Total: 320 Cup Series: 249 Xfinity Series: 41 Truck Series: 22 ARCA Racing Series: 8
Hendrick Motorsports is an American professional auto racing organization that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded in 1984 as All-Star Racing by Rick Hendrick. Hendrick Motorsports has won a NASCAR-record 304 Cup Series races and 14 Cup Series owners and drivers championships to go with three Truck Series owners and drivers titles and one Xfinity Series drivers crown. Additionally, the team has 27 Xfinity Series race wins, 26 Truck Series race wins, and seven ARCA Menards Series race wins.[1]
What is now Hendrick Motorsports was founded prior to the 1984 season by Rick Hendrick, a Charlotte, North Carolina-based car dealership owner who currently operates a network of dealerships called Hendrick Automotive Group. The team was formed with crew chief and car builder Harry Hyde as All-Star Racing.[3][4][5] The team, renamed Hendrick Motorsports in 1985, was involved with the GM GoodwrenchIMSA GTP Corvette and twin-turbo V6 engine development effort and competed in the IMSA GTP series from 1985 through 1988 with drivers Doc Bundy and Sarel van der Merwe. Hendrick Motorsports and GM ceased the project in 1988.
Hendrick Motorsports expanded its NASCAR efforts to two full-time cars in 1986, three in 1987, and four in 2002.[6][7][8] It was one of the first teams in NASCAR to be successful operating multiple entries, partly based on the model used at the Hendrick car dealerships.[3][6] The team has also been credited for innovations in engine construction[9] and pit crew training.[10][11][12] In 2020, Hendrick Motorsports partnered with AdvoCare in its performance and fitness teams.[13]
Hendrick Motorsports (as All-Star Racing) won its first race in 1984 at Martinsville with the No. 5 driven by Geoff Bodine. At the 2021 Coca-Cola 600, Hendrick Motorsports became the winningest team in NASCAR Cup Series history when it won its 269th race with the No. 5 driven by Kyle Larson. This eclipsed the record held by Petty Enterprises at 268 wins, which had held the record of the winningest team in the series since 1960.[14]
In 2023, Hendrick worked with NASCAR, Chevrolet, and Goodyear Tires to enter the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a modified version of the current NASCAR Cup car, in conjunction with the 75th anniversary of NASCAR.
Hendrick Motorsports fielded in-house entries in the Busch Series from 1984 to 1990, and again from 2000 to 2007, primarily the No. 5 entry. Following the conclusion of the 2007 racing season, Hendrick Motorsports and JR Motorsports (owned by then-Hendrick Motorsports driver Dale Earnhardt Jr.) officially combined Xfinity Series operations. The No. 5 Chevrolets began running full-time under the JR Motorsports banner in 2008, and the team receives engines and technical support from Hendrick Motorsports, with several of its employees moving to JR Motorsports. Rick Hendrick is an equity partner in JRM and continues to be listed as car owner of the No. 5 team.
Car No. 5 history
Part-time (1985–1986)
The No. 5 car debuted in 1985 with Brett Bodine ran 12 races. The younger Bodine brother would win three races for the team. Geoff Bodine ran four races in the No. 5 car. Bodine won the season opener Goody's 300.
In 1986, Geoff Bodine drove the No. 5 for one race at Bristol. He won the pole and finished 16th.
The number was switched to No. 5 when the car began competing full-time in 2002. After Ricky Hendrick was injured in a wreck at Las Vegas,[17][18]Ron Hornaday Jr. took over for the next six races before Hendrick returned at Richmond. Toward the end of the season, Hendrick suddenly announced his retirement from driving due to lingering effects from the crash, but he remained as car owner until his death in 2004.[17][18]David Green finished out the season for the team.[18][19]
Brian Vickers (2003)
Ricky Hendrick selected 19-year-old Brian Vickers to drive the No. 5 car in 2003.[17][18] Vickers won three races and the Busch Series championship, finishing just 14 points ahead of Hendrick test driver and former No. 5 team spotter David Green.[18][20][21]
Kyle Busch (2004)
When Vickers moved up to the Cup Series, Kyle Busch became the No. 5 car's driver after he had run seven races the previous season.[17][18] In his rookie year, Busch won five races and was runner-up to Martin Truex Jr. in points.[18][22] He moved up to the Cup Series after the season, but he continued to drive the No. 5 Busch Series car part-time for several more years.
