Hendrick Motorsports and Richard Childress Racing, once fierce rivals in the 1990’s, are now partnering together to create a joint venture involving engine research & development. The two teams released a joint statement on Thursday about the new partnership.
In the statement, the organizations revealed that their engine programs will still be separate entities, but that they are banding together in an effort to overall strengthen the Chevrolet stable of teams in NASCAR.
Following the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season, Hendrick Motorsports and Richard Childress Racing will formalize a joint venture focused on engine R&D and the establishment of a common Chevrolet engine specification. While our two championship-winning organizations will collaborate on research and development, our respective engine shops will continue to function independently as they currently do. We look forward to working together to fully leverage the knowledge and intellectual property of our two successful programs to advance Chevrolet’s engine for NASCAR.
This is absolutely a needed step as Chevrolet, a once standard bearer in the sport, has slipped behind Toyota and Ford in recent seasons. Hendrick Motorsports and Richard Childress Racing made up four of the 16 drivers in the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series Playoff field, but the teams overall have not shown the type of dominance that they did in their most impressive periods in the sport.
Perhaps this program can help each team elevate back to being a bonafide championship contender and at the very least, it should aid teams such as Chip Ganassi Racing, JTG Daugherty Racing, Richard Petty Motorsports and others who purchase or lease engines from the two teams.
RCR has collected six NASCAR Cup Series championships over the years, but none have come since the 1994 season. All of RCR’s championships were won with the legendary Dale Earnhardt behind the wheel. The organization boasts 109 wins in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Hendrick Motorsports has amassed a record 12 NASCAR Cup Series championships. Three different drivers have won championships for the organization: Jimmie Johnson (7), Jeff Gordon (4) and Terry Labonte (1). Overall, Hendrick Motorsports has 260 NASCAR Cup Series wins to their credit.
