Hendrick opens up about past and coming 'Together' (cont'd)

Q: How many times had you seen it prior to last Tuesday's premiere of the full-length feature?

Hendrick: I had seen it once. I saw it Friday of [the previous] week. I saw clips of it the first time, and said I couldn't sit through it. I hadn't seen video clips of Ricky or my brother or Randy, and I didn't remember some of the things at the service that [daughter] Lynne said. I had completely forgotten some of that. If I hadn't seen it one time before [the premiere] I wouldn't have been able to sit through it, I don't think.

Hall bound?

Rick Hendrick is one of the 25 nominees for the inaugural NASCAR Hall of Fame class.

• Hall of Fame Video
• Hall of Fame Bio

When you think about 25 years ago, and you go back and look at all the hairdos, the color of your hair and all that ... it's hard to believe we've won 185 races and all the championships. I've always said there's something special there, and I hope it fires us up to go do some more.

Q: Were you reluctant to show so much of yourself?

Hendrick: Yeah, I struggled with that at first, and [producer] Jesse [Essex] and I talked about it a lot. I said 'I don't think that's something I want to do.' And he said 'Then you're not telling the whole story. That is the story -- [how] you guys came back and rallied and the relationship y'all have with each other.' There's a whole lot of racing footage you can see, but there's something different with this company and that's the story.

Q: Why do the movie?

Hendrick: [NASCAR Media Group] came to me and wanted to do it -- and to be honest with you, we wanted to build an archive of the history of the company and this is a good way to do it. The people deserve it. I don't know if I ever would have watched a video of Ricky anytime soon, or John, or my dad. That's the first time I've seen any tape of my dad, or heard his voice, since he died [also in 2004]. I don't mind telling you all that I'm very emotional and I've got a very close family, and it's very hard. But it kind of, in a way, now that I've seen it, pays tribute to those people who gave it all. We'll move on to the next 25 years, but they were a big part of this 25.

Q: So at one point, you worried you had too much of your personal story in the film?

Hendrick: I was like, 'I think we might have too much family in it. Let's cut that back a little bit, and they came back with, 'That's the story. Not just your [immediate] family, [but] all of Hendrick Motorsports.' I saw two partial clips about three, four weeks ago, and it put me in a funk for about three days. Every time you watch it, it gets easier. I am real proud of the organization, real proud of the fact that we can go through these kinds of things and we get stronger. Those guys feel it and they don't mind saying how they feel about the company, and I don't mind saying how I feel about them, and I just think that's special.

Q: Any regrets about what made it into the finished product?

Hendrick: Me climbing over the [pit-road] wall [and having a difficult time of it in the outtakes]. That was so pathetic. I didn't want that in the movie. That might inspire me to lose some weight.

I'm not so sure I should have said the three things [he gave driver Jeff Gordon advice during Gordon's divorce]. Gordon set me up. People don't realize that he lived at our house [briefly during that time]. He admitted that it took him awhile to understand what was important in life. It was so unreal. He called me up and said 'You offered to let me spend the night with you, and I'm going to be in town.' And I said to [wife] Linda, 'Gordon called, something's up. He wants to stay at the house.' I honestly thought he was going to tell me he wanted to leave. I mean, he was wet all the way down to the belt he was sweating so bad. When he told me [he was getting a divorce], I was actually a little bit relieved from my side. (Continued)