Hendrick Motorsports is assigning William Byron and Chase Elliott different car numbers next season as part of its overhauled driver lineup, the team announced Tuesday.
Chase Elliott will switch to car No. 9 next season, same number as Hall of Fame father
As part of the change, Hendrick Motorsports assigns William Byron the No. 24.
Elliott will switch to driving the No. 9 Chevrolet, with William Byron taking over the No. 24 previously driven by Elliott since 2016 and the now-retired Jeff Gordon before him from 1992 to 2015. The No. 9 has strong family ties for Elliott, whose father Bill Elliott drove the same numbered car for the majority of his NASCAR Hall of Fame career.
“I wasn’t sure I’d ever drive the ‘9’ again,” Chase Elliott said in a statement. “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.”
Hendrick is only switching the car numbers for Elliott and Byron, with their respective team personnel remaining as is.
Gordon made the No. 24 one of the most famous in NASCAR by winning four Cup Series championships and 93 races, third-most all-time behind Richard Petty (200) and David Pearson (105). Byron was slated to drive the No. 5 car in what will be his rookie year in the Cup Series, taking over for Kasey Kahne, whose contract Hendrick is buying out to make room for the 19-year-old prospect.
“The ‘fit factor’ is something I’ve always believed in, and that’s what I see with William and our organization,” team owner Rick Hendrick said. “He reminds me a lot of Jeff at that age with regard to being a special talent and having a great head on his shoulders.”
Jimmie Johnson (No. 48) and Alex Bowman (No. 88), who is replacing the retiring Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2018, will continue to use their respective numbers as previously announced.
The change marks the first time Hendrick will not field a No. 5 car since the team was founded in 1984. Six different drivers (Geoff Bodine, Ricky Rudd, Terry Labonte, Kyle Busch, Mark Martin, and Kahne) combined to record 38 victories using that number under the Hendrick banner, with Labonte winning the 1996 Cup Series championship.
“That was by far the hardest part (of the car number decisions),” Hendrick said. “The ‘5’ means so much to everyone at Hendrick Motorsports and to a lot of our fans. The memories and the history will always be there, and I won’t rule out bringing it back some day. Never say never.”
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