NEWS & NOTES
HAPPY 25th: On Sunday at Martinsville Speedway, Hendrick Motorsports will mark the 25th anniversary of its first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory. Since the organization began competing as All-Star Racing in 1984, it has grown from five employees and 5,000 square feet of rented work space to more than 500 employees and more than 100 acres straddling Cabarrus and Mecklenburg counties in North Carolina.
FIRST WIN: It was the eighth race of the 1984 Cup Series season, and Geoff Bodine lined up sixth at Martinsville Speedway in the No. 5 Chevrolet for Rick Hendrick’s fledgling All-Star Racing team. On that day—April 29, 1984—Bodine led 55 laps en route to capturing the organization’s first win. Reaching Victory Lane wasn’t easy, though. Bodine had to pass then-defending Cup champion Bobby Allison with 48 laps to go to take the lead.
MISSING VICTORY LANE: Hendrick wasn’t at Martinsville to experience the first of his 17 Cup wins at the .526-mile oval. The car owner was attending church with his wife, Linda, in Greensboro, N.C., during the race. He received a phone call with the news and headed straight for Bodine’s home in Pleasant Garden, N.C., to celebrate.
ALL-STAR: Hendrick originally called his organization “All-Star Racing” when he thought he had commitments from driver Richard Petty and country music artist/partner Kenny Rogers. Neither agreement panned out, and Hendrick entered the season renting land from veteran crew chief Harry Hyde with tentative plans to run a full schedule on a shoe-string budget.
BRINGING IN BODINE: Bodine’s determination ultimately convinced Hendrick to bring the driver on board for the 1984 season. Referred by Hyde, Bodine visited Hendrick at his City Chevrolet dealership in Charlotte, N.C., to discuss the position. Hendrick thanked Bodine for coming and told him he would be in touch. But rather than leave the office, Bodine chose to wait. Hendrick was impressed and offered Bodine the job that day. Bodine finished the season ranked ninth in the championship standings with three wins, seven top-five finishes, 14 top-10s and three pole positions.
HECKLING HYDE: Bodine opened the 1984 season with great promise, earning an eighth-place finish in the Daytona 500 and recording two more top-10 finishes prior to the event at Martinsville. But Hyde couldn’t resist the opportunity to tease his driver. At a belated birthday celebration for Bodine, Hyde addressed the crowd. It was the day before the Martinsville race, and Hyde said he didn’t think Bodine had what it took to win. Motivational tactic? Maybe. But Bodine, then age 35, said he overlooked his crew chief’s comments and relied on his substantial short track experience to win the race.
OLD SCHOOL: Frank Edwards, 72, was one of the five original employees at Hendrick Motorsports. Initially a setup specialist, Edwards moved from his home in Danville, Va., when Hendrick told him about his plans to start the race team. Edwards has held many roles within the team and currently works in the company’s show-car department as a fabricator and mechanic.
HOME TRACK ADVANTAGE: Hendrick, who grew up in nearby Palmer Springs, Va., has watched his teams have more success at Martinsville Speedway than any other track on the Cup circuit. At Martinsville, Hendrick Motorsports has achieved team bests in wins (17), top-five finishes (51), top-10 finishes (82) and laps led (6,134 laps). Hendrick’s 14 pole positions at Martinsville ties a company best with Richmond (Va.) International Raceway.
WINNER, WINNER: Four drivers have accounted for Hendrick Motorsports’ 17 victories at the Martinsville short track. Jeff Gordon leads all Hendrick drivers with seven wins, while Jimmie Johnson has earned five. Darrell Waltrip has four wins, and Bodine has one.
MOST RECENTLY: Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet, earned the organization’s most recent win at Martinsville on Oct. 19, 2008, after leading 339 laps. He beat teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. to the stripe by less than a second in front of a crowd of 64,000.
FOLLOW THE LEADER: Hendrick leads all owners in laps led at Martinsville. His drivers have combined to lead 6,134 laps and have paced the field for at least two laps in 40 of the last 50 events there.
TEAM STRENGTH: Hendrick Motorsports drivers have posted at least one Cup win during the last 24 seasons. Overall, Hendrick has 175 Cup wins, which ranks him first among owners in the modern era and second all-time.
CUP WINS: Fourteen drivers have combined to record Hendrick Motorsports’ 175 Cup wins: Gordon (81), Johnson (40), Terry Labonte (12), Tim Richmond (9), Waltrip (9), Bodine (7), Kyle Busch (4), Ricky Rudd (4), Ken Schrader (4), Earnhardt (1), Casey Mears (1), Jerry Nadeau (1), Joe Nemechek (1) and Brian Vickers (1).
