Earnhardt Jr. now co-owner of Florida auto dealerships

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has his hand in several businesses. He owns Hammerhead Entertainment, a video production company. He operates JR Motorsports, which owns two cars in the Nationwide Series. He owns country-themed bars named Whisky River in Charlotte, N.C., and Jacksonville, Fla.

And now he co-owns a couple of automobile dealerships. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Buick GMC Cadillac opened Monday in Tallahassee, Fla., after the Hendrick Automotive Group bought the dealerships from Larry Strom.

The properties will be managed by Hendrick Automotive Group, whose chairman Rick Hendrick also owns Hendrick Motorsports.

Earnhardt is a nine-time Sprint Cup Most Popular Driver award recipient and currently fourth in the Sprint Cup standings. He has driven for Hendrick since 2008. This is the first time they've partnered for dealerships.

"This is something Rick and I have talked about doing ever since I came to Hendrick Motorsports, but we agreed it had to be the right situation," Earnhardt said in a news release. "I'm honored to work with everyone at Hendrick Automotive Group and have this opportunity in a great market like Tallahassee.

"I was a mechanic in a Chevy store before I started racing, and I've always loved General Motors products and been interested in the dealership business. So it's exciting for me."

Hendrick Automotive Group operates 84 dealerships around the United States.