What is Hendrick Motorsports?

There are a few motorsports teams in the world that can boast of the kind of achievements that Hendrick Motorsports has had. Rick Hendrick's organization is the winningest team in the history of the NASCAR Cup Series and after four decades of existence, they are only getting better. It's not just the Cup Series that the team has been successful in as they have Xfinity and Truck Series championships in their cabinet as well. When it comes to dominance in stock car racing, no team has ever matched up to the brilliance of HMS no matter what obstacles have come their way.

The history of Hendrick Motorsports

Back when NASCAR's popularity was on a meteoric rise, a car dealership owner by the name of Rick Hendrick founded a race team called All-Star Racing along with Harry Hyde. The following year, its name was changed to what fans are familiar with today, Hendrick Motorsports. At the time, things were not easy for Hendrick and there were genuine fears about the team being forced to shut down operations in its very first season. However, when Geoff Bodine defied the odds to win their first race in 1984 at Martinsville, a lot of people, including Hendrick himself, rested easy.

The team's expansion as a prominent Cup Series competitor came to fruition in 1986 when they upgraded from one car to two and then to three in 1987. In 2002, Rick Hendrick decided to have four cars in NASCAR's biggest competition and that has been their lineup ever since. Several great racers have had the honor of driving for the legendary team but their first-ever Cup Series champion was Jeff Gordon in 1995. Today, the 52-year-old is the vice-chairman and co-owner of the team and he also has an equity stake in the #24 team which currently has William Byron as its driver.

Why is the team named Hendrick Motorsports?

Well, it is quite obvious why Hendrick Motorsports is called Hendrick Motorsports. The team is the brainchild of Rick Hendrick so it seems only fair that it is named after the great motorsports veteran. However, when the organization was founded in 1984, it was called All-Star Racing. The rebranding of the team took place just one year into its existence but since then, it has remained the same. Today, the name Hendrick Motorsports is synonymous with success in NASCAR.

Hendrick Motorsports net worth 2024

Being the most successful Cup Series team sure has its perks and one of them is its sheer value. Today, Hendrick Motorsports is among the richest motorsports organizations the world has ever known. The team's net worth as of 2024 has not been made available as of yet but a Forbes report in 2020 pegged it to be at a whopping $315 million. That number has certainly increased as the team has won two Cup Series titles since then. Their success has also earned an astronomical amount of personal wealth for Rick Hendrick, whose net worth is estimated to be a whopping $1.1 billion.

But it's not just the race wins and championships that determine a team's net worth. A lot of that has to do with the sponsorship deals and endorsements that the team has. Hendrick Motorsports has the backing of some of the biggest companies in the world like Chevrolet, Ally, Coca-Cola, and Hooters just to name a few. Reports in 2023 also suggested that the team was investing in a $23 million facility in Concord which would only add to the team's earnings in the future.

Hendrick Motorsports racing drivers

When the team was first started in 1984, Hendrick Motorsports only had one car in the Cup Series. However, as time went by and they racked up the wins and championships, Rick Hendrick began his expansion. In 2002, the team had four cars in the competition and that is the case today as well. The four teams that race full-time for the team in NASCAR's biggest competitions are the #5, #9, #24 and #48. Each of these numbers has a lot of history behind them.

The #5, currently being driven by Kyle Larson, was the first car that Rick Hendrick fielded when the team was founded in 1984. Its first driver was Geoff Bodine who won a race in that very season at Martinsville to get the ball rolling for the future. The car's first Cup Series championship came in 1996 when Terry Labonte won it all and its second came in 2021 with Larson. Several other greats have also driven for the number, such as people like Ricky Rudd, Kyle Busch, Kasey Kahne, and Mark Martin.

The #9 has only ever seen one full-time driver but that man is well on his way to becoming one of the greatest the sport has ever seen. Chase Elliott has been one of the brightest stars in stock car racing for a while now and he won his only Cup Series championship so far with the #9 in 2020. He used to drive the #24 but was renumbered after the 2017 season to honor his father, Bill Elliott, who drove a #9 for most of his career.

