Does Rick Hendrick own part of JR Motorsports? Here's what we know

Retired NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. spent the last 10 seasons of his Cup Series career driving the #88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet for Rick Hendrick. The 15-time Most Popular Driver won nine races with HMS, including his second career Daytona 500.

In 2002, the North Carolina native ventured into building his own race team, Jr. Motorsports, co-owned by himself and his older sister, Kelley Earnhardt Miller. As the 26-time Cup Series race winner decided to take what began as a three-car street stock team to the NASCAR Xfinity Series, he had help from his Cup Series boss along the way.

Here, we take a look at Hendrick's involvement in Jr. Motorsports and how one of the sport's most iconic drivers took his self-owned team to championship-winning heights.

NASCAR Cup Series team owner Rick Hendrick (Source: Imagn)

Hendrick, a 14-time Cup Series champion as an owner, co-owns Jr. Motorsports alongside Earnhardt Jr. and Miller. After moving up to the Xfinity Series in 2005, Earnhardt partnered up with Hendrick in 2008, the same season he had joined HMS at the Cup level.

Hendrick provided engineering and chassis support as the team won its first race in 2008 with Hall of Famer Mark Martin as the driver, earning a win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

The team fielded the #88 car as well, which was driven by eventual 2012 Cup champion Brad Keselowski. The Michigan native tallied wins at Nashville and Bristol in 2008, while road-course racer Ron Fellows earned a win for the team at Montreal.

Jr. Motorsports continued to develop over the next few years, ultimately leading them to signing Chase Elliott ahead of the 2014 season. The Georgia native went on to become the first rookie to win an Xfinity Series championship and the youngest champion, at 18.

Earnhardt's team proceeded to win two more championships, one with William Byron in 2017 and the other with Tyler Reddick in 2018. Both drivers are currently in the playoffs in the Cup Series, with Byron piloting the #24 HMS Chevrolet, while Reddick wheeling the #45 23XI Racing Toyota.

Since their first year of operation, Jr. Motorsports has scored 86 wins, 1,023 top-10 finishes and three Xfinity Series championships.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. made his return to NASCAR racing Friday at Bristol

Since retiring from full-time competition in 2017, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has made yearly appearances in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Driving for his own team, Earnhardt drove the #88 Hellsman car to a seventh-place finish in Friday's Food City 300 at Bristol.

His Jr. Motorsports team cars, driven by Justin Allgaier, Sam Mayer and Sammy Smith, all qualified for the Xfinity Series playoffs, which kick off next week at Kansas. His fourth driver, Brandon Jones, failed to make the 12-driver playoff field.

Allgaier starts the playoffs first in points, while Mayer starts seventh and Smith 11th. All three drivers are seeking their first Xfinity Series title.