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Hendrick Motorsports to field Xfinity team in 3 races

Hendrick Motorsports will field a car in three Xfinity Series races this season, marking the first time in more than a decade that the 14-time Cup championship team has competed in the Xfinity Series.

Hendrick Motorsports will field the No. 17 Chevrolet Camaro in these three races:


  • July 2 at Road America with Kyle Larson on USA
  • July 30 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course with Alex Bowman on NBC
  • Aug. 20 at Watkins Glen with William Byron on USA

HendrickCars.com will sponsor the car in each of those races.

“Our drivers are always looking for more opportunities to compete,” said Jeff Andrews, president and general manager of Hendrick Motorsports, in a statement from the team. “We believe the additional road course experience on Saturdays (in the Xfinity Series) will translate well to Sundays (in the Cup Series). It will be exciting to see the No. 17 return to the racetrack for Hendrick Motorsports, and we’ll do everything we can to take it back to victory lane.”

Kevin Meendering will serve as the crew chief for the No. 17 team for each of those races.

The No. 17 is a special number for Hendrick Motorsports. NASCAR Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip drove that number to nine wins for Hendrick Motorsports from 1987-90, including the 1989 Daytona 500.

The No. 17 also was raced by Rick Hendrick’s son, Ricky, in various races, including the 2000-01 Camping World Truck Series. The paint scheme for the Xfinity car will be based on the truck driven by Ricky Hendrick during his 2001 season.

“It will be special to see the No. 17 back in action for Hendrick Motorsports,” said Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports and chairman and CEO of Hendrick Automotive Group, in a statement. “It’s a great chance for Kyle, Alex and William to gain more time on the road courses and to do even more with our HendrickCars.com sponsorship. I’m looking forward to running the Xfinity Series again.”

Hendrick Motorsports last entered a car in the Xfinity Series in February 2009 at Daytona International Speedway. Tony Stewart drove that car to the win.

Hendrick Motorsports has 26 series wins and won the 2003 series title.