During the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, JR Motorsports teammates Justin Allgaier and Kyle Larson collided while racing for the lead. The incident, which happened late in the race, abruptly ended Allgaier’s day. Dale Earnhardt Jr., co-owner of JR Motorsports, revealed that Rick Hendrick texted him mid-race following the crash.Dale Earnhardt Jr. explained during The CW broadcast that Rick Hendrick reached out to him moments after Allgaier’s #7 Chevrolet hit the wall. The accident took place on a restart as Allgaier and Larson battled side-by-side for the top spot. As they exited Turn 2, Larson got loose and clipped Allgaier, sending him into the wall. The crash ended Allgaier’s bid for JR Motorsports’ milestone 100th win.Earnhardt Jr. shared that Hendrick messaged him right after the crash. Earnhardt Jr. said,“I told Mr. Hendrick just now… we’ve done this a long time. You put good race car drivers in good cars, they’re going to run together and sometimes wreck together,”He clarified that there was no malice in Larson’s move. Adding,“Larson’s a guy that’s going to lay it out on the line. I know it wasn’t intentional… We’re racing for the lead and he’s racing for the win, too.”Despite the late-race drama and Allgaier’s exit, JR Motorsports still walked away with a major win. The 19-year-old Connor Zilisch won his third straight race and delivered the team’s long-awaited 100th NASCAR Xfinity Series win.How Rick Hendrick helped revive Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Cup Series careerBefore the success of JR Motorsports, Dale Earnhardt Jr. went through a rough stretch during his time at Dale Earnhardt Inc. While he showed early promise with a win in 2000 at Texas, his Cup Series performance stalled, and pressure mounted due to the expectations tied to his family legacy.Things began to turn in 2008 when Dale Earnhardt Jr. made a major move—leaving DEI to join Hendrick Motorsports. According to his recent Dale Jr. Download podcast, Rick Hendrick was the person who not only brought him in but also gave him the structure and leadership he needed.Hendrick appointed Steve Letarte as his new crew chief, which proved to be the turning point. As Earnhardt Jr. recalled,“I’d had some tough, tough years… I was thankful that Rick was gonna keep trying to figure it out and not fire me. He was like, I’m gonna swap you and Mark.”He appreciated that Letarte didn’t put the entire weight of performance on his shoulders. Earnhardt Jr. said,“He was one of the first crew chiefs to tell me he needed to give me a better car,”He added, “If we hadn’t made that change, man, I don’t think I would have ever won another race.”That decision paid off, leading to wins like his second Daytona 500 win in 2014. It was Rick Hendrick’s belief in Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his proactive changes that allowed the driver to rebuild his career and find success at the top level of NASCAR.