Hendrick Motorsports Team IV

Why the #25? - The number 25 was originally reserved for the second team with Tim Richmond, however after he was sidelined with pneumonia like symptoms, it was announced the 25 would come back when he was ready. However his team would continue on as the 35 car in 1987. Richmond came back at Pocono in the 25 and won in this team’s debut. A sign of things to come with the Hendrick fourth team. The ride was short lived as Richmond became too sick to drive after the summer of 1987. The team would be dormant until 2002 with the exception of one off rides.

Why the #48? - The number 48 was chosen to be a double of the number 24, a reference to Jeff Gordon as he was also the team owner in name. The number was on the side of the fourth team until 2020 when it was announced Alex Bowman was “replacing” Johnson in the 48 car, though the points and personnel of the fourth team would remain, the team needed a new number moving forward in 2021.

Why the #5? - The number 5 was chosen because it was assigned to Kyle Larson. When he was hired to drive the fourth team for 2021, a few options were given to him such as 25 (another former Hendrick number), 57 (Larson’s personal number in dirt track racing), and 88 (the old number of the second team that would become the 48 moving forward), the team selected 5 because it was Hendrick’s original number and they wanted to add to the legacy of drivers that had driven it before such as Geoff Bodine, Terry Labonte, and Kasey Kahne. The number 5 was originally chosen in 1984 at the teams inception but I don’t know why they chose 5 to begin with.