Hendrick Motorsports will officially return to the NASCAR Xfinity Series on a part-time basis for the second-consecutive season in 2023 as the organization announced on Wednesday that it will field the No. 17 Chevrolet Camaro with sponsorship from HendrickCars.com.
Mr. H — Rick Hendrick — was excited about the team’s performance in 2022 but wants to return to victory lane in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2023.
“Watching the No. 17 return to the track last year was very special,” said Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports and chairman and CEO of Hendrick Automotive Group. “It was fun being back in the Xfinity Series and seeing a great return from our HendrickCars.com sponsorship. The team had strong results on the track, but we didn’t quite get to victory lane. Having unfinished business gives us extra motivation this season.”
The team is set to contest four NASCAR Xfinity Series events and will split driving duties of the No. 17 entry between three of its NASCAR Cup Series stars — Kyle Larson, William Byron, and Alex Bowman.
Byron, who won this past weekend’s NASCAR Xfinity Series event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, will get the first crack behind the wheel of the No. 17 machine at Circuit of the Americas on March 25th.
Larson will pilot the car at Sonoma Raceway on June 10th, while Bowman will slide into the entry for the August 19th race at Watkins Glen International. Larson will finish out the four-race schedule on September 2nd at Darlington Raceway.
Veteran Hendrick Motorsports crew chiefs Greg Ives and Kevin Meendering will lead the way for the Hendrick Motorsports Xfinity Series program this season. In addition to winning, the goal for the organization is to get its Cup Series drivers more track time at difficult tracks on the schedule.
“We learned a lot in 2022 and felt the extra seat time was valuable for our drivers,” said Jeff Andrews, president and general manager of Hendrick Motorsports. “Bringing back the program was an easy decision, but we know competing at a high level in the Xfinity Series takes a big commitment. We’re going to throw everything we have at these four races. Winning with the No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevy is the priority.”
In 2022, Hendrick Motorsports ran four NASCAR Xfinity Series races and came away with two poles, and three top-five finishes in those four starts. The team finished runner-up twice and Larson was in position to win at Darlington but a last-lap incident relegated him to a fifth-place finish in that event.
