Rick Hendrick: "All 550 people at Hendrick Motorsports determined to see Jimmie Johnson get that Cup this year." Credit: Autostock

Chase Conversation: Rick Hendrick

CONCORD, N.C. -- In two decades of team ownership at the Cup Series level, Rick Hendrick has accumulated 138 victories and five championships, making him one of the most prolific team owners in NASCAR history.

One more victory ties him with Junior Johnson for second all-time on the wins list, behind Petty Enterprises (268).

	Kyle Busch became the Cup Series' youngest winner on Sept. 4 at Calfornia. Credit: Autostock
	Inside the Numbers Hendrick drivers in 2005 Driver Races W T-5 T-10 Ky. Busch 31 1 8 11 J. Gordon 31 3 5 10 J. Johnson 31 4 11 19 T. Labonte 8 0 0 0 B. Vickers 31 0 5 10 Totals 132 8 29 50

During his tenure, Hendrick joined Jack Roush in setting the multicar trend that would reshape the NASCAR landscape in the mid-to-late 1990s. Now NASCAR wants to halt team expansion by limiting the number of teams one man can own to three.

How does he feel about that?

Hendrick stopped by Lowe's Zone on Saturday at Lowe's Motor Speedway to address fans in attendance at the UAW-GM Quality 500. While there, he talked about the proposed team limitation, new sponsors and whether or not Jimmie Johnson's status as the lone HMS driver in the Chase means he has an advantage over the Roushkateers.

Q: You're a multi-car owner and NASCAR's trying to change it up on you, limit the teams you can own. What are your feelings about that?

Hendrick: They haven't really talked to me yet. I'm still waiting for the explanation.

Q: Really ... now isn't that interesting ...

Hendrick: Well, you know how that deal works.

Q: Yes sir, I do. Quite well.

Hendrick: We've worked real hard and Roush has worked hard, and I don't know where this is coming from all the sudden, but they say they're going to do something down the road. We'll see what they're talking about.

Inside the Chase Point standings after Charlotte Pos. Driver Points Behind 1. T. Stewart 5,777 -- 2. J. Johnson 5,777 -- 3. G. Biffle 5,766 -11 4. R. Newman 5,760 -17 5. M. Martin 5,726 -51 6. C. Edwards 5,723 -54 7. R. Wallace 5,685 -92 8. J. Mayfield 5,662 -115 9. M. Kenseth 5,653 -124 10. Ku. Busch 5,635 -142 Victory LaneJimmie Johnson celebrates his fourth consecutive LMS win Sign up for TrackPass now BUY YOUR NEXTEL DRIVER PHONE

I haven't had my official meeting yet. But we're excited about the teams we have and the talent on those teams, and we want to win Jimmie this championship this year.

That's our goal. That's our focus. That's what we're doing right now -- all 550 people at Hendrick Motorsports determined to see Jimmie Johnson get that Cup this year. We've been close.

Q: Now what's your opinion on whether or not Hendrick Motorsports has an advantage over Roush Racing since Johnson is the only HMS car in the Chase, as opposed to having all teams running for the Cup like Roush does?

Hendrick: They are going to race each other hard because they all want to win and there can only be one winner. I don't know if we have a disadvantage or an advantage. But all of our drivers know that it's to their benefit and to our benefit for Jimmie to win this championship.

Q: So I see Jeff (Gordon) will be sponsored by Nicorette next year?

Hendrick: Yeah. There's a real push that that company has in the sport. They're going to have free clinics and try to help people quit smoking. So it's exciting to see them come on board as a partner. I think we're going to see them in four races next year.

Q: Speaking of Jeff, he's the old man at Hendrick now -- at 34 years old. You have a 20-year-old kid driving for you, a 21-year-old kid. You have assembled some young, vibrant talent.

Jeff Gordon has won four Cup titles with Rick Hendrick. Credit: Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images

Inside the Numbers All-time Hendrick drivers * Driver No. W T5 T10 S. Barrett 1 0 0 0 B. Bodine 1 0 0 0 G. Bodine 174 7 49 80 T. Bodine 2 0 0 0 D. Brooks 1 0 0 1 K. Busch 37 1 8 11 R. Craven 38 0 4 8 W. Dallenbach 50 0 1 9 J. Fitzgerald 1 0 0 0 J. Gordon 432 72 196 265 D. Green 2 0 0 0 B. Hamilton 1 0 0 0 R. Hendrick 2 0 0 0 R. Hornaday 1 0 0 0 J. Horton 2 0 0 0 J. Johnson 142 18 51 83 T. Kendall 1 0 0 0 T. Labonte 376 12 64 125 R. LaJoie 9 0 1 3 R. Moroso 1 0 0 0 J. Nadeau 81 1 7 16 J. Nemechek 57 1 5 8 B. Parsons 29 0 6 9 K. Petty 1 0 0 0 J. Purvis 1 0 0 0 T. Richmond 37 9 16 21 R. Rudd 117 4 35 64 G. Sacks 17 0 2 4 K. Schrader 267 4 58 127 J. Sprague 1 0 0 0 H. Stricklin 2 0 0 0 A. Unser Jr. 1 0 0 0 S. van der Merwe 1 0 0 0 B. Vickers 72 0 5 14 D. Waltrip 110 9 35 60 Totals 2,068 138 543 908 * -- Through Oct. 15, 2005 First Start: Feb. 19, 1984, G. Bodine First Win: April 29, 1984, G. Bodine

Hendrick: I remember like yesterday that Jeff was the youngest guy over there. And I remind him every day. You can see a few gray hairs in the sideburns now!

It's amazing to see guys like Kyle and Brian, at 20 years old, with the talent they have winning races and running up front. It speaks well to the future of our company. I think Jeff's still got a lot of good years left in him. We're excited about the young guys.

And (Busch's) crew chief, Alan Gustafson, he's in his 20s. And we've got a lot of guys that have been with us for 20 years over there, too. So hopefully when you put all that together it's a winning combination.

And hey, about [Saturday night]: that was 47 Busch cars we've wrecked this year. I thought for sure we'd go to Victory Lane with one of those guys. That was a big disappointment for us. But year, 47 cars for us this year.

Q: Wow -- 47 cars?

Hendrick:I know... (grinning, shaking head)

Q: One of those Busch Series drivers is Adrian Fernandez. That guy is Dale Earnhardt in Mexico. He's Elvis.

Hendrick: He's unbelievable. If you watched that race in Mexico, he should have won that race. We're going to run him in some road races next year, too. To do as well as he did [Saturday night] was amazing, no more experience than he has.

But he is unbelievable. In Mexico, he is the man. He did a commercial for Lowe's, too, I saw the other day. That's exciting, too, and it's good having him around as a spokesman.

Q: Will that run here? Down there? Everywhere?

Hendrick: I think it'll run in different markets in the U.S., too.

Q: You've been doing this for more than 20 years, sir. Did you ever imagine this sport would be everywhere? I mean, Will Ferrell is in the garage right now shooting a movie. It's crazy.

Hendrick: It is. When you look back at the early and mid-80s, where we were with the TV and how to get to the racetrack, and the drivers today are from all over the country and all over the world. And the fans, too.

It's amazing to see where the sport has come from, but what's made this deal work so much are the fans and sponsors like Lowe's.