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  Press Release - Hendrick Motorsports  CONCORD, N.C. -- Hendrick Automotive Group, via its HendrickCars.com brand, will become the 35-race majority sponsor of Kyle Larson and the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 team in both the 2022 and 2023 NASCAR Cup Series seasons. In addition, Hendrick Motorsports has extended the driver’s contract for one year through 2023. As part of the agreement, HendrickCars.com will also sponsor Larson in all non-NASCAR events in which he competes, including branding on the driver’s helmets, gloves and firesuits. The 28-year-old native of Elk Grove, California, is a prolific dirt racer who has won 56 times since January 2020 in a variety of cars and series outside of NASCAR. In addition to Larson, HendrickCars.com is the primary sponsor of four-time NHRA champion Greg Anderson. “When we perform on the track on Sunday, we can feel the impact on Monday,” said Rick Hendrick, chairman and CEO of Hendrick Automotive Group and owner of Hendrick Motorsports. “W...

With the 2021 NTT IndyCar Series about to drop the green flag for the first time this weekend at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama, we here at Racing Refresh.com would like to give you our 2021 season preview as we embark on another 17 race schedule to crown a new IndyCar Champion. The Schedule: The 2021 NTT IndyCar Series schedule looks a lot different this year, as many tracks that had their race postponed or taken off the schedule due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic are back in 2021. The season kicks off For the second year in a row, the first race of the season will not be held on the  Streets of St. Petersburg  due to the pandemic, but instead head to Barber Motorsports Park   on April 18th, returning to the schedule after being lost to the pandemic. The  Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg   will be the second event of the year on April 25th, after hosting the 2020 season finale where Dixon won his sixth series championship. After that, te...

  Statement from Twitter.com/Team_FRM

Kyle Larson will become the driver of a Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in 2021. This fills a vacancy left by 7 time Champion Jimmie Johnson. The successful dirt racer turned stock car driver is currently serving an indefinite suspension from NASCAR and a termination from Chip Ganassi Racing after the use of a racial slur during a broadcasted video game event earlier this year. The team announced today that they will transition the number 88 to number 5 moving forward.  [It was announced in October that Alex Bowman will officially replace Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 for the last 19 seasons at Hendrick beginning in 2021. Jimmie was said to have a large influence in the successor to the famed #48. Longtime Hendrick Motorsports sponsor Ally Bank will stay with the #48 team. ] Larson who was recently reinstated by NASCAR has completed the proper sensitivity training that is needed to return to his stock car career. He returned to his dirt racing past this summer and has won a hist...

  CONCORD, N.C.   --  Hendrick Motorsports has named Rudy Fugle as the crew chief for William Byron and the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE team for the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season. He will join the organization in mid-November. The 36-year-old Fugle is one of the most successful crew chiefs at the NASCAR national series level. He has won two driver championships and five owner titles in the Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series. As a crew chief for Kyle Busch Motorsports since 2013, he has recorded 28 truck victories, which tie him for the second-most in series history. Fugle will replace current No. 24 crew chief Chad Knaus,  who was recently named Hendrick Motorsports’ vice president of competition  effective at the completion of the 2020 racing season. “We’re pleased to welcome Rudy,” said Jeff Andrews, general manager of Hendrick Motorsports. “His teams have consistently performed at a championship level for many years. We believe he’s an excellent fit for ...

Leading online auto retailer  Carvana  (NYSE: CVNA) announced today it will be the primary partner for 7-time NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) Champion Jimmie Johnson and Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR) for the 2021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES racing season in the newly-formed Carvana Chip Ganassi Racing entry.  Johnson co-holds the NCS record with Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty for most premier series championships and is the only driver to win five consecutive titles (2006-2010). Johnson’s 83 career wins is tied with Cale Yarborough for sixth all-time and is tops among active drivers. With an impressive record any athlete would envy, Johnson saw his next challenge in INDYCAR, and recently announced his plans to race with CGR in his continued pursuit of excellence.  “Jimmie Johnson has already made his mark as one of the best NASCAR drivers in history, yet he’s continuing to push himself with a new challenge,” said Carvana Chief Brand Officer Ryan Keeton. “He’s not resting, but raising t...

