JR MOTORSPORTS - Key Persons
Carson Kvapil, son of 2003 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion Travis, returns for a second season as driver of the No. 8 JR Motorsports Late Model for 2023 after having earned a pair of CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car championships in his debut season last year. This season, Kvapil will seek to back up his dual championships with Bass Pro Shops as his primary sponsor.
Job Titles:
- Co - Owner
- Member of the Executives Team
- President
- Motorsports Co - Owner
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executives Team
- Motorsports Senior VP
- Senior Vice President, Business and Strategy
Joe Mattes brings nearly two decades of NASCAR business experience to his position as Senior Vice President of Business and Strategy. In this role, Mattes oversees the managing and marketing of personally licensed products for Dale Earnhardt Jr. and JR Motorsports. He is also dealt the task of attaining and cultivating sponsorship for the organization's NASCAR Xfinity Series operation.
Mattes' first endeavor in the racing world came in 1995, when he served as President of Dale Earnhardt's first-ever souvenir company. Together Earnhardt and Mattes became trend setters in the big business of NASCAR merchandising.
In addition to starting Sports Image Inc., which eventually sold to Action Performance, Mattes led the charge to create the apparel brand, Chase Authentics. As President from 1997 to 1999, he continued in the development, and marketing of the Chase Authentics brand. Mattes then helped blaze the trail for NASCAR's venture into internet shopping. In 2000 he joined Turner Sports as Vice President of E-Commerce for the NASCAR.com Superstore, which became hugely popular for fans to purchase NASCAR licensed merchandise. Under Mattes' watch, the NASCAR.com Superstore was listed at 188 of 500 in the 2006 Internet Retail Top 500 Guide. Mattes was also an integral player in the implementation of the NASCAR Team Properties in 2010.
Job Titles:
- Tire Specialist & Interior
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Board
- Chief Executive Officer
- Co - Owner
- Member of the Executives Team
- Motorsports Co - Owner
Considered one of the most prominent businesswomen in NASCAR today, Kelley Earnhardt Miller is the backbone to JR Motorsports, as she oversees the company's race team, management team, and business ventures for her brother, Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Coming to JR Motorsports in 2001 as general manager, the company has flourished under her leadership. With teams in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, the CARS Late Model Stock Car Tour and NASCAR Whelen All American Series, JR Motorsports now boasts seven championships, including three NXS titles in the past five seasons and four in the Late Model ranks. Chase Elliott won the inaugural NXS championship for the team in 2014, earning Rookie of the Year honors as well. William Byron won both the championship and rookie honors in 2017, and Tyler Reddick made it three titles overall and two in a row in 2018 while earning the rookie title as well. Josh Berry earned a pair of track championships in the Late Model and added CARS Tour owner and driver crowns to the list. All seven were earned since Earnhardt Miller became part of the ownership group with her brother and Rick Hendrick.
The daughter of seven-time NASCAR champion Dale Earnhardt, Earnhardt Miller graduated from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 1995 with a B.A. in Business Administration with a concentration in production and operations management. Out of college, Earnhardt immediately landed at Action Performance, the souvenir sales company that became the benchmark in NASCAR merchandising. Her many roles during a six-year span there included vice president of sales and vice president of procurement.
Earnhardt Miller's move to JR Motorsports in 2001 was significant in the career of her racing brother, who had burst onto the NASCAR scene with Xfinity Series championships in 1998 and 1999. He then became one of the sport's most publicized figures when he surged into full-time NASCAR Cup Series competition in 2000. His immediate success on the track further catapulted his popularity, and that success called for savvy leadership that could maximize his immense appeal. Earnhardt Miller instantly began expanding her brother's business portfolio, landing corporate deals that would intensify his reach as both a racer and businessman.
In 2007 Earnhardt Miller was the recipient of the Top 25 Women in Business Achievement Award by Charlotte Business Journal. In an Associated Press article in April 2007, Earnhardt Miller was referred to as "one of the most powerful people in the sport of NASCAR." In December 2009, Earnhardt Miller was listed as the third-most powerful woman in NASCAR by ESPN.com columnist Ryan McGee.
In February 2010, Earnhardt Miller was named Opportunity Award winner by Lyn St. James' Women in the Winner's Circle Foundation for her part in bringing Danica Patrick to NASCAR. With numerous teams vying for Patrick's attention, it was Earnhardt Miller who lured Patrick to JR Motorsports, giving the company one of the most recognized driver tandems in NASCAR with Earnhardt Jr. and Patrick.
Her most recent accolade came in 2015, as she was named one of Sports Business Journal's Game Changers/Women in Sports Business for her impact on the motorsports industry.
Aside from duties as general manager at JR Motorsports and agent for her brother, Earnhardt Miller is on the Board of Directors for The Dale Jr. Foundation. Since its inception, the Foundation has raised more than $11 million and distributed that money to more than 100 different charities to help give underprivileged individuals, with a focus on youth, the resources to improve their confidence and education.
Earnhardt Miller also serves as Chairwoman of the Board and Director of Blueharbor Bank. She also sits on the Board of Directors for BRANDT and Children's Hope Alliance.
Earnhardt Miller is married to L.W. Miller. She is the mother to three kids - Karsyn, Kennedy, and Wyatt.
Mike Bumgarner has always been involved in the preparation of the cars JR Motorsports runs in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. This season, Bumgarner assumed control as director of competition and will be responsible for the overall technical process at the company.
In 2017, Bumgarner served as race operations manager for JRM, overseeing the production and maintenance of the team's inventory of Chevrolet Camaro racing cars. He assumed that position when the team expanded to four full-time cars. In that role, Bumgarner performed many of the duties he now holds as director of competition, working with crew chiefs and engineers on quality control, process and overall strategy as well as overseeing the competition departments for the team.
Bumgarner has been a NASCAR Cup Series crew chief in the past, for Terry Labonte at Hendrick Motorsports. He was on the pit box for Labonte's final race with HMS in 2006 after serving as the two-time champion's car chief for the previous 10 seasons.
Job Titles:
- Tire Specialist & Interior
Job Titles:
- Co - Owner
- Member of the Executives Team
- Motorsports Co - Owner
Born July 12, 1949, in Warrenton, N.C., Joseph Riddick "Rick" Hendrick III was raised on his family's farm, a stone's throw from the small Virginia community of Palmer Springs. It was there, south of Richmond near the North Carolina border, where his father instilled the value of a hard day's work and a pure passion for the automobile.
Under the watchful eye of "Papa Joe," that love of cars led Hendrick into the world of auto racing. At age 14, he quickly made a name for himself by setting speed records at a local drag strip with a self-built 1931 Chevrolet. Two years later, the self-described "gearhead" won the Virginia division of the Chrysler-Plymouth Troubleshooting Contest, a competition for engine builders. He was just 16.