It is interesting to note that the Hendrick Motorsports team has often tied up with a few American universities. Quite recently, the outfit penned a new 5-year contract with Liberty University. Admittedly, it is a little odd for an academic institution to sponsor a NASCAR team. However, the Hendrick team seems to make it work, especially with the #24 car.

Interestingly, this whole practice has seemingly started because of Jeff Gordon. Thanks to his influence, it has been hugely beneficial for a few academic institutions. One of them is the University of Michigan, when the sponsorship aided the engineering department. Now, it appears that William Byron has taken on the mantle of tying himself with various colleges as sponsors.

With the new contract in place, Byron will continue to carry the flag for Liberty University. Of course, there have been a few other educational organizations that have tied up with the NASCAR giants. Now, Liberty is just the latest one in a long line of sponsors. Their deal with Byron sees the university take on the role of primary sponsor for a number of races.

Who else has Hendrick Motorsports tied up with?

It is also worth noting that Texas A&M University and Penn State have sponsored Jeff Gordon on many occasions. Additionally, Gordon and Alex Bowman had Michigan State University sponsor their #88 car. Another important factor in this is a former Axalta CEO, who was responsible for the Axalta College partnerships.

As it turned out, he was a graduate of Texas A&M University. So, he has often been credited with getting the partnerships set up. Unfortunately, he stepped down in 2018, but it seems that the program is still continuing despite his absence.

Interestingly, Hendrick Motorsports is not the only team involved in the scheme. The likes of Cody Ware, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Brian Vickers, Jamie McMurray, Clint Bowyer, Ross Chastain, and Ryan Blaney have been part of it.

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