  Syndicated Post : PRESS RELEASE FROM SPEEDWAY MOTORSPORTS - If everything’s bigger in Texas, it’s only appropriate that the inaugural NASCAR weekend at Circuit of The Americas (COTA) just got bigger. Speedway Motorsports officials today announced that the NASCAR Xfinity Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series have been added to the weekend lineup with the NASCAR Cup Series at COTA in Austin, Texas, May 21-23, 2021. "When NASCAR rolls into Austin for the first time, it’s going to be exactly what Speedway Motorsports always presents, and that’s the biggest, baddest events that we see throughout all of NASCAR," said Daniel Hemric, NASCAR Xfinity Series driver of the No. 8 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports. "Bruton and the entire Speedway Motorsports family always do the utmost job of bringing the best experience for the fans, the best show for the fans, and we look forward to doing that as drivers as well." Three-day weekend packages are on sale now at NASCARatCO...

  The GoFas Racing Team operated by Archie St. Hilaire has announced that they will be transitioning into a part-time effort beginning with the 2021 season. They have competed full-time for from 2014 to 2020 in NASCAR's premiere series.  Team Owner Hilaire provided this statement regarding the change. "It has been a lot of fun over the years but with the evolution of life, your priorities change. With my son [and GM of Go Fas] Mason moving on to start his own business in a different industry and myself getting ready to spend time with my daughter having my first grandchild, I feel its time to reevaluate the next chapter of my life. It definitely has been great working with Ford and all of our great marketing partners over the last 10 years and we look forward to continuing with them on a smaller scale going forward. I can’t say enough about how NASCAR has built and maintained their business model during the current pandemic and how exciting the schedule looks for 2021! We will...

  The new racing team that is being started by Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan has been officially announced as 23XI Racing (Prounounced Twenty-Three Eleven Racing). The name pays homage to both the legendary NBA Hall of Famer's basketball number as well as co-owner Denny Hamlin's racing number 11.  The team has not officially announced that they will be running Toyota in the 2021 season, but it is widely understood that this will be a TRD team, with assumptions that there will be some type of Joe Gibbs Racing alliance as well. No details on the contract terms are announced in regards to sponsorship or the length of announced driver Darrell Wallace Jr.'s contract. 

 It was reported this morning by Fox Sports' Bob Pockrass that Stewart-Haas Racing has signed driver Chase Briscoe to replace Clint Bowyer in their #14 Ford Mustang beginning in 2021. Bowyer announced his retirement from NASCAR Cup Series competition last week and will assume a role with Fox Sports form the commentating booth in 2021. Briscoe, the 25 year old from Mitchell, Indiana is currently qualified for the round of 4 championship event in NASCAR's Xfinity Series at Phoenix next month and has a record of 9 wins this season. He has yet to make his Cup Series debut.  The primary funding on this agreement will come form his current Xfinity sponsor Highpoint. Terms of the deal have not been announced as of the time of this post. 

Race car driver Kyle Larson has been approved by NASCAR to return to sanctioned events beginning on January 1st, 2021. It was reported last week that Larson had applied for reinstatement after completing a mandatory sensitivity training in response to the usage of a racial slur in a virtual event earlier this year. Larson was serving an indefinite suspension from NASCAR and termination from his then employer Chip Ganassi Racing. There is much speculation as to which team Larson will race for in 2021, with most rumours pointing at Hendrick Motorsports. This news was first announced by Fox Sports' Bob Pockrass. NASCAR provided the  below comment earlier today.

  Perhaps NASCAR's funniest man, Clint Bowyer announced yesterday in a gratuitous letter to the motorsports industry his intentions to formally retire from NASCAR Cup Series racing at the end of the 2020 season. In the letter, Bowyer mentioned every car owner and major sponsor that he has raced for in the Cup Series, and mentioned his unique relationship with all three major car manufacturers.  Clint's season in the #14 Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing will be fulfilled before the seat becomes vacant for the 2021 season. Most industry rumours are saying that Chase Briscoe's relationship with both Ford and Strewart-Haas Racing make him the most likely candidate for that seat.  Bowyer, the 41-year-old from Emporia Kansas won the 2008 Xfinity Series Championship with Richard Childress racing and has won 10 career cup races in 536 starts. He has a total of 21 wins in NASCAR's three national tours.  Bowyer did not mention if he would return behind the wheel on an as-needed or...

