A Dream Turns Into Championships
In the early 1980s, a veteran crew chief who had tired of the NASCAR grind was tending his property on his tractor when a young Charlotte, N.C., businessman approached him about starting a race team.
The initial meeting between the grizzled veteran – Harry Hyde -- and the young businessman who was a racer at heart -- Rick Hendrick was the beginning of Hendrick Motorsports.
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The initial meeting between the grizzled veteran – Harry Hyde -- and the young businessman who was a racer at heart -- Rick Hendrick was the beginning of Hendrick Motorsports.
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Hyde, a fixture in NASCAR racing since the 1960s, had directed Bobby Isaac to the 1970 NASCAR Cup championship. Hendrick had started his high speed adventures in drag-boat racing, but he had a dream of what he wanted to accomplish in NASCAR.
The 34-year-old Hendrick had no sponsor when he started All-Star Racing. His driver – Geoff Bodine – was still trying to make a name for himself in NASCAR. But Hendrick believed in Hyde and he felt that together they could make a successful team.
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April 29, 1984 --
Geoff Bodine dives into Martinsville Speedway’s victory lane for All-Star Racing’s first NASCAR Cup win.
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Eight races into the 1984 season, the team was at a turning point due to a lack of funding. It was at that critical moment that Bodine sped into victory lane at Martinsville, Va. That laid the foundation for Hendrick Motorsports’ victory road, and 25 years later, it has been a road well traveled.
Today, Hendrick Motorsports makes its headquarters on the property once owned and farmed by Hyde. The building housing Jimmie Johnson’s and Jeff Gordon’s teams sits where Hyde’s home once stood under huge oak trees.
Hyde lived to see only one Hendrick NASCAR Cup championship, Gordon’s inaugural title in 1995. Bodine provided Hendrick with his first Daytona 500 victory in 1986 and Tim Richmond with his inaugural Southern 500 win later that same year. Gordon provided Hendrick with four championships – 1995, 1997, 1998 and 2001. Terry Labonte’s came in 1996.
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Feb. 19, 1989 --
After 17 years, Darrell Waltrip holds his own to win his first-ever Daytona 500 and give Hendrick Motorsports its second victory in the “Great American Race.”
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May 29, 1994 --
Hendrick Motorsports gets its first Coca-Cola 600 victory at Lowe’s Motor Speedway when a young Jeff Gordon defeats veteran Rusty Wallace with a two-tire change on his final pit stop for his first NASCAR Cup win.
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Nov. 10, 1996 --
Terry Labonte finishes fifth in the season finale at Atlanta to give Hendrick Motorsports its second NASCAR Cup championship.
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The addition of Jimmie Johnson catapulted Hendrick Motorsports to even more stock car racing success. In Johnson’s rookie season, he earned the pole for the prestigious Daytona 500 in only his fourth NASCAR Cup start, then tasted champagne in victory lane just nine races later. He even won both races at Dover that year, making him the first rookie in NASCAR history to accomplish that feat.
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April 28, 2002 --
Jimmie Johnson earns his first NASCAR Cup victory at California Speedway, near his hometown of El Cajon, Calif.
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In just seven years, from the time Johnson began his full-time NASCAR Cup tenure with Hendrick in 2002, the organization collected 75 victories with Johnson responsible for more than half of them. Nine races into the 2009 season, Johnson had totaled 41 victories in 264 races, 105 top-five and 162 top-10 finishes, 19 poles and led 7,754 laps.
“My first real day here was when Hendrick won the 100th victory and there was a surprise party for Rick," said Jimmie Johnson. "I was very excited to be invited to it. I remember driving in here and seeing this whole organization gather in the museum at the time to celebrate with Rick. Just to see so many people care for him and to see the culture of Hendrick Motorsports impressed me beyond belief.
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And then I sat there and watched the drivers take the stage, and then they brought in other drivers that had won over the years to surprise Rick," remembered Johnson. "I thought, ‘Man, if I could just win one race and be on that stage when he wins 150 or whatever it may be, then I’ve made it.’ To look back at what’s gone on, it’s been a wild ride.’’
Even more phenomenal, however, is the fact that Johnson has netted three straight NASCAR Cup titles -- the first driver to accomplish the feat in 30 years.
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March 29, 2009 -- The past and the present of Hendrick Motorsports reunite at Martinsville Speedway to celebrate the anniversary of the team's first win with Geoff Bodine. |
In the 25 years of Hendrick Motorsports, the organization has brought home 12 NASCAR championships – eight Cup, three truck and one Nationwide. His 11 car owner titles in NASCAR’s national series ties him for the most all-time with Richard Childress.
“I hope I’m here for the 50th," said Hendrick. "In 25 years this company, with Jimmie in that Lowe’s car, there are going to be a lot of championships. I would like to think we had won more championships than anyone in the history of the sport and more races. It’s an opportunity in life to accomplish some pretty phenomenal goals.
“When you think about the fact I grew up idolizing the guys that did this and never thought I’d get to do it," he added. "To be able to be a part of it is neat enough. To be able to do something nobody has ever done is really special.’’
It, indeed, is one man’s story of a dream that became reality.
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