Multiple Drivers (2005–2006)
Adrián Fernández drove the car for six races in 2005, finishing tenth at Autódromo, his only top ten finish of the season.[21][22] Hendrick development drivers Blake Feese, Boston Reid, and Kyle Krisiloff also periodically drove the No. 5 car, running a combined fifteen races.[22] Busch and Jimmie Johnson ran the rest of the schedule,[22] with Busch winning at Lowe's. As for Fernandez, Feese, Reid, and Krisiloff, the 4 drivers driving the 5 car combined 21 starts scored no wins, no top 5's, and only one top 10 with a combined average of 31.2 and had 10 DNF's which made Rick Hendrick put his driver development program on hold.
In 2006, Busch drove 34 of 35 races, winning at Bristol and finishing seventh in points. Justin Labonte drove for 1 race at Memphis.
Part Time (2007)
In 2007, Busch ran the No. 5 on a part-time basis, sharing the ride with Mark Martin, Landon Cassill, Casey Mears, and Adrián Fernández, running a total of 26 races.[18][21] The car carried a number of different sponsors including Lowe's, Delphi, Spectrum, and Hendrick Autoguard. Busch drove the car to victory lane four times in 2007, while Martin finished second twice in three races.
The No. 5 team moved to JR Motorsports in 2008,[23][18] and featured eight drivers, including Johnson and Earnhardt Jr., and four primary sponsors in its first year.[21][24] In 2009, the No. 5 car ran a part-time schedule due to sponsorship limitations.[18]Fastenal, Unilever and GoDaddy.com sponsored seven different drivers over the course of the season. A variety of drivers ran the car in subsequent NASCAR Xfinity Series seasons until it was shut down for the 2019 season.[25]
Hendrick Motorsports began competing in the 1984 debut season of the Busch Series, fielding the No. 15 car for 17 races with sponsorship coming from Levi Garrett, with Cup Series driver Geoff Bodine running 12 of them. Bodine would score Hendrick Motorsports' first win in the Busch Series at Rockingham Speedway. Ron Bouchard, Dick Trickle, Glenn Jarrett all ran one race, while Tim Richmond ran one. In 1985, Brett Bodine ran one race in the No. 15 car. Geoff Bodine also ran one race in the No. 15. Tim Richmond ran two races in the No. 15, winning once at Charlotte. In 1986, the team ran seven races, three with Bodine and Richmond, and one with Rob Moroso. Richmond would get the team's only win of the year at Charlotte. In 1987, the team ran nine races utilizing the No. 15. Eight of them were driven by Geoff Bodine, and one with team owner Rick Hendrick. While Hendrick would DNF in his start, Bodine would once again win the season opener at Daytona. The team ran eight races as the No. 15 in 1988 with Geoff Bodine being the only driver. Bodine would win once at Darlington Raceway. In 1989, the team would only run five races, with Geoff Bodine and Ken Schrader driving. While Schrader would DNF his two starts, Bodine would once again get a single win at Darlington. In 1990, Greg Sacks drove the No. 15 once at Charlotte, He finished 2nd. After the 1990 season, Hendrick Motorsports shut down its Busch Series operation for the time being.
