CONCORD, N.C. – As part of Hendrick Motorsports’ signing of Kyle Larson, the team announced Wednesday it will bring back its iconic No. 5 for the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season.
Next year will mark the return of the team’s flagship number for the first time since 2017. Hendrick Motorsports will no longer field the No. 88 car number, which it has raced in the NASCAR Cup Series since 2008.
The No. 5 was the original car number campaigned by Hendrick Motorsports when Rick Hendrick founded the team in 1984.
That year, Geoff Bodine drove the No. 5 to three victories, including Hendrick’s first as a Cup Series car owner on April 29, 1984, at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.
“The ‘5’ is special to me. It’s the original,” Hendrick said. “I view it as Hendrick Motorsports’ flagship team in a lot of ways. To bring the car back to the race track is meaningful for my family and for many of our team members and fans. We plan to build on its winning history with Kyle (Larson) and Cliff (Daniels, crew chief).”
With 1,129 NASCAR Cup Series starts, the No. 5 has appeared in more races for Hendrick Motorsports than any other car. Larson will be the 10th driver to field the number for the organization and will look to be the seventh to record a Cup win behind the wheel.
The No. 5 was most recently driven by Kasey Kahne at Hendrick Motorsports.
In the No. 5 Chevy for Hendrick Motorsports, Terry Labonte recorded 12 victories and won the 1996 Cup Series championship. Bodine won seven races, followed by Kahne (six), Mark Martin (five), Kyle Busch (four), and Ricky Rudd (four).
The No. 5’s total of 38 wins for Hendrick Motorsports trails only its Nos. 24 and 48 teams, which have 94 and 83 victories, respectively.