CHARLOTTE, N.C. – While perusing cases full of over 70 artifacts and 160 photos, pausing to watch six videos and looking over six race cars, all of which combined to encompass his organization’s four-decade climb from a garage floor to auto racing’s loftiest heights, Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick was afforded a rare chance to reflect.
In a private ceremony at the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Wednesday night, so too were employees of Hendrick Motorsports and Hendrick Automotive Group along with their families.
On Thursday morning, it was the public’s turn.
The Hall of Fame officially unveiled its Hendrick Motorsports 40 Years exhibit this week, with Hendrick getting a sneak peek alongside wife, Linda, and several of the organization’s dignitaries including vice chairman and four-time Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon, team president and general manager Jeff Andrews and vice president of competition Chad Knaus among others.
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Surrounded by a treasure trove of heirlooms and memories that tell the story of one of sports’ all-time success stories, Hendrick was able to momentarily rectify one of his biggest, personal regrets.
“I think the biggest problem we have and that I have personally is that I don’t take the time to reflect on what’s been done,” Hendrick said. “I think you get so busy in what you’ve got to do today and what you’ve got to do tomorrow, you don’t stop and think about what’s been done.”
In fairness, it’s a lot to think about.
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It started in a 5,000-square-foot garage in 1984 with three paid employees, two volunteers and one, big dream. Now, there are 14 NASCAR Cup Series championships, 310 race wins and over 500 engine shop victories on the ledger with banners and trophies placed all over a 430,000-square-foot campus housing over 600 team members.
Pivotal points in that pilgrimage now sit on the facility’s first level, from Tim Richmond’s cowboy hat to the brake rotors from the Garage 56 entry, which competed at last year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Those are just two of Gordon’s favorite items.
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“There’s just a lot of things we keep and that’s driven by Rick because as he’s said, he doesn’t throw anything away,” Gordon said. “It’s just so cool to see these things because normally they’re sitting in a warehouse or maybe in our museum and to see them out here where so many fans are going to get a chance to see them is really cool.”
Yet, for Hendrick, it’s always been about more than pistons and impact wrenches. As much as the history that surrounded him on Wednesday made the evening special, so too did the contingent of Hendrick workers who attended.
“This is your exhibit, this is your deal, this is what you’ve built,” Hendrick said into a microphone during a brief Q and A session with Hall of Fame executive director Winston Kelley. “Enjoy it and be proud of it because you’ve done something that nobody else has done and I’m very, very honored to be a small part and I appreciate you having my back for all of these years.”
It’s the sincerity in those sentiments that has made Hendrick Motorsports a special place for Gordon for over three decades.
“He’s like, ‘This is yours, I’m a small part of it.’ And we’re like, ‘Yeah, right,’ but he genuinely feels that way,” Gordon said. “It’s all the hard-working people that go above and beyond just their job to make this company what this is. Forty years of celebration of doing even more than just winning races. It’s innovating, it’s raising the bar of the sport and changing people’s lives. Literally, Hendrick Motorsports has changed hundreds if not thousands of people’s lives, like myself.”
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In trying to put a bow on it all, Hendrick couldn’t avoid a moment of light-hearted, self deprecation.
“I remember when I went to Daytona the first time I was the youngest guy on pit road, now I’m the oldest guy on pit road,” he grinned.
But taking a moment to celebrate is one thing. For Hendrick, appreciating the past doesn’t coincide with apathy toward the future.
Far from it.
“Once you’ve been to the top of the mountain, you don’t want it to end,” Hendrick said. “I feel like I’m just as competitive or more competitive now than when I was 30 years old. I want to keep it alive.
“I feel like it’s up to Jeff Gordon, up to Jeff Andrews and Chad Knaus to keep that flame rolling and I’m going to fan it as much as I can.”
