Hendrick Motorsports to enter three Xfinity Series races in 2022
Hendrick Motorsports is returning to the NASCAR Xfinity Series, the team announced Thursday.
The storied Cup Series organization will field the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet in three Xfinity Series races this season, all at road courses throughout the summer.
Kyle Larson will pilot the car July 2 at Road America, Alex Bowman at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course on July 30 and William Byron at Watkins Glen International on Aug. 20.
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“Our drivers are always looking for more opportunities to compete,” Jeff Andrews, president and general manager of HMS, said in a press release. “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 race track for Hendrick Motorsports, and we‘ll do everything we can to take it back to Victory Lane.”
Hendrick has deep ties to the No. 17, fielding it for Darrell Waltrip from 1987-90 and claiming a Daytona 500 victory before running the same number in the Camping World Truck Series for Ricky Hendrick, the late son of team owner Rick Hendrick. The HendrickCars.com paint scheme used in Xfinity will be based on Ricky Hendrick‘s 2001 scheme from his rookie season in Trucks.
“It will be special to see the No. 17 back in action for Hendrick Motorsports,” Rick Hendrick said. “It‘s a great chance for Kyle, Alex and William to gain more time on the road courses to do even more with our HendrickCars.com sponsorship. I‘m looking forward to running the Xfinity Series again.”
Kevin Meendering will crew chief the part-time entry. Hendrick Motorsports has 26 Xfinity Series wins, winning its most recent race with Tony Stewart at Daytona International Speedway in the No. 80 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet.
