Hendrick to field No.17 Xfinity entry for Larson, Bowman, Byron

Hendrick Motorsports will field the No. 17 Chevrolet in three upcoming NASCAR Xfinity Series road course races.

Kyle Larson will drive the car at Road America on July 2. Alex Bowman will take the car for the July 30 event on the Indianapolis road course. The third race will be for William Byron on Aug. 20 at Watkins Glen.

HendrickCars.com will sponsor the effort.

“Our drivers are always looking for more opportunities to compete,” said Jeff Andrews, president and general manager of Hendrick Motorsports. “We believe the additional road-course experience on Saturdays (in the Xfinity Series) will translate well to Sundays (in the Cup Series). It will be exciting to see the No. 17 return to the racetrack for Hendrick Motorsports, and we’ll do everything we can to take it back to victory lane.”

Kevin Meendering will crew chief the car. Meendering worked with Elliott Sadler during his time with JR Motorsports from 2016 to 2018, winning three races and the regular-season championship in 2017.

Hendrick Motorsports used the No. 17 with Darrell Waltrip and won nine races from 1987 to 1990. It was also used by Ricky Hendrick during his NASCAR career, including his Camping World Truck Series victory in 2001 at Kansas Speedway in his rookie season.

“It will be special to see the No. 17 back in action for Hendrick Motorsports,” said Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports and chairman and CEO of Hendrick Automotive Group. “It’s a great chance for Kyle, Alex and William to gain more time on the road courses and to do even more with our HendrickCars.com sponsorship. I’m looking forward to running the Xfinity Series again.”

Hendrick Motorsports last competed in an Xfinity Series race in 2009.