"The financial risk was real": Dale Jr credits Rick Hendrick but affirms JRM’s real investment at Daytona 500

Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently shared his experience of the Daytona 500 race and credited Rick Hendrick for his help and support during the race. The JR Motorsports team, which is co-owned by Earnhardt Jr., Kelley Earnhardt Miller, L.W. Miller and Rick Hendrick, participated in the Daytona 500 race with Justin Allgaier driving the No. 40 Chevrolet car. The driver finished ninth in the race, making it a strong first start for the time in the Daytona 500.

Earnhardt Jr. discussed the financial risks and investment involved for JR Motorsports for participation in the mega event.

"Parts of it were genuinely real, the financial risk was real, and putting all the people and crew together was real. We did have a lot of help and support from Hendrick Motorsports, but there were some real levers that we had to pull, so it felt genuine. It wasn't like someone, in this case Rick Hendrick, just put a car on the grid for me and said pretend to be an owner for the weekend." Earnhardt Jr. said when asked about the Daytona 500 in an episode of Kevin Harvick's Happy Hour ( 20:00-20:30 )

Earnhardt Jr. explained that the team had to actually buy a car from NASCAR to participate in the race at the Daytona International Speedway. He credited the owner of Hendrick Motorsports, Rick Hendrick, for his help throughout the weekend. He expressed his realisation of the challenges faced by the teams in the NASCAR landscape and how difficult it is.

Kyle Larson expresses his love for Rick Hendrick's team after dominant Kansas win

Kyle Larson has all the good things to say about the Hendrick Motorsports owner, Rick Hendrick. Hendrick had Larson's back when he hit a rare low when NASCAR suspended the driver in 2020 for using a racial slur in an iRacing event. Larson apologised for it and tried to make things right, but his future was a question. Hendrick stepped in at the time and signed the driver for Hendrick Motorsports in 2021.

Kyle Larson's AdventHealth 400 win - Source: Imagn

After joining Hendrick Motorsports, Larson has proved to be an unbelievable force, sealing 26 of his 32 career wins since 2021. The driver was rapid around the Kansas Speedway, leading 221 out of the 267 laps in total.

"Joining Hendrick Motorsports and their five team, man, when you think about it, since 2021, a lot of the numbers have skyrocketed for me, a huge testament to that is a great team, pretty amazing for sure,” Larson said in his post-race interview with SiriusXM

Rick Hendrick's team has shown tremendous form and performance in this season of the NASCAR Cup Series, with Larson and William Byron ranked one-two in the championship at this point. All four drivers of the team are ranked in the top ten this season. The entire organization looks strong in stealing the title from Team Penske, which has won it for the last three years.