Overview
JR Motorsports (pronounced "Junior Motorsports") is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series, CARS Tour, and occasionally in the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series. The team is based in Mooresville, North Carolina, co-owned by former NASCAR Cup Series driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., his sister Kelley Earnhardt Miller, Kelley’s husband and former racer L.W. Miller, and the owner of his former Cup Series team, Rick Hendrick. As of 2023, the team fields four full-time entries in the Xfinity Series: the No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro SS full-time for Sam Mayer, the No. 7 Camaro full-time for Justin Allgaier, the No. 8 Camaro full-time for Josh Berry, and the No. 9 Camaro full-time for Brandon Jones. The team also fields the No. 88 Camaro part-time for Miguel Paludo and team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr.
History
JR Motorsports began in a shed on the property of Dale Earnhardt, Inc. in 1998 with just one employee, as the marketing division of Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s race team. The original intent of the business was to help Earnhardt Jr. sell T-shirts and negotiate sponsorship deals. It wasn't until 2002 that Earnhardt Jr. turned the business into a race team when T. J. Majors drove street stock division at Concord Motorsport Park in North Carolina. Upon Earnhardt Jr.'s signing with Hendrick Motorsports, the Hendrick and JR Motorsports Nationwide Series teams were merged.
The first win for the team came at Motor Mile Speedway in Radford, VA, in 2004. (At the time, Earnhardt Jr. was co-owner of another racing venture, Chance 2 Motorsports.) JR Motorsports in its current form, competing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series started in 2006 when sponsorship from the United States Navy funded the team. The team originally wanted to open in 2007, but the Navy sponsorship accelerated the operations.
From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).