FANTASY NASCAR Racin

Dale Earnhardt Jr - 10/10/1974
JR Motorsports has been in existence since 2005; and at the time of this writing has not fielded a car in the CUP series. It is however, a formidable Xfinity series competitor and needed to be listed here especially since the team has been the proving grounds for many drivers that have had great NASCAR careers. More recently several young drivers that should have stellar careers have driven for JRM. JRM keeps growing and expanding and starting in 2015 fielded race vehicles in the Camping world Truck series. The team is based in Mooresville, North Carolina, co-owned by NASCAR Cup Series driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., his sister Kelley Earnhardt Miller, and the owner of his Cup ride Rick Hendrick. 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 in the street stock division at Concord

Motorsport Park, in North Carolina. Upon Earnhardt Jr.'s signing with Hendrick Motorsports the Hendrick and JR Nationwide Series teams were merged. Today, the team operates out of a 66,000-square-foot race shop near Mooresville, North Carolina racing cars in the NASCAR Xfinity series. In 2006 JRM fielded one car and used drivers Robby Gordon, Martin Truex, Shane Huffman and Mark McFarland during the season. Right out of the box the team posted seven top ten finishes with the best being a second by Gordon at Watkins Glen and a fifth by McFarland at Memphis. 2007 saw Brad Keselowski run 14 events for JRM while Huffman ran an additional 18. Keselowski posted five top ten finishes while Huffman had four and a team best fifth at Nashville. Dale Earnhardt Jr even crawled behind the wheel for one start. In 2008 Dale

Jr started nine races and posted three top fives and seven top tens as he started a second team and used various drivers to fill the seat. Among those who raced the second car besides himself was Mark Martin, Jimmie Johnson, Ron Fellows and Martin Truex. Mark Martin would drive the #5 Delphi car to the teams first win. Fellows would win on the road course at Montreal giving JRM a win in it's team car. Brad Keselowski drove the main car full time and he posted the teams first win. Keselowski would grab a win driving the #88 Navy sponsored car at Nashville bypassing Clint Bowyer with six laps to go to grab the checkers. He would get a second win at Bristol. Once again passing Bowyer late in the race to get the win. Keselowski

would finish third in the season points while JRM would accumulate a total of three wins; 18 top fives and 37 top tens. Keselowski came back in 2009 as the teams full time drive in it's main car; while the second car ran the same program with Dale Jr and other sharing the car. Keselowski once again finished third in points even though he had four wins; 22 top fives and 28 top tens. As an organization JRM would post four wins, 26 top five and 37 top tens finishes. In 2010 was when Danica Patrick made her move to NASCAR and ran 13 races for JRM; the most of any other driver in the organization. Her best finish was a 19th at the season ending race Homestead. This was an off season for the team as they only posted seven top five and 21 top ten results. In 2010, JR Motorsports and Richard Childress Racing announced that the number would switch from #83 to #3 with Dale Earnhardt Jr. driving the car at Daytona in July with Wrangler sponsoring the car. This was a tribute to Dale

Earnhardt, being inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in May. Earnhardt Jr. won the race in the #3 car. In 2011 the car again swapped numbers and went from being the number 3 to the number 5. Aric Almirola was picked to drive the full time car in 2011 (the #88), while Patrick, Earnhardt, Fellows, Kahne, Johnson among others fielded the #5 car. Almirola moved up from the Truck Series to drive the car full-time in 2011 as a part of a 2-year deal. Almirola had seven top five finishes with a best of fourth on four occasions. He also posted 18 top tens finished and ended up fourth in season points. The sister car had eight top five finishes and 15 top tens with Johnson getting a second at Watkins Glen and Fellows getting a second at Elkhart Lake WI. Danica Patrick drove full time in 2012 to try to gain some much needed experience before

