Geoffrey Bodine and Rick Hendrick pose at Martinsville last weekend with a replica of the No. 5 Monte Carlo that gave Hendrick Motorsports its first Cup victory. Credit: Autostock
Compiled by Dave Rodman, Turner Sports Interactive
April 21, 2004
3:12 PM EDT (1912 GMT)
MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- Rick Hendrick began his stock car racing career in 1984 with a modest operation that was doubtful to complete its first season.
Since then, Hendrick has established a legacy that boasts nine NASCAR championships, including four consecutive Cup titles with Jeff Gordon and Terry Labonte from 1995-1998.
Last weekend, Hendrick's operation celebrated its 20th anniversary at the site of the team's first Cup victory. It was at Martinsville Speedway on April 29, 1984, when Geoff Bodine started sixth and finished first in the No. 5 All-Star Racing Chevrolet.
Hendrick now has 118 victories in the Nextel Cup Series, including 10 wins at Martinsville. Gordon also swept both races at Martinsville in 2003.
Hendrick sat down with a group of media Sunday morning at Martinsville to discuss the significance of the track, the state of NASCAR racing and the future of his racing operation.
Q: How special is Martinsville in this 20th anniversary year for Hendrick Motorsports?
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Rick Hendrick: This Martinsville race is a very special event for us at Hendrick Motorsports. Twenty years ago at this race was our first win. We showed up at Martinsville with an unsponsored car. It was a pivotal time and a pivotal race because we didn't know if we could make it all the way through the year.
That was our first win with Geoff Bodine and I think it was our eighth race of the year. It allowed us to go on and get Levi Garrett as a sponsor and I guess the rest is history.
This is a really neat experience for us to be in the sport for 20 years. I feel very fortunate to have accomplished the things that we have. This is a celebration of a special time for us here.
Q: How will you celebrate that event Sunday?
Hendrick: We'll have the car that Geoff won that race in. That car means an awful lot to me because it was the first car that we won with. We'll have it here Sunday for the parade lap.
Q: What is your recollection of that day in 1984?
Hendrick: Martinsville is a special place to me, because I'm from Virginia. I grew up in South Hill, not far from Martinsville. That day, I was not here -- I was at an event with my family.
My dad (Papa Joe Hendrick) was in the grandstands with a bunch of the folks from home -- a lot of the hometown folks had a little section. We won the race and it was a pretty big event.
Q: You've had a lot more good memories here lately, haven't you?
Hendrick: Martinsville means a lot. We're going for another win. I hope Jeff can get three in a row this weekend -- I hope any of our cars can finish well (because) we'd like to move on up and maybe move to second on the all-time list of winners at Martinsville.
It is a special track. One of the first NASCAR races I went to as a youngster was at this racetrack. One of the first autographs I ever got at a racetrack was from Richard Petty here.
Q: What accounts for the recent trend of owners looking for new drivers from open-wheel series?
Hendrick: I think what's really happened is with the popularity of NASCAR racing, a lot of talented drivers from other venues' goal is now to drive in NASCAR Nextel Cup.
It's created a pool of drivers for us owners that's much, much bigger than just the small group that we used to look at (guys coming up through short tracks, particularly in the South).
Jeff Gordon happened to be the guy that kind of opened everybody's eyes. I saw him run in a Busch car and the rest is history there.
Really, the bottom line is that if you can look at 2,000 drivers versus 200 drivers, it gives you the ability to look deeper into that talent pool. We're looking at younger guys that have an awesome amount of talent.
I think owners like myself are investing money to try to train them and bring them along (and) I think it's paying great dividends for us.
Q: Is there any advantage to coming up through the open-wheel ranks as opposed to weekly stock car racing?
Hendrick: I'm not sure it's an advantage, but I can tell you one thing I've noticed with those guys. If you look at a Kasey Kahne or a Jeff Gordon or any of these other guys, it helps to have run a lot of horsepower.
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| Hendrick drivers Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon are currently in the top 10 in standings. Credit: Autostock |
The Sprint Cars do run a lot of power. They run pavement and they're used to driving the cars a little bit out of control in some situations. If you can find a guy that's had the non-wing, big-motor experience, they're going to have driven a car in a loose condition and I think that helps.
Q: What did you expect Hendrick Motorsports to turn into back when you started it?
Hendrick: It was fun when I started. The All-Star Racing situation actually happened because I was going to do a deal with C.K. Spurlock and Kenny Rogers where we tied country music to our team.
Then the deal didn't work out with me and Spurlock, so I ended up going to Daytona unsponsored with about five or six employees. I really had my back to the wall, no different than some of these guys that are unsponsored today, trying to figure out if I could make it through the year.
Back in those days, it didn't take as much money. I was very fortunate to hook up with Harry Hyde and Geoff Bodine. It was a lot of fun back in those days, but pressure is pressure, and when you don't know if you've got enough money to make it through the year, it's a lot of pressure.