  NASCAR veteran Alex Bowman will replace 7-time champion Jimmie Johnson at the wheel of the #48 Chevrolet in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Season. Bowman, who has 2 career NASCAR Cup Series victories has driven the #88 Chevrolet for the team since the retirement of Dale Earnhardt Jr. at the end of the 2017 season.  The #88 and #48 teams work out of the same shop on the Hendrick property. While this will appear on track as a different setup, the only difference on paper is the sponsor and number change. Ally Financial is expected to be on the car for all 36 points races in 2021.  The new driver for the remaining team at Hendrick Motorsports has not been announced at this time, but wide speculation is that suspended competitor Kyle Larson will join the team in 2021 behind the wheel of a new number. Stay with Racing Refresh for more details as that story develops. 

           (Photo Source : Twitter.com/SportsCenter)           Last week it was officially announced that Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin would be buying the charter from Germain Racing and that Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr would be driving for the new team next season. It’s a move that puts an end to only some of the speculation that has run rampant in this unprecedented silly season. There had been rumors cropping up the past few months that this could happen, but, I must admit that until Wallace announced that he would be leaving Richard Petty Motorsports at the end of the season I didn’t give much credence to those rumors. Now that it’s official there’s been plenty of speculation what kind of success the trio will have. It’s exciting news for NASCAR, and you simply can’t overstate what kind of positive impact Michael Jordan and all that comes with him could have on the world of NASCAR. Jordan is arguably the greatest bas...

     It's fair to say that 2020 will go down in history as one of the strangest years the world has ever seen.  NASCAR has been no exception to this.  So far this season, we've seen midweek races, no practice or qualifying, virtual racing events, a Bristol All Star Race and even the Daytona Road Course.  None of us could've imagined NASCAR would be where it is now when we dropped the green flag for the Daytona 500, yet here we are.  One of the most interesting aspects of NASCAR is what fans refer to as "Silly Season."  For those who are unaware of the term, silly season is the offseason trading of drivers in NASCAR.  Each year, silly season becomes a bigger and more entertaining part of the NASCAR season as a whole.  This year, however, what if the glass is too full?  What if certain drivers don't have a home for the 2021 season?  I'd like to look at the free agents left on the market and the potential for them to get a ride fo...

Denny Hamlin confirmed rumors that he and NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan are indeed going to operate a single-car NASCAR Cup Entry beginning in the 2021 season. The announcement came late Monday night via Denny's Twitter feed. This comes after their mutual purchase of Germain Racing. Jordan will be listed as the principal owner.  The two famed athletes have been friends for many years and Denny mentioned his relationship with the Jordan Brand as well in tonight's announcement. Their driver has been announced to be Darrell (Bubba) Wallace Jr. Further details regarding the purchase, sponsors, team name, and number were not mentioned. It will operate under the Toyota banner in conjunction with Denny and Joe Gibbs Racing's ongoing relationship with TRD. Denny states that he continues to be focused on his #11 FedEx Toyota in regards to his career as a driver. No comment from Michael Jordan at this time.  Darrell Wallace on Twitter posted : "This is a unique, once-in-a-li...

  (Photo Source : Twitter.com/RossChastain) NASCAR driver Ross Chastain has finally landed with the #42 Chevrolet, driving for Chip Ganassi Racing. He will drive the #42 car in the cup series for the entire 2021 Cup Series schedule. The Alva, Florida watermelon farmer was believed to be one of Ganassi's long-term driver choices until their Xfinity sponsor DC Solar ran into legal trouble in 2018 and was no longer affiliated with the team. In three races with Chip Ganassi Racing at the Xfinity level, Chastain has a win, a third, and a fifth place finish.  Since 2017, Chastain has 1 top 10 in 79 career cup series starts. He has driven for Roush-Fenway Racing and Spire Motorsports in 2020's Cup campaign and is known for heavy participation across all three of the national touring series. An announcement regarding the team's future will be made today that he will replace Matt Kenseth behind the wheel of the #42 for the 2021 season. The #42 became vacant this season after Kyle La...

    (Photo Source : Twitter.com/BubbaWallace)                 Last week Darrell Wallace Jr announced his decision to leave Richard Petty Motorsports at the conclusion of the 2020 season. It was a decision that many weren't surprised by but to an RPM fan like myself, it left a bitter feeling and made us question Bubba’s loyalty.  I know many of you will say It’s a business and there isn’t much room for loyalty and typically I’d agree. in this case, I feel it runs deeper. The 2020 season has been the most unique in NASCAR’s history. Along with the rest of the world, they have dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic. They’ve also dealt with trying to address racial inequality. While that has been a challenge for all sports, you could easily argue that NASCAR has had the toughest time balancing being more inclusive without alienating old school fans. At the center of that movement in NASCAR has been Wallace. He is the sport...