moving up to the Cup series. Patrick won the pole for the first race of the season at Daytona and posted four top ten finishes for the year. Earnhardt also picked up new coming Cole Whitt to drive a second full time car. Whitt had four top five results and added 14 top ten results. The car that the team drivers shared had six top five results and saw Regan Smith claim a win at Homestead. Smith lost his Cup ride at the end of 2012 and was brought in to drive one of JRM's full time cars as Patrick moved up to the Cup series. Smith would win twice and finish second in the points for the year. The team was starting to become a powerhouse in the Xfinity series as they became as competitive as the teams of Penske; Joe Gibbs and Kyle Busch. Chase Elliott reached the age where he could compete full time in the Xfinity series and he had signed a contract to drive for Hendrick Motorsports when he advanced to the CUP level. JRM put Elliott into the Xfinity car seat in 2014

joining Smith, to drive a fourth entry for JR Motorsports. The car was numbered 9, the longtime number of Chase's father Bill Elliott. In a surprise move, NAPA Auto Parts, which recently left Michael Waltrip Racing and was rumored to depart from the sport, signed on to sponsor the full season. The JRM duo was tough to beat and together they had four wins and 52 top ten finishes. At the O'Reilly Auto Parts 300, Elliott passed teammate Kevin Harvick for his first Xfinity Series win. Elliott's second win came at the VFW Sport Clips Help a Hero 200 at Darlington Raceway, where he led 52 laps. A late race caution and a slow pit stop would find Elliott restarting in 6th with just 2 laps to go. Elliott managed an outstanding feat of passing the five cars in front of him in route to his second win of the season. Elliott

would win his third race of the season in the Enjoy Illinois.com 300 at Chicagoland Speedway after holding off Trevor Bayne. Elliott won the Championship and Smith was a close second. The shared team car won an additional five times and added 17 more top tens. 2015 saw a young Chris Buescher win the points Championship edging out Elliott who finished second. Smith finished fourth in the points as the JRM continued to show they had a strong stable of drivers. Elliott got one win in 2015 while Smith got two and the shared car got two additional wins. Elliott Sadler went from driving a Ford for Roush Racing in 2015 to wheel a Chevy for JRM in 2016. He was joined full time by Justin Allgaier. Elliott Sadler replaced Elliott in the car for 2016 with the car number changing to #1. Since NAPA followed Elliott to the Cup Series, Sadler brought his sponsor OneMain Financial with him. Sadler started the season with a fourth-place finish in the season opener at

Daytona. This was the first year NASCAR had went to the Chase style format to determine it's Champion, and Sadler had a great season winning three times. Allgaier didn't win but posted consistent finishes all year and also advanced to the Chase portion to be able to run for the Championship. Both drivers ran well in the play offs and when the green flag fell in the final race at Homestead; both drivers were still in the hunt with a shot at claiming the crown. Sadler was leading with three laps to go but Daniel Suarez passed for the lead and went on to win the race and the Championship. Suarez had been the car to beat all day leading 133 of the 200 laps. When the final points shook out Sadler finished second in the points with Allgaier third. Cumulative results from 2014-2016 showed the organization had posted 19 wins, 108 top fives, and 223

top tens; not to mention the Championship in 2014; being runner up in 2014, 2015 and 2016 plus finishing third in points in 2016. It took until 2015 for JR Motorsports to branch out into the Truck series. It claimed the #00 to use as their number and in it's first year the team saw six different drivers field the truck. Cole Custer ran it the most and would become the full time driver in 2016. Custer posted a win in 2015 at Gateway International Speedway in St Louis. Kasey Kahne also won in the trucks that season. In 2016 Cole Custer didn't win but should of won at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park in Bowmanville Ontario. Custer had the truck to beat all day and had a big lead in the waning laps. A late race yellow bunched up the field and when the green flew it still looked like Custer would win. This was the first year that NASCAR had changed the way the Championship was decided. 2016 was the first year the Chase format was used like had been used in the