On June 2, 2022, Hendrick Motorsports announced it would field the No. 17 in three Xfinity races in 2022, with Kyle Larson running at Road America, Alex Bowman at Indianapolis, and William Byron at Watkins Glen. This marked Hendrick Motorsports' return to the Xfinity Series after Tony Stewart won for the team at Daytona in 2009.[26] Larson dominated at Road America, but eventually lost to Ty Gibbs on the final lap.[27] Bowman ran the car at the Indianapolis road course, but it again finished second, this time to A. J. Allmendinger. At Watkins Glen, Byron fiercely battled Gibbs for the lead throughout most of the race until they both spun off-course during the final restart, resulting in Byron finishing 25th.[28] At the September Darlington race, Larson finished fifth after engaging in a three-car battle with Noah Gragson and Sheldon Creed over the closing laps. Larson attempted a pass on Creed for the lead on the final lap, only for both to be passed by race-winner Gragson.[29]
On March 8, 2023, Hendrick Motorsports announced that, for the second year in a row, it would field the No. 17 in four Xfinity races in 2023, with Byron running at Circuit of the Americas, Larson at Sonoma and Darlington, and Bowman at Watkins Glen.[30] On July 12, Hendrick Motorsports added a fifth race to their Xfinity schedule, with Elliott driving the No. 17 at Pocono.[31] On September 26, two further races were added to the No. 17 schedule, with Boris Said competing at the Charlotte Roval and Rajah Caruth competing in the season finale at Phoenix.[32]
For the 2024, a ten–race schedule was announced on February 27, 2024, with Byron, Larson, Bowman and Elliott all competing in at least one race, with Said also competing for the team at Sonoma.[33] The organization claimed their first win in the Xfinity Series, since 2009, behind Larson at the Circuit of the Americas after overtaking a dueling Shane van Gisbergen and Austin Hill on the final lap.[34]
Hendrick Motorsports took full control of the team in 2001, with GMAC Financial Services sponsoring the No. 24 team in each of its three races. Ricky Hendrick drove in those 3 races.[38] In 2002, Hendrick moved to the No. 5 Busch Series car and three-time truck series champion Jack Sprague took over the No. 24 full-time.
Jack Sprague (2002)
Sprague ran the full 2002 season, bringing truck series sponsor NetZero with him.[39] He earned three poles and a win at Nashville en route to a fifth-place points finish. Sprague moved to Hendrick-affiliated Haas CNC Racing in 2003.
Part Time (2007)
In 2007, the No. 24 returned with Casey Mears and Landon Cassill as the drivers, with the National Guard providing sponsorship. After the 2007 season, the team shut down.
The 48 car made its debut in the Busch Series in 2004 at Lowe's Motor Speedway, running a one-race deal with sponsorship from Lowe's and The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. Jimmie Johnson drove it to a third-place finish. He drove the car for five races in 2005, winning a pole at Lowe's. During 2006, he started three races, both Lowe's races and the Ameriquest 300 at California.[40] His best finish was seventh in the first Lowe's race. Johnson drove the 48 car in the same three Busch races for the 2007 races, with a best finish of fourth at California.
In 2005, Hendrick Motorsports fielded the No. 57, a number taken from the sponsorship of Heinz and its "57 varieties".[41] Several drivers piloted the No. 57 in 2005 and 2006, with Brian Vickers competing in the majority of races.[41][42] Additional sponsors, including Lowe's and Mountain Dew, signed deals to sponsor the team for certain races.
