Breaking down Hendrick Motorsports’ charge to 80,000 Cup Series laps led

Hendrick Motorsports made history Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway. With its first three laps led in the Food City 500 -- with No. 9 driver Chase Elliott pacing the field -- the team achieved an impressive milestone of 80,000 laps led in the NASCAR Cup Series, a feat unmatched by any other organization. This significant achievement coincides with the team's 40th anniversary in the Cup Series. 

Take a retrospective look at how this esteemed organization reached the laps-led milestone with the following statistics provided by Racing Insights.

Before all the championships and unimaginable stats, Hendrick Motorsports earned its first lap led at Martinsville on April 29, 1984, on Lap 215 by Geoff Bodine. It was the team’s eighth Cup Series race, and Bodine went on to get the team’s first win.

From this race forward, Hendrick Motorsports would go on to lead laps at 35 different tracks with the most laps led coming at Martinsville. 

It’s been a long road to glory; Hendrick Motorsports has led 20% of all the laps it raced in the Cup Series (79,997 of 406,584). That’s about 105,321 miles.

Hendrick Motorsports has led at least 240 laps in all 41 seasons competing in Cup, with its most laps led coming in 2021 with 4,119, which culminated in a championship for Kyle Larson.

Twenty-nine drivers have led at least one lap for Hendrick Motorsports, with Jeff Gordon leading the most with 24,936 laps. 

Kyle Busch is the youngest driver to lead for Hendrick, doing so at 19 years, 9 months and 25 days old on Feb. 27, 2005, at Auto Club Speedway.

Mark Martin is the oldest driver to lead for Hendrick, doing so at 52 years, 9 months and 14 days old at Talladega on Oct. 23, 2011.

There’s plenty of love for Hendrick Motorsports in Virginia. Out of the 21 states HMS has led in, 15,086 laps came from Virginia.

The most laps Hendrick Motorsports led in a race was 443. Any guesses at which track? It was at Martinsville on April 1, 2012.

It’s not just the East Coast Hendrick Motorsports has dominated at. The organization has led 9,247 laps on the West Coast, the most of all teams.

Hendrick Motorsports has led 11,216 laps in the month of October, the most in a calendar month. HMS has also led 3,829 laps on the 26th, the most led in a day of the month. Fortunate for the rest of the Cup Series, there’s no race this year on Oct. 26.

The only track Hendrick Motorsports competed on without leading a lap is the Chicago Street Course.

Hendrick Motorsports holds the Cup Series record for most consecutive races leading a lap at 74 races, 6,876 of the team’s total laps led came during this record streak. That’s an average of leading 93 laps a race!

Hendrick Motorsports led its 10,000th lap at Atlanta on March 20, 1993 on Lap 308 by Jeff Gordon.

Jeff Gordon also led the the team's...

20,000th lap at Darlington on Aug. 31, 1997, on lap 319

30,000th on lap 81 at Bristol on March 23, 2003 

40,000th on lap 112 at Talladega on April 29, 2007

50,000th on lap 171 at Las Vegas on Feb. 28, 2010

Hendrick Motorsports led its 60,000th lap at Atlanta on Oct. 10, 2013 on Lap 151 by Kasey Kahne.

Hendrick Motorsports led its 70,000th lap at Daytona on Aug. 29, 2020 on Lap 151 by William Byron.

Chase Elliott led Hendrick Motorsports' 80,000th lap at Bristol on March 17, 2024 on Lap 62.