Wherever Rick Hendrick turns, NASCAR turns the same way. Evidence of this bold statement has sprung up before us time and again in the recent past. Just zoom back to May 2024, the most anticipated month for Hendrick Motorsports fans. Kyle Larson attempted the Double in vain – after finishing 18th in the Indy 500, he could not start the Coca-Cola 600 due to the rain. However, NASCAR granted a waiver and still recognized his playoff eligibility.

Now, Hendrick is getting another chance to display his clout. After all, HMS is the winningest Cup Series team – owning 312 race victories and 14 Cup titles. So this stellar team is helping pull up its Xfinity equivalent, JR Motorsports, into NASCAR’s premier level.

Rick Hendrick lending a helping hand to JRM

NASCAR has dropped several regulation tweaks ahead of the 2025 season. For example, it has extended a 41st starting spot in the Daytona 500 to a “significant contributor” from a different racing series, regardless of their qualifying results. 4-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves is the first beneficiary of that. At the same time, the executives are tightening their grip over home drivers, especially after Michael Jordan and Co. filed the NASCAR lawsuit. Now, Cup Series teams are not allowed to field more than 4 rides in races. However, Rick Hendrick has yet again proven that the series’ official rules have little impact on his decisions.

JR Motorsports recently announced its No. 40 Chevrolet entry for the 2025 Daytona 500. 2024 Xfinity Series champion Justin Allgaier will field the car, with veteran crew chief Greg Ives. This news surprised a few fans as Rick Hendrick has an ownership stake in JRM. Yet he already fields four Cup cars with Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, William Byron, and Alex Bowman. So a curious fan asked Fox journalist Bob Pockrass. The latter said that Hendrick’s immense sponsorship clout is the reason, “as investment groups get more involved in sport.” Pockrass provided an example of other teams: “Arctos Partners is invested in Fenway Sports Group (that owns a piece of RFK) and Arctos also owns a piece of JGR.”

Arctos, Along with Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment, invested in Joe Gibbs Racing in 2023. “We’re thrilled to be entering this relationship with Joe Gibbs Racing alongside HBSE,” said Chad Hutchinson, Partner at Arctos Partners. Meanwhile, Arctos already has a minority stake in Fenway Group, which owns part of Roush Fenway Keswloski (RFK) Racing. Arctos notably also owns a stake in multiple sports teams such as Serie A soccer club ‘Atalanta’, Ligue 1 soccer team Paris Saint Germain, and Aston Martin 1 to name a few.

With the frequency of investments in sports increasing over the years, it seems like NASCAR has accepted that one partner could have a stake in multiple teams. Rick Hendrick would be the latest one to do so in the Cup Series, although so far it’s just the one race that Allgaier is competing to take part in.

This yet again proves how much of an influence Rick Hendrick harbors in NASCAR. Justin Allgaier, an Xfinity veteran who scripted his name in the championship record book last November, marveled at this venture. For him, fielding JRM’s first-ever Cup Series entry in 19 years felt special under Hendrick’s guidance. “This is a big opportunity. I take a lot of pressure on myself in that moment to see this organization compete on the grand scale of the Cup Series. Something that I am surprised has never come to fruition before this point.”

The big-name sponsor whom Rick Hendrick roped in also regards this as a one-time opportunity.

Hailing his time with the greats

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Working with Dale Earnhardt Jr. is like scripting your name in NASCAR’s timeless legacy. Ranging from Dale Sr.’s legendary career to JRM’s 4 Xfinity championships, you get to be a part of core NASCAR. So if you want to work with a racecar, what better company than an Earnhardt one? That is how the No. 40 Chevrolet’s sponsor, Traveller Whisky CEO Chris Stapleton, likes to look at it.

Rick Hendrick roped in the 10-time Grammy award-winning country music artist for JRM’s big debut. Stapleton was present when Dale Jr. and Hendrick officially announced their venture. However, being part of the Great American Race with the most popular racer of NASCAR is still something that Stapleton is finding hard to sink in.

The musician confessed that it may be the biggest project for his whiskey brand. “I was thinking, what is the coolest thing we could do with the whiskey brand. Well maybe we should put it on a race car and I happen to know Rick Hendrick. Rick hooked me up with Dale and this opportunity came up and I thought we got to do that. I went and talked to my partners and said ‘hey, we got to make this happen. Let’s make this happen.’ And they agreed. This is the best possible way we could introduce our brand to the fans of the sport and beyond that, it’s just super cool to see it on the car.”

After all, when Rick Hendrick’s your friend, what can’t you accomplish in NASCAR? As the Daytona 500 is just a month away, let us wait and see how JRM’s entry performs.