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Rick Hendrick has a knack for bringing out the heaviest of emotions in his drivers who have gone into retirement from full-time racing in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.
In 2015, Jeff Gordon stepped out of a No. 24 car he made famous with four championships and 93 victories during his 24 years with Hendrick Motorsports. Not only was Hendrick a car owner for Gordon, he was a role model and a friend, which led Gordon to tears when thanking Rick and wife Linda on stage during that year’s banquet in Las Vegas.
Fast forward to Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s final weekend as a full-time driver. Piloting Hendrick’s No. 88 for the last time in Miami, Earnhardt called it a career with 26 victories over his 19-year tenure — 10 of those years while driving for HMS.
The two-time Daytona 500 winner and 14-time Most Popular Driver immediately embraced his boss for a lengthly period of time after climbing from the car with swarms of people surrounding them on pit road.
For Earnhardt, it was those interactions with Hendrick that got him the most.
“Really didn’t get seriously emotional … only when I talked to Rick,” Earnhardt said during his Dale Jr. Download podcast.
Not only did Hendrick hire Earnhardt when Dale Earnhardt Inc. was facing rocky times, he was also by Earnhardt’s side during some of the toughest moments in his personal life.
“It’s easy to thank him for hiring me,” Earnhardt said. “But when I think about what he did for me personally, for some reason it’s hard for me to thank him. I don’t know why. But, for some reason, when I try to do that, it brings up all the feels.”
As Earnhardt trades his firesuit for a business suit next season in the NBC Sports broadcast booth, the relationship between he and Hendrick will remain special and unwavering.