Thursday morning (Sept. 1), Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Hendrick Motorsports announced the two parties agreed to a five-year contract extension. The deal will keep Earnhardt in the No. 88 Chevrolet through the 2017 season.
“We’re excited to have everything formalized and announced,” team owner Rick Hendrick said. “Junior and I had a handshake agreements months ago, and we let other people work out the finer points from there. It was a simple and smooth as it gets.”
“My feelings haven’t changed since the day he first signed with us. I’m committed as ever to putting him in the best possible situation to be successful and compete for wins and championships.”
The 36-year-old joined the Sprint Cup Series full time in 2000 and boasts 18 career victories, 94 top fives and 159 top 10s in 423 starts, including a victory in the 2003 Daytona 500.
“It’s great to have it all wrapped up so quickly and far in advance,” Earnhardt said. “Rick and I were on the same page from the first time we talked about it, so there wasn’t any sense in waiting. There were never any questions or hesitations from either of us. It was just, yeah, let’s do it.”
“I’m really happy at Hendrick Motorsports and enjoy working with everytong here. The team’s been very competitive this season, and we’re all excited about the direction of things. I want to make sure we’re giving our fans something to cheer about for a long time.”
Since joining HMS in 2008, Junior has one win, 18 top fives and 38 top-10 finishes in 132 starts. He currently sits ninth in the Cup standings.
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