NAPA to be Chase Elliott's primary Sprint Cup sponsor in 2016
NAPA is sticking with Chase Elliott.
Hendrick Motorsports announced Wednesday morning that the auto parts company would become Elliott's primary Sprint Cup Series sponsor for the next three seasons. Elliott, who is running a part-time schedule in the Cup Series this year, is taking over Jeff Gordon's No. 24 car at the start of 2016.
NAPA will sponsor 24 races each year through 2018.
“We have an incredible opportunity with NAPA, both on and off the track,” Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick said in a statement. “Our organizations work extremely well together and share many of the same values. The program already has a ton of positive momentum, and we want to carry that into 2016 with great performance in all areas of the business. We take a lot of pride in the relationship and are committed to making a big impact for NAPA.”
The company is sponsoring Elliott in his part-time run this year and has sponsored him since he moved to the Xfinity Series (and won the title) in 2014.
The company joined forces with JR Motorsports and HMS after it left Michael Waltrip Racing following the 2013 season on the heels of a race manipulation scandal. MWR had instructed its two other drivers to sandbag to ensure that Martin Truex Jr., sponsored by NAPA, would make the Chase and after NASCAR found out what happened, Truex was given a penalty that knocked him out of the Chase.
Roughly a week after it said it was looking at its sponsorship with MWR in light of what happened at Richmond, the company said it was leaving. And it's proven to be one hell of a decision.
With HMS, the company is now at the most powerful team in NASCAR with the sport's biggest rising star. And the announcement is on the heels of the 2014 Xfinity Series championship, which Elliott won in his first full-time season.
Meanwhile, MWR was forced to cut back to two teams after NAPA left and hasn't won a race in the 46 races since while HMS has won 18 races.
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of From The Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
