JR Motorsports Tabs Whitt For No. 88 Chevy in 2012

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (January 4, 2012) – JR Motorsports' flagship team will compete for a NASCAR Nationwide Series championship with one of the sport’s up-and-coming stars, as Cole Whitt has been tabbed to drive the company’s flagship No. 88 Chevrolet in 2012, team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. announced today.

Whitt, a 20-year-old native of Alpine, Calif., will also compete for Sunoco Rookie-of-the-Year honors. He comes to JR Motorsports from the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, where he finished ninth in last year’s championship standings with one pole, two top-five and 11 top-10 finishes. To date he is the youngest driver ever to win the USAC (United States Auto Club) National Midget championship, as his title-winning effort in 2008 put him alongside esteemed former USAC national champions such as Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Kasey Kahne.

“Cole is the guy we wanted, and we’re lucky to get him,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “He’s got raw, untapped talent, but we are most impressed with his ambition. I sought advice and input from people I respect in the industry, and the overwhelming consensus was that Cole has the potential to do great things in this sport.”

The signing of Whitt completes the 2012 driver line-up for JR Motorsports, which will compete in Nationwide Series competition with Whitt in the No. 88 Chevrolet, Danica Patrick in the No. 7 Chevrolet, and Earnhardt Jr. in select races in the No. 5 Chevrolet. All three drivers will compete in the season-opener at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 25.

“This is a big opportunity for me, and I’m happy to be a part of the JR Motorsports team,” said Whitt, who was introduced to employees Wednesday morning. “I’m grateful to Dale, Kelley and everyone at JR Motorsports for giving me this chance. It’s an honor to work with the Eurys, and I will do everything in my power to put this No. 88 team where it belongs in Victory Lane.”

Whitt got his start racing karts and saw immediate success with eight International Karting Federation championships and two World Karting Association grand national championships. He was the Hoosier Sprint Car Rookie of the Year in 2006 and earned 34 top-10 finishes in 60 USAC starts in 2007 before winning the championship in 2008. Whitt advanced to the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East in 2010, promptly notching two poles and finishing fourth in points in his first year.

OTHER NEWS: JR Motorsports has hired Bruce Cook as crew chief for the No. 5 team, which will run primarily with Earnhardt Jr. in select races. Cook comes to JR Motorsports from Kevin Harvick, Inc., where he served as crew chief in 2011 in the Camping World Truck Series, predominately for the No. 2 KHI Chevrolet, which won the owner’s championship. With Cook atop the pit box, his team scored six wins, 19 top-fives and 22 top-10s. Cook was also the winning crew chief of the Nationwide Series season-opener at Daytona in 2011 with driver Tony Stewart.

New Year, New Paint Schemes!

Happy New Year everyone! Sorry it's a little late, but it's been pretty crazy around here. So I was thinking why not get a head start and show you all the two new paint schemes that Dale will be running this year. The National Guard paint scheme is the same, with the Blue hood, roof and deck lid and the sides are white.


The first is the Diet Mt Dew paint scheme. This will be different than what we're used to seeing as the background is silver.  

There is one special paint scheme that has been released that Dale will run at Martinsville.

This one is shown below.

After the Lap, Dale Jr: Season in Review, and Dale's speech from the awards banquet

I tried to get the videos to post on here, but they wouldn't load, so here are the links to them.

NASCAR After the Lap from Champion's Week

Awards Banquet: Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Season in Review: Dale Jr

Ford 400 and congrats to Jr Nation!!

What a great season for Dale! Not only did he stay in the top 10 all year, he made the chase, and will be at the awards banquet tomorrow night.

As for the Ford 400, he had a pretty decent car, and finished 11th,

which is where he started the race as well.

WAY TO GO JR NATION ON GETTING DALE HIS 9TH MOST POPULAR DRIVER AWARD!!!



Dale Jr's message to Jr Nation on voting him the Most Popular Driver for the 9th year in a row.

Dale Jr. would be OK with Dillon taking 3 to Cup

By David Caraviello, NASCAR.COM

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Austin Dillon won the Camping World Truck Series championship on Friday night driving a vehicle that bears the iconic No. 3. Next year, he'll pilot a car on the Nationwide Series adorned with the same numeral. And if he ever takes that same number up to the Sprint Cup tour one day -- well, there's one person who wouldn't have a problem with it.
That would be Dale Earnhardt Jr.

"Austin's ran that number. I just look at it differently," Earnhardt said Saturday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. "I don't look at the numbers tied to drivers as much as the history of the number. The number is more of a bank that you just deposit history into, and it doesn't really belong to any individual. Austin's run that number, and you can't really deny him the opportunity to run it. It just wouldn't be fair."

Dale Earnhardt made the number famous, driving it in six of his seven championship campaigns at NASCAR's top level and cultivating a legion of passionate fans in the process. No one has driven a No. 3 car full-time at the Nationwide or Sprint Cup levels since Earnhardt was killed on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. Dillon, grandson of Earnhardt's former car owner Richard Childress, began using the number in the Truck Series when he debuted on that tour in 2009, and will take the numeral with him to the Nationwide circuit next year.

Childress, who ran the number himself before becoming a car owner, has not pronounced any plans to take his grandson Cup racing with the No. 3. When Dillon made his Sprint Cup debut earlier this season at Kansas, he drove a No. 98 car. The Truck Series champ is likely to make a handful of Sprint Cup starts next year, given that Childress' race team is contracting from four to three full-time cars.

But given the family connection, fans still wonder about the prospect of Dillon driving a No. 3 in NASCAR's big leagues one day. Earnhardt points out that the number predates his father.
"Dad did great things," Earnhardt said. "He was a great ambassador for the sport, and we're still as a whole reaping the benefits of what he did and what he accomplished. He put us in front of a lot of people. But even before that, that number was Richard's. Richard drove it; somebody else drove it before then. There's a lot of guys in the '50s and '60s that ran that number with success. ... When you put the color and the style with it, it's a little iconic to the sport."

To his credit, Dillon has embraced the history of the number, and shown nothing but respect for its history. Earnhardt Jr. recognizes that.

"Austin's a good kid," Earnhardt said. "He seems to have a great appreciation for what's happening to him and what's going on around him. I would be happy if he wanted to keep [driving the 3]. He kind of had to know when he first started that running that number -- if he got this far into the deal, he would have to cross a few bridges like that. That was a tough decision I guess at first, to start running the number for him, knowing what pressures he might face down the road. But I think it would be fine by me for him to do that. I think it's got to get back on the race track one of these days. It can't be gone forever."

Kobalt Tools 400

Dale had a rough day on Sunday and no matter what he and Stevie did, they couldn't get the car to Jr's liking. He finished 2 laps down in 24th, but was able to hang on to 7th place in points. Next week is the last race for the 2011 season and I have to work. :( Oh well.

AAA Texas 500

Dale had a pretty decent day, starting 16th going back and forth between tight and loose. He finished 7th and has moved up two positions to 7th in point standings.

Next week will be an interesting one as the guys head to Phoenix where not only has the track been repaved, it also had an entire makeover done to the pit road area and the track itself.