It's amazing to look at starting with five people and 5,000 square feet of rented space and just a few cars, then look at what's evolved, with over a half-million square feet and 450 people.
Looking back at some of the milestones and how the sport has changed, it's just amazing to be able to walk through history and take a look at it.
Q: is there any one win, or any one season, that stands out for you?
Hendrick: I think about that a lot. Of course, your first win is always a special win. Daytona (1986 Daytona 500 with Bodine) was a special win. Ricky (Hendrick) winning the truck race (in 2001 at Kansas Speedway) was a special win.
The Brickyard (400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which Gordon won in its inaugural year, 1995) -- you can go on and on and on. Terry's win at Darlington in 2003 -- all of them are special. Your first one is always special.
Championships -- your first one is special (so) it's really hard to choose. I have to say that my son's win in that truck (Kansas) is as special to me as anything I've ever done.
Q: Who is the one driver that made the biggest difference to your organization?
Hendrick: Everybody had a piece and a part. If Geoff Bodine hadn't won that first race, or those three races that first year, there would be no Hendrick Motorsports.
You look at what Darrell Waltrip was able to do and Ken Schrader and Tim Richmond. Certainly Jeff Gordon with his success (was big). I can't say that one of them has played a bigger role than the other. They've all been very important to us.
Q: Should any races be added to the 36-race Nextel Cup schedule, are there too many races now and what would you like to see in the future schedule?
Hendrick: I'd like to see more Friday-Saturday night shows, where we can get the guys back on Sunday and they can have some days off. I don't think I'd like to see more races -- if anything I'd like to see fewer races, or convert some of the deals to Friday and Saturday night.
Some of my most favorite races are Thursday night truck, Friday night Busch and Saturday night Cup. Our guys can be home late Saturday night or Sunday morning and have the day with their family (so) I'd like to see more of that.
Q: Are single-car teams going to be a thing of the past in Nextel Cup?
Hendrick: I don't know. I think it's a definite advantage to have a multi-car team or have a relationship with other teams. I think some of the new concepts that are being tried, where you have manufacturers working together or groups that are working closer, are good.
I know we're working closer with some of the Chevy teams. I think if you're a one-car team in the Chevy camp, and you're a part of that, I think you'll be OK. I definitely see the advantage in it and it looks like it's going that way.
Q: What are one or two things that would help lower the costs for owners to operate a NASCAR team?
Hendrick: I think NASCAR's done a lot of things that have helped. I think the one-engine rule has helped. I think trying to limit practice at the event, second-round qualifying -- all those things have helped.
I know they're looking at gear rules and some other rules. Really, we're right in the middle of trying to get some of our key people together to look at some of those things and make sure that we don't implement something that's going to cost us more money and more time and obsolete a lot of things that we have.
It's kind of a fine line when you run an organization and you're gearing up to run a year and you're having to buy parts and do things a year, year-and-a-half in advance and then they come up with a change that they think is going to save you money and it actually ends up costing you a lot of money.
They've been pretty good -- real good, I'd say -- about talking to us and not springing anything new on us.
There are some things that we could do and I'm glad that (NASCAR president) Brian France is focused on that. I think it's going to make us all better and keep more of us in the sport longer.
Q: What are your thoughts on NASCAR's "car of the future," which head of R&D Gary Nelson is working on?
Hendrick: I think they've got to be careful about how they come up with a car of the future and make 800 cars obsolete out here. Then, all of a sudden, we have to go through a fire drill of building all new cars.
Whatever they do with the car of the future, they need to work with every team that's in the sport and try to work on a phased-in program that doesn't obsolete the whole fleet at one time.
Number one, we're not going to have anywhere to go with the used cars and we don't have enough manpower to build all these new cars at one time.
The car of the future should be designed for safety and I think some of the things we've already done have improved safety a ton. I'm not against the car of the future.
I just think they've got to be real careful how they introduce it and be sure they give teams enough time to start building the cars and not go through one of these deals where we're working seven days a week, 24 hours a day and trying to race at the same time.
Q: Is NASCAR involving your people in the development of the car of the future?
Hendrick: We are talking to them and we work closely with them. We give them cars to crash. My folks are probably much more up to speed than I am.
The only thing I can think about is that if we obsolete the entire fleet of cars out here, are we really going to have something that's better, or is it just something that somebody dreamed up that had a job to do?
Q: What do you see as the future of Hendrick Motorsports?
Hendrick: I think we're right where we need to be. We're building a new facility for the 25 (Brian Vickers) and the 5 (Labonte) teams to be in the same complex like the 24 (Gordon) and the 48 (Jimmie Johnson).
I think where we're going to be is four Cup teams, one Busch team and maybe associations with other teams, Busch and maybe ARCA, to bring some guys along. I like our footprint right now.
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