Cup series for several years. A win by Custer would lock him into the Chase. On the final lap; and final corner; John Hunter Nemechek run into Custer trying to make the pass. Custer got out into the dirt and Nemechek got by to get the win. Custer finished second and finished tenth in the points. In 2017 JR Motorsports had another great season in the Xfinity series. The team fielded four full time teams with Elliott Sadler and Justin Allgaier returning from the previous season; while Michael Annett was added to the lineup along with Rookie William Byron who had ran one season in the Truck season and now moved up to the Xfinity series. Allgaier would give the organization it's first win of the year. Meanwhile Byron and Sadler would post

many Top 5 finishes. Byron gave his team their second win visiting victory lane at Iowa, and also the following week at Daytona. Two weeks later he would grab his third win; coming at Indianapolis. Sadler, Byron, and Allgaier made up three of the four teams in the hunt for the Championship at Homestead. Cole Custer was the class of the field in the season's final race; but he wasn't in contention for the Championship. Meanwhile Byron ran a solid race and claimed the Title. Sadler would finish in the Xfinity points for the fourth time; while Allgaier would be third. Upon Dale Earnhardt Jr's retirement from driving, he stayed involved in NASCAR as an Xfinity series team owner and fielded four full time teams. He also moved into the

broadcast booth as a Cup series announcer. For 2018 Byron is taking his Championship trophy and moving on to the Cup Series to drive for Rick Hendrick. Sadler, Allgaier, and Annett will returned in 2018 while Tyler Reddick took over the seat Byron vacated. Annett experienced a down season as he had a best finish of seventh on the season. Elliott Sadler ran strong all season, but failed to garner a victory all season. The season opening race at Daytona he was just beaten out of the win by Teammate Tyler Reddick by .004 seconds. Still Sadler was strong through all the first 12 races, finishing no worse than ninth; and adding nine top five results during that span. Elliott continued to pile up the top ten finishes and made it into the Chase via points. He advanced all the way to just before the final race. He was eliminated even

though he posted he completed every lap and had finished of third, eighth and eleventh in the round before the season finale'. Justin Allgaier had a great season posting five wins; including two road course wins and a win at Indianapolis. He had a whopping 17 Top 5 finishes and 24 Top 10s in 33 starts. However, like Sadler, he wasn't able to advance out of the final round to be able to compete in the seasons final race. JR Motorsports fourth driver was Tyler Reddick. As mentioned above he just edged out Elliott Sadler for the win at Daytona. He added another win that season. Reddick only had seven top five finishes but racked up a whopping 20 top ten results. Reddick

marched through every round of the Chase and found himself in the battle for the Xfinity Championship at Homestead. Reddick had a good car; but could not manage to move his way into the lead until 52 laps to go in the 200 lap event. Reddick had a good long run car and led 44 of the final 52 laps and beat Cole Custer to the finish line by six seconds and won the race and the Championship. Reddicks two wins came as he bookended the season winning the first race of the year at Daytona and the season finale' at Homestead. Like happened; JR Motorsports produced the Xfinity series Champion, but that driver left and went to race elsewhere. In 2017, William Byron won the Championship, the moved to the Cup series to drive for Hendrick Motorsports. This time Reddick is going to remain in the Xfinity series but will move over to

Richard Childress Racing. Reddick explained that his move to RCR was for a better chance to run in the NASCAR Cup Series in the near future. That makes sense since Hendrick Motorsports have a very young stable of drivers who could be there for many years. Richard Childress announced before the end of the year that Reddick probably would make a few Cup starts for his team in 2019. JR Motorsports fielded three full time cars in 2019; and one "all star" car that was swapped between several drivers. Justin Allgaier and Michael Annett returned to drive their cars. Noah Gragson was brought in to fill the seat vacated by Tyler Reddick when he departed for Richard Childress

