Rick Hendrick

Born: July 12, 1949
Hometown: Palmer Springs, Va.
Competed: 1984-Present
Starts: 2,995
Wins: 193
Poles: 180
* Starts, wins as a car owner through June 30, 2010

Career Highlights
The founder and owner of Hendrick Motorsports, Rick Hendrick recently celebrated his 25th anniversary as a team owner. His organization is recognized as one of NASCAR's most successful. A longtime racing enthusiast and driver himself, Hendrick owned a championship drag racing boat team before founding "All-Star Racing," the team that would evolve into Hendrick Motorsports, in 1984. Hendrick's current Cup Series stable includes drivers Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kasey Kahne.

Hendrick Motorsports owns nine Cup Series car owner championships titles -- four each with Gordon and Johnson and one with Terry Labonte. That total matches Petty Enterprises for most all-time. Hendrick also has 12 national-series car-owner championships, which is the most in NASCAR history. Gordon and Labonte combined to win four consecutive titles from 1995-98. In 2009, Johnson won a record-setting fourth consecutive championship.

Some of NASCAR's most prominent drivers have driven for Hendrick. Geoffrey Bodine was the first, snaring the organization's first victory on April 29, 1984, at Martinsville Speedway. The late Tim Richmond, three-time series champion Darrell Waltrip and the late Benny Parsons, the 1973 series champion, also are Hendrick alumni. Ricky Craven, Ricky Rudd, Ken Schrader, Joe Nemechek and Kyle Busch are other well-known drivers who have driven for Hendrick.

Off-track, Hendrick is active in promoting awareness for leukemia research. He successfully battled the disease in 1996, establishing the Hendrick Marrow Program in 1997 to aid patients nationwide suffering from leukemia and 70 other blood diseases.