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

Q: What was your thought process about what to leave in the movie and what to leave out?

Hendrick: Do you pretend like the [plane] crash never happened? Do you pretend like I never got sick [with leukemia]? Pretend like I didn't go through the legal problems [with his car dealerships]? Yeah, all that happened. I guess I am telling it for my grandkids and for our people. This is not a story about me, it's a story about them. It's a story about Geoff Bodine, Harry Hyde and Tim Richmond and all of the guys.

If we didn't tell it all like it happened, then we were phony. And I would be ashamed of it. And I feel like we just opened up our whole world to them and let them do it.

Q: You seem especially pleased that a generous portion of film time went to profiling Richmond in the piece. Why?

Hendrick: I tell people, here's a guy who had an apartment in New York, got his haircut in New York, and everybody thought he was odd because he was so different. But that's the way all of them are today. He was just 25 years ahead of his time.

Q: How cool was it to get your 86-year-old mother, Mary, involved in the project?

Hendrick: My mother had never seen it [until the premiere in Charlotte]; of course, she can't see. She can hear, but she can't see. I'll tell you, she'll still jump my ass today.

She's a tough woman. She lost six people within 90 days. She lost her husband, a brother, a sister and three grandchildren in 90 days. I thought she wouldn't live, but she fights on. She's a very strong woman. And my wife is a very strong woman. She's been through a lot. But we've been blessed. I'm just so proud of this whole company.

I'm glad this is over. I am emotionally [drained]. This happened to me when I won the first championship; all I could think about was all the people who had helped me along the way. ... If you talk to Kyle Petty, you never get over losing a child. You don't get over losing that many folks at one time and you feel like they wouldn't have been there if it weren't for you; they were with you, they were your responsibility. I am hoping that the fans will like it because I think it's true. You don't have to like it, but it's true. Nothing is Hollywood. Nothing is flowered up for anybody.

Q: Any final thoughts about the project and your 25 years in the sport?

Hendrick: I ask myself, 'Why do you keep doing this at 60 years old?' It's because I love it. I love the people. I love the garage area. I like all the people in the sport -- the other owners, the drivers. If they didn't have a limit [on teams that could be owned in NASCAR] and I had the money, I'd probably have half of them driving for me because I like them. I like a lot of the competitors as friends.

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Joe Menzer is the author of "The Great American Gamble: How the 1979 Daytona 500 Gave Birth to a NASCAR Nation." Click here to purchase.