Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports secure NAPA Sprint Cup sponsorship

When Chase Elliott replaces Jeff Gordon next season he will do so with familiar colors on the side of his car.

NAPA, which began sponsoring Elliott last season in the Xfinity Series, will move with the 19-year-old to Cup in 2016 and will serve as primary sponsor in 24 races for the next three years. Hendrick Motorsports announced the partnership Wednesday.

Elliott won the 2014 Xfinity Series championship, becoming the first rookie to win a NASCAR national series title. In January, Hendrick named him the heir apparent to Jeff Gordon, who will step back from running a full-time schedule at the end of this season. Elliott, the son of NASCAR Hall of Famer and 1988 Cup champion Bill Elliott, will continue to drive the No. 24 car Gordon made famous.

“I’m so fortunate to work with a company like NAPA,” Elliott said. “They’ve been behind me 100%, and I never take that support for granted. Continuing the relationship means a lot, and I know the entire team is focused on making it as successful as possible. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Formerly with Michael Waltrip Racing up until the end of the 2013 season, NAPA left the organization after team personnel attempted to manipulate a race to ensure the company’s driver, Martin Truex Jr., made the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

In the wake of the cheating scandal, NASCAR issued record penalties to MWR and disqualified Truex from the playoffs. NAPA then announced it was going to leave NASCAR entirely, but Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Rick Hendrick, co-owners of JR Motorsports, convinced company executives to sponsor Elliott, who, in addition to the championship, won three races.

“We have an incredible opportunity with NAPA, both on and off the track,” Hendrick said. “Our organizations work extremely well together and share many of the same values. The program already has a ton of positive momentum, and we want to carry that into 2016 with great performance in all areas of the business. We take a lot of pride in the relationship and are committed to making a big impact for NAPA.”

The team did not reveal sponsorship for the remaining 12 races of Elliott’s 2016 campaign.