Hendrick Motorsports will drop the No. 5 Chevy from its Monster Energy NASCAR Cup series lineup starting in 2018. The team announced Tuesday night that the current No. 24 team with driver Chase Elliott will campaign the No. 9, while newcomer William Byron will take over the No. 24, with that team coming from the current No. 5.
The No. 9 is significant as Chase Elliott’s father, Bill, raced that number in the Cup series. NASCAR Hall of Fame member, Bill Elliott scored 38 Cup wins and the 1988 series championship with the number. His son, a native of Dawsonville, Georgia, raced the No. 9 to the 2014 NASCAR Xfinity Series title.
“I wasn’t sure I’d ever drive the ‘9’ again,” said Chase Elliott, 21, who is currently in his second season driving the No. 24 Chevy for Hendrick Motorsports. “It’s a huge deal to my family and everyone back home (in Georgia), and I hope all of our fans will be pumped to see it back on the racetrack. There’s a legacy attached to that number, and I want to carry it on. I think it’s awesome that Hendrick Motorsports and NAPA wanted to do this. It’s impossible not to be excited.”
Byron was signed as a replacement for Kasey Kahne, who will leave the team after a five-year tenure. Byron will begin his 2018 rookie season at the same age Gordon was (20) when he made his Cup debut in 1992.
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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