Dale Earnhardt Jr. throws a cheeky shade at HMS over Chase Elliott’s Pocono penalty

Dale Earnhardt Jr. threw cheeky shade at Hendrick Motorsports following a penalty issued to their No. 17 Xfinity Series team. The former driver and current team owner posted a tweet that seemed to jab at the team’s violation discovered after Chase Elliott’s run at Pocono Raceway.

The tweet was posted on Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s official account on X in response to a tweet from FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass detailing NASCAR’s penalty against Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 17 Xfinity team. Bob Pockrass' tweet read,

Dale Earnhardt Jr. replied with a short message and a meme. He wrote,

“Texting Ives now…”.

Greg Ives, whom Junior referred to in his tweet, is currently the crew chief for JR Motorsports’ No. 40 Chevrolet Camaro. He’s a trusted ally of Earnhardt Jr. and formerly worked at HMS himself.

The tweet was posted shortly after NASCAR levied an L1 penalty for violations related to the car’s main frame rail conical receivers—an infraction deemed serious enough to strip the team of 40 owner points and 10 playoff points. Additionally, crew chief Adam Wall was fined $40,000 and suspended for three races.

The No. 17 Chevrolet, driven by Chase Elliott, had finished fourth at Pocono after winning the pole and leading 38 of 100 laps. The car was later found to have illegal modifications during inspection at the R&D Center in Concord, North Carolina.

This isn’t the first time HMS has fielded the No. 17 on a part-time basis. Over 10 races this season, they've rotated drivers like Kyle Larson, William Byron, Corey Day, and Alex Bowman. Larson and Byron delivered wins at Bristol and Charlotte respectively. But with this penalty, the team drops from 14th to 16th in owner standings. HMS has accepted the penalty and will not appeal.

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“I got to do more than I thought I was going to” – Dale Earnhardt Jr. on Crew Chief Role After Pocono Win

Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently returned to a NASCAR Xfinity Series pit box—not as a driver, but as a crew chief for 18-year-old Connor Zilisch. This move came after regular crew chief Mardy Lindley was suspended, prompting Dale Jr. to step in at Pocono.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. described the experience as unexpectedly hands-on and rewarding. When Lindley asked for his help, he accepted without hesitation, expecting to play a small support role.

Instead, he found himself directly involved in race strategy, pit stop timing, and real-time decision-making during the race. He shared this reflection during an interview on Prime Video, as cited by NASCAR on X.

“That was pretty cool. I got to do more than I thought I was going to. I didn’t know what to expect. Marty asked me to do it and jumped up there and got involved on the pit stops, had a little roll there. That was fun, exciting, nerve-wracking,” he said. He added, “And then as the race was playing out, man, we really got involved in what we should do strategy-wise… Help me understand everything that you know, right? The crew chief is sitting up there and he can see.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. also worked with Zilisch on restart tactics and side drafting techniques, giving the young driver pointers to be more assertive in those high-pressure moments. The result that came out of this was a milestone win for Connor Zilisch at the Explore the Pocono Mountains 250.

It was his first oval-track victory and third career NASCAR Xfinity Series win. He led 34 laps and passed Jesse Love with just four laps remaining to seal the deal.

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Edited by Tushhita Barua