Racing. Michael Annett kicked off the season winning at Daytona and locking himself into the Chase. The rest of the full time drivers worked hard to make the Chase via points; but they all made it. In fact the all made it to the third round and battled to make it to the Championship. Justin Allgaier would win at Phoenix; the race before the Championship to get himself into the Championship hunt. Gragson and Annett were eliminated. In the Championship race Allgaier's car never had the handle on the track and was never in contention. JR Motorsports had a championship caliber group coming back for 2020. Annett will be back to pilot the #1; while Allgaier will wheel the #7. Gragson will once again drive the #9 and we will see Daniel Hemric drive the #8 for 21 races. Hemric lost his Cup ride at the end of the 2019 season. 2020 saw all

three of their full time driver return. Noah Gragson posted the best results with three wins, 17 Top 5 and 25 Top 10 finishes in 33 races. Justin Allgaier won twice, while having 11 Top 5's and 19 Top 10's. Michael Annett struggles only posting four Top 5's but 22 Top 10's. The Xfinity Series was tough in 2020 as Ford drivers Austin Cindric and Chase Briscoe grabbed 15 wins. Gragson got his wins at the season opening race at Daytona and six weeks later at Bristol. He also had four second place finishes. In the Chase a mechanical issue at Kansas left him with a 36th place finish and in a must win situation to advance to the final race to run for the Championship. He finished second at Texas and third at Martinsville. He ended up fifth in the points. Allgaier was the opposite of Gragson as he didn't get his first win until race #20 of the season when he grabbed the checker at Dover. He later won both races at

Richmond as NASCAR hosted a double header there. In the Chase he run into some issues but managed to point his way into the final race for the Championship. He led 76 laps and had a strong car. Just like in the Truck Series a late gave him a shot at the win. Leader Cindric pitted from the lead and many cars pitted with him. Allgaier decided to stay out and assume the lead and hope for the best in the two lap shoot out. Cindric restarted about tenth but roared through the field and grabbed the lead in one lap. He went on to win the race; while Allgaier fell back to fifth on his old tires. He ended up second in the points. Michael Annett just never had a car in 2020 to run with the best machines. He posted a season best fourth place finish. His car was just a 'second tier' car right behind the

best five or six cars in the series; thus he racked up 22 Top ten finishes. He did make the Chase and finished ninth in points. JR Motorsports did field one other car full time, and it a variety of drivers. Daniel Hemric drove it 21 races, but seemed to get caught up in several crashes not of his doing. In races when he didn't have issues he posted seven Top 5 and 12 Top 10's. Jeb Burton ran the car for eleven events and seemed to surprise many people. He did crash three times; but he also had six Top 10's and three Top 5's; including a second at Richmond. JR Motorsport's three full time drivers returned in 2021 and the #8 will again see various drivers. Justin Allgaier had another good season, and collected two wins. He made it through the championship round, but was eliminated right before the Championship race. Driver Noah Gragson also had a good season and had three wins. They came at Darlington, Richmond, and Martinsville. The latter race was right before the Chase Championship race; and advanced him to the season finale’.

Noah ran a good race and led as late as 20 laps remaining. When the final yellow came out Gragson stayed out; but most of the rest of the field pitted. He was a sitting duck when the green flaw; and ended up falling back to finish 12th. Michael Annett drove the third full time car; but Annett missed several races due to a leg injury. Annett had a season best finish of third at Road America. Near the end of the season, Annett announced he would be retire at the end of the season. The fourth car was driven by several drivers. Mostly by Sam Mayer; 16 events; and Josh Berry; 12 starts. The young rookie, Berry won at Martinsville and Las Vegas. Mayer had a best finish of fourth and six Top 10’s. With the introduction of the new