In 2009, Hendrick Motorsports announced that they would run a No. 80 HendrickCars.com Chevy driven by Tony Stewart in the Xfinity Series Camping World 300 at Daytona. The number 80 represented the number of affiliates in the Hendrick Automotive Group. Stewart won the race in this car, with this being his only race for Hendrick Motorsports while focusing on his team in a partnership with Gene Haas. Stewart-Haas Racing, at the time, received engines, chassis, and technical support from Hendrick Motorsports.[43]
In 2003, 18-year-old development driver Kyle Busch made his entry into Busch Series, driving a No. 87 car in seven races in an alliance with NEMCO Motorsports (owned by then-Hendrick driver Joe Nemechek). The car received sponsorship from GMAC company Ditech.com, and Busch scored three top tens including two-second-place finishes.[44][45]
For 2004, the alliance with NEMCO continued. Development drivers Blake Feese and Boston Reid ran 3 races each in the No. 87 ditech.com Chevy,[46] with a best finish of 26th by Reid at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
The No. 17 Craftsman Truck Series team made its debut in 2000 with Ricky Hendrick driving with GMAC/Quaker State sponsorship. He made six races that season and finished in the top-ten four times. In 2001, Hendrick won his only career Truck race at Kansas Speedway, becoming the youngest driver at the time to win a truck race at age 21.[17] He finished sixth in points, runner-up to Travis Kvapil for Rookie of the Year honors. The team did not run after 2001.
The No. 24 truck debuted with the Truck Series in 1995 with Scott Lagasse driving and DuPont sponsoring. Lagasse posted two top-fives and finished ninth in the standings.
In 1996, Jack Sprague drove the No. 24 full-time with Quaker State sponsoring. He won five races and was second in the points. The following season, he won three times and clinched his first NASCAR championship.
The team lost the Quaker State sponsorship after 1997 but signed GMAC Financial as a sponsor after a one-race deal with Big Daddy's BBQ Sauce. He won an additional five races but lost the championship by three points. In 1999, Sprague won the championship again but fell to fifth in 2000. In 2001, NetZero came on board as the team's sponsor, and Sprague won his third championship. After Sprague moved his ride to the Busch Series, Ron Hornaday Jr. drove the No. 24 in a one-race deal at Daytona, finishing twelfth. The team closed after that race to focus on its Busch Series efforts.
In 1995, the team fielded the No. 25 Budweiser Chevrolet part-time with Hendrick Sr. and Roger Mears driving. Midway through the season, Jack Sprague came on board to finish out the season for the team, winning a pole at Phoenix International Raceway. In seven races, Sprague had three top-5 and five top-10 finishes.
Hendrick Motorsports revived its truck program in 2013, fielding a part-time entry for Chase Elliott. The team was sponsored by Aaron's and ran nine races. The trucks were not built directly by Hendrick Motorsports, but were instead provided by Hendrick-affiliated Turner Scott Motorsports. However, the trucks were fielded directly by Hendrick, with crew chief Lance McGrew.[47] Elliott made his debut at Martinsville Speedway on April 6 and finished in the sixth position.[48] Elliott became the youngest pole winner in Truck Series history at the time at Bristol in August,[49] and later the youngest race winner in the Truck Series at the time by winning the inaugural Chevrolet Silverado 250 at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park.[50] Elliott departed the No. 94 to join JR Motorsports in the Nationwide Series in 2014.[51]
Hendrick fielded cars for five ARCA races from 1985 to 1996, twice for Brett Bodine in 1985 and 1986 (who won the pole for both races), and once each for Tommy Ellis (1988), Jack Sprague (1996), and Rick Hendrick himself. Rick Hendrick drove the No. 15 Tide car at Heartland Park Topeka in 1991, starting third and finishing 23rd after a braking issue in his only career ARCA start.[52] In February 2000, Ricky Hendrick made his Daytona stock car in the ARCA Bondo/Mar-Hyde Series, driving the No. 17 GMAC Chevrolet to a fifth-place finish.[53] Hendrick would run the race again the next year in the renumbered 71 car, finishing 9th.[54]
Car No. 5 history
In 1985, Hendrick fielded the No. 5 car for one race at IRP with Brett Bodine as the driver. He won the pole and finished 25th after engine issue.
In 2004, Boston Reid ran the No. 7 Chevy fielded by Bobby Gerhart Racing at Talladega. He finished 23rd.
Kyle Krisiloff ran the No. 7 Bobby Gerhart Racing Chevy in 14 races in 2005, with sponsorship from Ditech.com and Delphi.[58] Krisiloff scored 3 top fives and five top tens.
