock car driver in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. He currently drives the #88 Unilever/Grand Touring Vodka Chevrolet Impala for JR Motorsports. Almirola attended the University of Central Florida working on a degree in mechanical engineering before leaving to...

 will drive the No. 88 in 2011 and beyond.

Sprint Cup Series and Future of JR Motorsports

During a press conference at Lowe's Motor Speedway
Lowe's Motor Speedway
Charlotte Motor Speedway is a motorsports complex located in Concord, North Carolina, United States 13 miles from Charlotte, North Carolina. The complex features a quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including the prestigious Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend and the Sprint All-Star Race...

 on May 16, 2008, Dale Earnhardt Jr. stated that once the Nationwide Series starts using the Car of Tomorrow
Car of Tomorrow
The Car of Tomorrow, sometimes called CoT or "Car of Today", is the car style for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Larger and boxier than the design it replaced, the Car of Tomorrow is safer, costs less to maintain, and was intended to make for closer competition.The car was introduced in the 2007 Cup...

 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..."

Earnhardt did not end up moving his team to Sprint Cup and has remained in the Nationwide Series.

Other racing series

JR Motorsports fields the No. 72 R&B Transport and Refinishing Chevrolet driven by Richard Boswell and Josh Berry. It formerly fielded the No. 88 Racing Collectible Clubs of America Chevrolet Monte Carlo Late Model driven by Curtis Truex, the 06 Champion Spark Plug chevy driven by Davin Scites, the No. 50 Southern Piping Chevy driven by Jamey Cadill, and the No.73 R and B Chevy driven by Owen Kelly.

Speed 1

In 2007, JR Motorsports supplied cars for Speed Channel
SPEED Channel
Speed , is a cable and satellite television network broadcast to various parts of North America, but primarily the United States...

's NASCAR
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...

 coverage. The Speed 1 fleet for NASCAR RaceDay
NASCAR RaceDay
NASCAR RaceDay is a pre-race show on Speed Channel. Hosted by John M. Roberts, the show features driver–analysts Kenny Wallace and Kyle Petty, as well as pit reporter Wendy Venturini, who provide news from the track right before each weekend's race. Hermie Sadler came on board in 2008...

 included a superspeedway car, and car for intermediate tracks, and a Car of Tomorrow
Car of Tomorrow
The Car of Tomorrow, sometimes called CoT or "Car of Today", is the car style for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Larger and boxier than the design it replaced, the Car of Tomorrow is safer, costs less to maintain, and was intended to make for closer competition.The car was introduced in the 2007 Cup...

. Speed 1 was driven by Hermie Sadler
Hermie Sadler
Herman Marion Sadler III is an American race car driver/announcer and professional wrestling promoter from Emporia, Virginia. He is also an advocate for autism research, as his daughter Hailie Dru, was diagnosed with the disorder in 2001...

.

External links

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