Dale Earnhardt Jr. sparks speculation over Hendrick Xfinity Series plans after Rajah Caruth, Jake Finch name drops

On Wednesday, Dale Earnhardt Jr. appeared to break some news surrounding Hendrick Motorsports and their Xfinity Series program. With a close relationship between Hendrick and JR Motorsports, the NASCAR icon would likely have a little inside information.

During the Dale Jr. Download, Earnhardt was discussing the Xfinity Series race at Bristol. He talked about Kyle Larson and his comments about wanting to “embarrass” the series and NASCAR.

As he talked about the Hendrick team, he let a little bit of information slip. Earlier this season, Hendrick announced their four Cup Series drivers would have one to two starts in the No. 17 car for 2025. They also announced a 10-race schedule for Corey Day, their development driver.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. seems to believe two other drivers have starts coming this year. There is room on the schedule for more Xfinity races for Hendrick. Above all else, Earnhardt seemed annoyed by Larson’s comments after Bristol.

“Hey, he’ll [Larson] tell us, ‘Well, the Hendrick car’s full – they got Day, Rajah, Finch, they got a season full.’ Well, there’s other Chevrolets out there,” Earnhardt explained. “He won’t be in that sweet, sweet Hendrick equipment carrying him around that racetrack, but hey, he’s the difference maker, right?

“And the CARS Tour would love for him – that’s one box he ain’t checked. He went to the CARS Tour and raced our car, a good car, at Caraway and finished 7th. So, there’s some mountains he ain’t climbed yet.”

Now, Rajah Caruth making Xfinity Series starts in the No. 17 car isn’t wild. He has raced in that car before and of course, he is sponsored for the entire Truck Series season by HendrickCars.com. In 2023, Jeff Gordon took an interest in Caruth and the partnership has been there ever since.

However, Jake Finch is interesting. 19 years old, Finch doesn’t have a lot of experience. At least not in the ARCA and NASCAR ranks.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. name drops… Jake Finch?

While we haven’t seen a lot of Jake Finch in NASCAR and ARCA, he does have an ARCA win. He was victorious at Talladega last season, though I remember the race being a bit lackluster. He also won an ARCA East race at Dover in 2023.

This season, he has made one start for Venturini Motorsports, a DNF at Daytona. Finch has raced a Toyota every time he has entered an ARCA race. So, the swap to Chevrolet is surprising. Then again, I’m not sure what that relationship between Finch and Toyota was like previously. Some of those development drivers are more ingrained into the system than others.

Jake Finch has not made a NASCAR Truck or Xfinity Series start in his career. No offense to the teenager as he tries to work his way up through the ranks, but this fits a pattern. He clearly prefers to put himself in top equipment, but that can be good and bad.

We have seen what the 17 car is capable of with Cup Series talent. If Finch goes out and flops in that car, it could say more about him than if he raced a Sam Hunt Toyota or Alpha Prime Chevy to a top-20, top-15 finish.