Elliott returned to the team in 2013, scoring his first career win at Pocono Raceway. Elliott, at age 17, became the youngest superspeedway winner in ARCA Racing Series history, beating fellow 17-year-old Erik Jones.[61][62] Elliott scored four top tens, including the win at Pocono, in five races in 2013.[63]
Elliott ran the 2014 ARCA season opener at Daytona, in order to gain NASCAR approval to run the Nationwide Series race the next week. Sponsored by HendrickCars.com and NAPA Brakes, Elliott was involved in a 15-car crash on the 13th lap. In spite of that, Elliott finished 9th, and NASCAR approved him to run on superspeedways; he would go on to win the Nationwide Series Championship.[64]
In 2003, Hendrick fielded Kyle Busch in the ARCA RE/MAX Series for seven races. Busch drove the No. 87 Ditech.com Chevrolet (the same car he drove in his Busch Series starts) to three poles and two wins.[44][45] Busch ran the 2004 season opener at Daytona, starting second and finishing first.[66]
In 2007, Hendrick Motorsports resurrected the No. 87 for development driver Landon Cassill, with sponsorship from Stanley Tools.[67][68] Cassill attempted three races (failing to qualify at Talladega) with two top ten starts but finishes of 38th at Kentucky and 32nd at Pocono. Cassill and Stanley would move to the 88 under the JR Motorsports banner for 2008.[69]
In 2024, Hendrick Motorsports entered the 2024 Indianapolis 500. They partnered with Arrow McLaren to field the No. 17 for Kyle Larson. He would become the fifth driver to attempt the Double.[72]
In 2023, Hendrick Motorsports entered the 24 Hours of Le Mans, working with NASCAR, Chevrolet, Goodyear, and IMSA to field a modified version of the Camaro Cup car in the experimental Garage 56 category. The Camaro ZL1 was 'largely unchanged' from the Cup Series car. Modifications included real headlights and taillights, a larger fuel tank, uprated carbon ceramic brakes, as well as new tyres developed by Goodyear.[73]
The car was driven by Jimmie Johnson, 2010 Le Mans winner Mike Rockenfeller, and 2009 Formula 1 World Champion Jenson Button. The car ultimately finished 39th out of 62 total competitors, and outperformed entries in the GTE Am class, the car's closest equivalents.[74]
Brian Vickers' No. 25 Ditech/GMAC Chevrolet, which pays tribute to the ten people killed in an October 2004 plane crash
On October 24, 2004, ten people associated with Hendrick Motorsports lost their lives in a plane crash while en route from Concord, North Carolina, to a small airport near the Martinsville Speedway. The plane crashed in heavy fog into Bull Mountain, seven miles (11 km) from the Blue Ridge Airport in Stuart, Virginia, after a failed attempt to land.[75] Ten people aboard the Beechcraft King Air 200 died. Six were Hendrick family members and/or Hendrick Motorsports employees: John Hendrick, the owner's brother and president of Hendrick Motorsports; Jeff Turner, general manager of Hendrick Motorsports; Ricky Hendrick, a Hendrick Motorsports driver and its owner's son; Kimberly and Jennifer Hendrick, John Hendrick's twin daughters; and Randy Dorton, chief engine builder. Also dead were the plane's pilots, Richard Tracy and Elizabeth Morrison, Joe Jackson, director of the DuPont Motorsports program,[76] and Scott Lathram, who worked for Joe Gibbs Racing as a helicopter pilot.[77]
NASCAR officials learned of the crash during that day's Subway 500 race in Martinsville, Virginia; they withheld the information from drivers until the end of the race, which was won by Hendrick driver Jimmie Johnson. For the rest of the 2004 season, all Hendrick Motorsports cars and the No. 0 Haas CNC Racing car featured pictures of the crash victims on the hood, accompanied by the phrase "Always in our hearts".
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