Is Dale Earnhardt Jr. involved in the car dealership business? All you need to know

Former NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., apart from being part owner of the Xfinity Series team JR Motorsports, also has a stake in a car dealership business. Specifically, Earnhardt Jr. is part-owner of two dealerships based in Tallahassee, Florida. The 2021 Hall of Fame inductee opened the two dealerships in a partnership with one of the other owners of JRM, Rick Hendrick.

Before he began his career as a racing car driver, Earnhardt Jr. was a Chevy mechanic in his father seven-time Cup Series champion, Dale Earnhardt Sr.'s dealership in Newton, North Carolina. The two JRM executives partnered up in 2012 to open Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Buick GMC, located 12 miles apart. When it was announced in August 2012 that he would be going into the dealership business, the driver said:

"I was a mechanic in a Chevy store before I started racing, and I've always loved General Motors products and been interested in the dealership business. So it's exciting for me, and I hope it’s going to be exciting for the people in the Tallahassee area.” [via Hendrick Motorsports]

The two stores were opened during the driver's time with Hendrick Motorsports, five years before he retired from the sport. One of the reasons that he chose to open a dealership had to do with his plans after his time was finished in the Cup Series. In a feature about the dealerships from 2016, when he was 41-years-old, Earnhardt Jr. said:

“I’ve saved my money, so I don’t have to be (racing). I love it because I’ve got great cars, I feel like I’m doing great, we’re winning. But for the longest time, I’d be like, ‘Oh, I’ve got a lot of years.’ Then you see Jeff (Gordon) retire at 44 and Tony (Stewart) is going to be what, 45? You’re thinking, ‘Damn, how many Daytona 500s do I got left?’” [via USA Today]

According to the website Growjo, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet has an estimated yearly revenue of $8.2 million per year, while Dale Earnhardt Jr. Buick GMC's revenue is an estimated $11.6 million per year.

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Rick Hendrick explained why the Dale Earnhardt Jr. dealerships opened in Tallahassee

Dale Earnhardt Jr. talks with team owner Rick Hendrick during practice for the The Profit on CNBC 500 at Phoenix International Raceway on March 1st, 2014 - Source: Imagn

Partnering with Dale Earnhardt Jr. in his ventures in the Xfinity Series and his dealership business, along with his own ventures in the form of a Cup Series team and an automotive group, Rick Hendrick is involved in a lot of businesses. When it was announced in 2012 that Earnhardt Jr. and his former team's owner were partnering up to open the dealerships in Tallahassee, Hendrick explained their choice of location:

“We wanted to find something centrally located between Daytona and Talladega, and Tallahassee was the perfect fit. But truly, Tallahassee is a market we’ve been looking at for a long time, and it’s going to be a terrific place to do business. It’s exciting to have Dale Jr. involved, and we feel lucky to be a part of this community." [via Hendrick Motorsports]

The duo chose a place between Daytona and Talladega because that is where Dale Earnhardt Jr. secured a combined 10 victories out of his total 26 career wins.

Dale Jr. crossed the checkered flag to take the win at Talladega six times, and Daytona four times, which included his two Daytona 500 wins in 2004 and 2014.