BACK TO GALLERIES

A history of the No. 9 in NASCAR

By Zack Albert, NASCAR.com | Published: August 29, 2017 22

Brian Lawdermilk | Getty Images

BACK TO GALLERIES

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Brian Lawdermilk | Getty Images

The No. 9 has a rich history of adorning cars in NASCAR's premier series. Chase Elliott hopes to add a new chapter next season at the wheel of the No. 9 for Hendrick Motorsports, driving the car number so closely linked to his father, NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott.

With the car number set to return to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series after a two-year absence, we present a glimpse into the archives with the No. 9 through the history of NASCAR's top division.

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ISC Images & Archives | Getty Images

The No. 9 made four appearances in the first season (1949) of NASCAR's top series, then called 'Strictly Stock.' Among its first campaigners was New Jersey's Len Brown, who made his first of just five career starts in the No. 9 at Langhorne (Pa.) Speedway's 1-mile track.

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ISC Images & Archives | Getty Images

Frank Luptow took the No. 9 Lincoln for a sandy ride on the old Daytona Beach-Road Course during the 1950 season. Luptow collected $50 for finishing 18th in front of spectators perched on the nearby dunes.

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ISC Images & Archives | Getty Images

Joe Weatherly notched most of his 25 premier-series wins driving car No. 8 for fellow NASCAR Hall of Famer Bud Moore, but earlier in his career, he piloted No. 9 for car owner Charlie Schwam.

Here, Weatherly starts a qualifying run ahead of the No. 99 of teammate and close friend Curtis Turner on the Daytona Beach-Road Course.

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ISC Images & Archives | Getty Images

Throughout the 1960s, the No. 9 was most closely associated with Roy Tyner of Red Springs, North Carolina. Tyner made 311 premier-series starts from 1957-70. Here, he poses with the No. 9 Chevrolet that saw action in 46 of 62 races in the 1964 season.

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ISC Images & Archives | Getty Images

Tyner often sported a mohawk during his driving days as an homage to his Native American heritage.

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ISC Images & Archives | Getty Images

Tyner keeps his No. 9 Pontiac GTO ahead of Buddy Baker's damaged No. 3 during the Old Dominion 500 at Martinsville Speedway in 1968.

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ISC Images & Archives | Getty Images

Maine native Pete Hamilton had a brief career in NASCAR's top division that included a victory in the 1970 Daytona 500. In his final two seasons (1972-73), Hamilton made just six starts driving the No. 9.

Here, Hamilton works around Dave Marcis in his final Daytona start in 1973.

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NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott claimed the No. 9 as his own for his 1976 debut with his family-owned team. Elliott carried that number on this unsponsored 1978 Mercury, which swept two top-10 finishes in each of its Daytona starts that year.

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Elliott kept the No. 9 as support from Harry Melling's automotive tool company came on board into the 1980s.

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ISC Images & Archives | Getty Images

Melling later became the car owner of record as Elliott's success skyrocketed and Coors signed on as a major sponsor. Elliott scored one of his biggest wins in the No. 9 Ford Thunderbird with a dominant performance in the 1985 Daytona 500. It marked the first of 11 victories that season.

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ISC Images & Archives | Getty Images

The No. 9 car bore a familiar look for six more wins in the 1988 season, when Elliott secured his only championship in NASCAR's top series.

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ISC Images & Archives | Getty Images

Elliott's No. 9 ride sported a new, blue look for the 1991 campaign with Coors Light backing. Elliott posted one win in 1991 (Daytona in July) before moving on to the No. 11 of Junior Johnson the following season.

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David Taylor | Getty Images

The Melling-owned No. 9 carried on in partial seasons from 1992-94, but returned for full-time runs in 1995-96 with Lake Speed flying the colors of primary sponsor Spam.

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David Taylor | Getty Images

Speed was with the team for a portion of the 1998 season with Cartoon Network adding a colorful flair to its primary sponsorship.

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Jamie Squire | Getty Images

Cartoon Network was back on the No. 9 Ford for 1999, with Jerry Nadeau taking the wheel for Daytona's season-opening Speedweeks.

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Jonathan Ferrey | Getty Images

The No. 9 came back within the Elliott family fold in 2001, when Bill Elliott joined Ray Evernham's start-up team effort to bring Dodge back to NASCAR. Elliott won the pole position for the 2001 Daytona 500 in the team's debut, then went on to score the final four victories of his career in the No. 9.

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Gavin Lawrence | Getty Images

Evernham tapped Kasey Kahne to replace Elliott in 2004, kicking off his rookie year in the No. 9 Dodge. Kahne wheeled the No. 9 for the better part of seven seasons, even as the team transformed through ownership changes.

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Tom Pennington | Getty Images

By his final season (2010) in the No. 9, Kahne was driving under the Richard Petty Motorsports umbrella. The team made the switch from Dodge to Ford, and Kahne won three pole positions that season before moving on.

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Brian Lawdermilk | Getty Images

Australian driver Marcos Ambrose joined Petty's team as the driver of the No. 9 Ford, starting in 2011. Ambrose used his road-racing expertise to seal a pair of victories at Watkins Glen in his four seasons with the team.

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Chris Graythen | Getty Images

Sam Hornish Jr. came on board for Richard Petty Motorsports' No. 9 team in 2015, recording three top-10 finishes in his lone season with the organization. RPM changed the car number to No. 44 the following season.

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Patrick Smith | Getty Images

While the No. 9 has been out of the rotation in the premier series, Chase Elliott used the number to great success in what's now the NASCAR XFINITY Series. Driving for JR Motorsports, Elliott won the 2014 championship with a three-win rookie season.

Elliott will aim to make more history next season driving the No. 9 Chevrolet for the first time in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.