NextGen car in 2022, JRM gave much consideration into venturing into the Cup series. But the price of charters ultimately kept them on the side lines. At the end of 2022 JRM was still "considering" moving into Cup; but the price of charters doubled in the last 12 months. So, they remain a power house in the Xfinity Series; and a feeder team for many drivers that end up driving for HMS. They ran four full time cars, and one car on a part time basis. Noah Gragson was by far the most successful of any of the JRM drivers. Gragson started the season with a third; two seconds and a win. The next month he would win again,

and mid-season he would win at Pocono. He ran off a great streak starting at Darlington when he won four races in a row. He has a tenth place finish at Talladega; and the remaining five races he finished no worse than fourth, and added another win. He ran well in the Chase and with all his win and great runs; he was in the final four racing for the Championship. Justin Allgaier had a good season claiming three wins. The first came at Darlington; and followed with another a month later at Nashville. Three weeks later he won at Loudon NH. Like Gragson; he ran well in the Chase and made the final four to have a shot to win the Championship. Josh Berry had a season much like Allgaier. He had three wins with the first coming at Dover. He'd win again at Charlotte; and in the Chase he would win

at Las Vegas, advancing himself into the final four in the Chase. But even though JRM had three of the four contenders in the hunt for the Xfinity Championship, none of them would be fast enough to keep up with young Ty Gibbs at Pheonix. He would lead the majority of laps on that day and win the title for 2022. JRM also fielded a full time car for Sam Mayer. Although the driver wasn't able to claim any wins; he did have 11 top five finishes, with a best finish of second at Talladega. He also had 19 top ten finishes. JRM fielded a fifth car for an assortment of drivers. On most occasions it was a car so a Cup driver could get some extra seat time before the upcoming Cup Race. William Byron raced twice, finishing second at Texas. Larson ran one event and parked it in the winners

circle at Watkins Glen, as he swept the weekend. Dale Earnhardt made his annual "one start" in the Xfinity series. It came at Martinsville and he just missed posting a top ten as he finished eleventh. For the year the starts made by JRM drivers accounted for 15 wins, 61 top five and 91 top ten finishes. JRM continued to field fast competitive race cars in 2023. Allgaier, Berry and Mayer all returned for the 2023 season. Gragson was hired by Legacy Motor Club to drive full time in the Cup series, and Brandon Jones replaced him in the #9 car. Allgaier had a great season posting four wins. The first came at Charlotte, and then he won again at Daytona in August. He turned up the wick when the play offs started, winning the first race in the Round of 12 at Bristol. Good runs propelled him through each round, and he added another

win at Martinsville, which locked him into the final race for a shot to get that elusive first championship. He had a strong car, but no one had a chance to keep up with Sheldon Creed as he led 96 laps and won the race and the championship. Allgaier finished second in points again for the second time. Sam Mayer had a breakout season. He got his first win on the road course at Elkhart Lake. He was second on the road course at Indy, but got another win when the series visited Watkins Glen. Suddenly he appeared to be a road course ace. When they raced at Charlotte on the Roval he went to the winners circle again;

when he was in a must-win situation to advance to the Round of 8 in the play offs. In that round he won at Homestead and locked himself into the championship race at Phoenix. As mentioned above, no one had anything for Cole Custer at Phoenix, and Allgaier finished second in points. Mayer came home third in points. After Josh Berry got three wins in 2022, this year was a disappointment. He wasn’t able to get any wins, but finished second twice, and had 11 top five finishes. He will be moving to the Cup series in 2024 to take over the ride vacated when Kevin Harvick retired. Sammy Smith will be brought in to pilot the #8 car in 2024. After a win and six top five finishes in 2022, Brandon Jones was shut out of the winners circle.

He almost won at Kansas when he finished second and had a third at Michigan. He only had one other top five finish. Dale Earnhardt Jr increased his Xfinity starts from his usual one, and ran two events in 2023. He started 15th a Bristol and was in the lead on lap 174. He had a great shot at claiming the win, but his car caught on fire, and flames flared up through the shifter boot and he had to pit under green to address the issue. He lost several laps getting the fire put out, so since he was several laps down and it was late in the race; he just parked it for the night. A great run and possible win all for naught. His second start came at Homestead. A poor qualifying run saw him start 23rd, but he raced his way through the field. When the checkers flew he finished fifth. For the season JRM drivers claimed eight wins, and added 43 top five and 68 top ten results. JRM drivers have made 1729 starts. They have went to