What do Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers Martin Truex, Jr with Toyota, Brad Keselowski with Ford, and Chase Elliot with Chevrolet have in common?

How about Late Model drivers Josh Berry and Anthony Alfredo?

The connection is being a part of Junior Nation driving for Dale Earnhardt Jr – NASCAR’s most popular driver for 14 consecutive years.

While Martin Truex, Jr drove for him under the banner of Chance 2 Motorsports – an investment into the XFINITY Series with his step-mother Teresa Earnhardt – the rest is part of the history of JR Motorsports/JRM. What began in 1998 on a shoe string and used as a marketing  platform for t-shirts and sponsorship has developed into a full-blown championship race team.

In 2002, JRM entered a street stock division at a local track in North Carolina, going on to earn their first win at Virginia in 2004. They launched an XFINITY Series team in 2006 and merged with Rick Hendrick’s team in 2008 supporting a two car team and winning four times that year. Now in their 16th year of operation, JRM operates four full-time and one part-time team out of a 66,000-square-foot facility and boasts the 2014 XFINITY Series champion with Chase Elliott capturing nine victories.That’s in addition to JR Motorsports Late Model operation and in 2015-16, a Camping World Truck Series entry.

Though the original intention may have been to offer opportunities for developing up-and-coming drivers, that focus changed with the realization that veterans bring in the sponsorship dollars – and that equates to performance. In the 2016 Chase, two of the championship four were JRM drivers, marking the third straight season with two of the top-four in the overall point standings belonging to JRM. That trend is continuing in the 2017 season with the current top-three drivers part of JRM, and the fourth sitting sixth in the standings. JRM’s young rookie William Byron has a path toward the future and still part of the this year’s success.

All told, that original shed-based venture has achieved 31 wins and a champion in the XFINITY Series and 69 Late Model victories with track championships in 2012 and 2014 along with a 2016 owner championship.

So for those thinking that Dale Earnhardt Jr’s retirement from the premier series will mean he’s going to disappear – don’t bank on it – expect the rise of JR nation to keep growing.