Hendrick Motorsports Owner Rick Hendrick said that his NASCAR team is "moving closer to making announcements about sponsors Lowe’s and Nationwide," according to Dustin Long of NBCSPORTS.com. Hendrick Motorsports' deals with Lowe's (Jimmie Johnson) and Nationwide (Dale Earnhardt Jr.) in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series "both expire after the season." Hendrick said, "We’re ready to announce Lowe’s probably any time, and we’re in the middle of Nationwide, too." He added, "Everybody has indicated that they want to continue. We’re very thankful for that. We’ll be making some announcements in probably the next three or four weeks." Nationwide joined Hendrick Motorsports in '15 after having been the sponsor of what is now the Xfinity Series from '08-14. Hendrick also said that "talks will come later with sponsors about who will take over" the No. 88 car upon Earnhardt's retirement after this season (NBCSPORTS.com, 5/16). ESPN.com's Bob Pockrass noted one sponsor Hendrick "doesn't have to worry about is Earnhardt sponsor Axalta," which opened a 36,000-square-foot training and customer service center yesterday on the Hendrick Motorsports campus. Hendrick, whose automobile dealerships use 40,000 gallons of paint a year, said that he discussed '18 driver options with Axalta yesterday (ESPN.com, 5/16).