12 CHAMPIONSHIPS: Since 1984, Hendrick Motorsports has tallied 12 NASCAR championships. Three drivers—Gordon (1995, 1997, 1998, 2001), Johnson (2006-2008) and Terry Labonte (1996)—recorded the company’s eight Sprint Cup Series titles. Jack Sprague earned three Camping World Truck Series championships in 1997, 1999 and 2001, and Brian Vickers scored the 2003 Nationwide Series title.
QUOTES
RICK HENDRICK, OWNER, HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS (ON THINKING BACK ABOUT THE FIRST WIN AND THE LAST 25 YEARS.): “It doesn’t seem like it’s been 25 years, but when you look back over some of the milestones of the people that have driven the cars, it does seem like it’s been a long time. It’s really unbelievable to think that we’ve been fortunate enough to win the championships and the races. And I’ve been very fortunate with the drivers that we’ve had, but I’m just amazed that I’m still in it.”
HENDRICK (ON WHY THE TEAM WAS SUCCESSFUL.): “Everybody’s made a contribution that’s been with the company. There are some folks that have been there from the very beginning. It doesn’t matter what kind of business you’re in or what you do, it’s all about people and talent. We’ve been so fortunate—all the drivers and everybody that’s ever been here has contributed. We’ve been blessed with a lot of talent, and we’ve been able to keep it together. All in all, it’s all about talented people working together, and it’s about having talented drivers and giving them good equipment.”
HENDRICK (ON THE PRIDE OF DOING WELL AT MARTINSVILLE.): “I remember going to North Wilkesboro (N.C.), but really Martinsville was the first race that I can recall. I remember getting Richard Petty’s autograph through the fence. Being in Virginia—racing there and racing at South Boston, going up there every Saturday night with my dad—was really neat. Martinsville and Richmond are like hometown tracks for me. I’ve actually lived in Charlotte longer than I lived up there, but I grew up in Virginia and that was where my family was from. That’s what makes it special.”
HENDRICK (ON WHAT IT WOULD MEAN TO WIN AT MARTINSVILLE 25 YEARS LATER.): “It would really be special. The 25th anniversary is a big deal to me, my family and this company. That would be pretty neat for a lot of people.”
HENDRICK (ON GEOFF BODINE.): “Geoff was so good on the short track—good chassis man, good driver. If we didn’t win that race, we probably wouldn’t be here today. We didn’t have a sponsor. Winning that race got us a sponsor, so Geoff Bodine gets a lot of credit for keeping us going. I told Harry that we were going to have to quit—we just didn’t have funding. He was just, ‘One more week. One more week.’ And then we won. There probably wouldn’t be a Hendrick Motorsports if that hadn’t happened because I couldn’t fund it all out of my pocket.”
HENDRICK (ON WHAT IT WAS LIKE THEN VERSUS NOW.): “It’s hard to even fathom. We had five people fulltime. Harry (Hyde) worked for $500 a week. Back then, you were struggling to get $450,000 so you could finish the year, and then you look at what you spend today. It really is mind boggling how the sport has grown. It’s hard to put it into words, but you feel so fortunate that you got a chance to do it. But for me—as much as I love racing and what it’s meant to me and my family—to think of growing up and idolizing a sport and then having a chance to do it, it’s incredible. All the things fell into place.”
GEOFF BODINE, DRIVER OF THE NO. 5 ALL-STAR RACING/HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS CHEVROLET FROM 1984-89 (ON THE 1984 WIN AT MARTINSVILLE.): “The race just unfolded. We were running good. I knew you had to pace yourself at this track; brakes were really important. I was doing that throughout the race. At the end, it was just perfect. The neat thing about the race was it was Rick’s first win, my first win; but no one fell out of this race. None of the good cars were out.
“I’ll never forget it. I passed (Bobby Allison) on the outside in between Turns 3 and 4. He ran his car hard and his brakes were fading. Mine weren’t. I drove around him. I think it really surprised Harry Hyde that I was smart enough to save the brakes. I didn’t knock the fender off; I didn’t do anything stupid that day.”
BODINE (ON HENDRICK’S ABSENCE AT THE TRACK.): “We missed Rick, but, you know, no one thought we were ready to win. It was only our eighth race together with a brand new race team. How do you do that? How do you win your eighth race out?”
FRANK EDWARDS, AN ORIGINAL HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS EMPLOYEE (ON WINNING THE COMPANY’S FIRST RACE AT MARTINSVILLE.): “Winning the first race at Martinsville was the first step to say, ‘Hey, this is a viable race team, and this will work.’ When he (Bodine) got the second win and then the third one that same year—wham—it was go from then. There wasn’t no stopping it. We had no idea where Hendrick Motorsports was going to go after that. A one-car team in its eighth race? We had no idea that Rick was going to continue and build such a dynasty in NASCAR.”
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