For Hendrick, No. 25 has always been the family car

In a joyous Victory Lane last Sunday night, there were too many subplots to count. The relief and raw emotion of a driver finally securing his first Nextel Cup win. The poignancy of another racer named Mears celebrating on Memorial Day weekend. The significance of expatriate open-wheelers finishing first and second on the day of that discipline's biggest race. And behind it all, the wistful, knowing smile of the gray-haired man in the white button-down collared shirt.

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Rick Hendrick had been there many times before. Geoffrey Bodine, Ken Schrader, Jeff Gordon, Jerry Nadeau, Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Brian Vickers and now Casey Mears -- they all experienced their first taste of victory on NASCAR's premier level while at Hendrick Motorsports, an organization with an unparalleled record of turning young drivers into champions. The Coca-Cola 600 marked the 158th race victory for the former car salesman, who pioneered the multi-car concept and now makes winning look routine.

But there was nothing routine about Sunday. At Hendrick, victories by the No. 25 car are momentous, for reasons both personal and professional. While the organization's other three vehicles have won with relative regularity, the No. 25 outfit has lagged behind. In recent years, it's been such a carousel of drivers, sponsors and crew chiefs that some have questioned whether it was really a glorified research and development team, its purpose not to win races but to unearth information for everyone else.

As Sunday's results attested, that isn't the case. No one has been more frustrated by the inconsistencies of the No. 25 team than Hendrick himself, for whom the vehicle holds a deep personal significance. Because the Chevy that Mears drove to his breakthrough victory at Lowe's Motor Speedway isn't just any car. It's the family car.

From almost its inception, the vehicle's listed owner was Rick's father, Joe Hendrick. Later, son Ricky Hendrick was added as a co-owner. It was Ricky who befriended the young Mears, who in the years since has become so close to the Hendrick family he seems almost related by blood. It was Ricky who convinced his father to hire his buddy Vickers, a Busch Series hotshot who drove the No. 25 car to its first victory in three years -- albeit a controversial one -- last season at Talladega (watch video). (Continued)