Hendrick Motorsports to field No. 17 car in 4 Xfinity races
Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet will return for four NASCAR Xfinity Series races in 2023, the organization said Wednesday.
The No. 17 car will return at Circuit of the Americas, March 25, with William Byron driving.
Kyle Larson will race the car twice – June 10 at Sonoma and September 2 at Darlington. Alex Bowman will race it August 19 at Watkins Glen.
Veteran crew chiefs Kevin Meendering and Greg Ives will oversee the effort.
“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 is the priority.”
The crew chiefs and drivers are the same as last season but the drivers’ races are different.
Last season, Bowman drove the No. 17 at the Indianapolis road course and Byron drove it at Watkins Glen. Meanwhile, Larson drove the car at Darlington but his other race was at Road America.
“Watching the No. 17 return to the track last year was very special,” said team owner Rick Hendrick. “It was fun being back in the Xfinity Series. 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 car’s best finish was 2nd – with Bowman at Indy and Larson at Road America.
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com