The #24 is what brought success to Hendrick Motorsports in terms of championships for the first time. Jeff Gordon was the driver of the car when the team won their first-ever Cup Series championship and the NASCAR legend went on to win three more titles with the same number. The #24 holds a legendary status in all of NASCAR and today, it is being driven by one of the brightest and most talented racers in stock car racing, William Byron.

And then there's the #48. It is the most successful number in modern-day NASCAR as the legendary Jimmie Johnson won a whopping seven Cup Series titles in that car. The #48 is the car that holds the record for winning the most number of successful Cup Series championships with five with Johnson. Anyone who gets the opportunity to sit behind the wheel of the #48 has massive shoes to fill and as of 2024, that person is Alex Bowman. The likes of Noah Gragson and Josh Berry have also raced in it on a few occasions. And then there was the #88 which was also driven by Bowman but made famous by Dale Earnhardt Jr. He might not have won a Cup Series championship with the car but he certainly won a lot of fans in it during his time at the team, and several race victories.

Hendrick Motorsports partnerships and endorsements

Rick Hendrick's organization has some of the biggest partnership deals in NASCAR today with some of the biggest companies in the world. One of the racing team's oldest relationships is with Chevrolet, which has been its engine manufacturer since the beginning. As per an article on the Hendrick Motorsports website, Mr H had said the team was lucky to have been with Chevrolet since the beginning. Apart from the American car manufacturer, HMS has partnership deals with companies like NAPA, Ally, Valvoline, Axalta, Hooters, Coca-Cola, and Liberty University.

The interesting one among all the aforementioned organizations is Liberty University which sponsors the #24 car of William Byron. It has been with the Cup Series star since 2014 and the current contract runs until the end of the 2026 season. The partnership has helped the university as HMS backs the School of Engineering’s Formula SAE effort which is one for the future as it deals with EV technology. Hendrick Automotive went one step further to help develop a degree specialization in automotive dealership management.

Hendrick Motorsports investments

A team the size and success of Hendrick Motorsports will make investments where it sees fit but one such attempt had not sat well with fans. In 2023, reports emerged that the Charlotte Motor Speedway had sold a whopping 82 acres of land to an entity related to Hendrick Motorsports for $22.6 million. It sent fears of the iconic race track suffering the same fate as Fontana.

As per the Charlotte Business Journal, the land will be used for a couple of advanced manufacturing projects under Mr H. After the sale, the city of Concord gave the green light to Rick Hendrick for the project to be undertaken, which will reportedly have an investment of $23.7 million. It will be interesting to see if the project affects the Charlotte Motor Speedway in any way and if so, how.

Hendrick Motorsports major achievements and awards

It is no wonder that Hendrick Motorsports is one of the biggest teams in stock car racing today as it is the most successful. The team has won more races and more championships than any other team in the history of the Cup Series. They have 14 Cup Series championship wins and more than 300 race wins so far in their illustrious history. Rick Hendrick's organization became the team with the most race wins in the Cup when they overtook Petty Enterprises in 2021 and won their 269th race.

The team's 14 Cup Series successes have come with drivers like Jeff Gordon (4), Jimmie Johnson (7, including 5 in a row), Terry Labonte (1), Chase Elliott (1) and Kyle Larson (1). But the Cup is not where the success story stops. Mr H's team has won the NASCAR Xfinity Series once (2003) and the Truck Series on 3 occasions (1997,1999, 2001). For his achievements in the competition, team owner Rick Hendrick was bestowed with the honor of being inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2017.  But that did not stop his ambitions from expanding onto the global stage.

Hendrick Motorsports and Garage 56

One of the first steps to that expansion was the team's shocking run in the 2023 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The project was called Garage 56 and Hendrick Motorsports brought a roaring modified stock car to the south of France to run the iconic race. It was truly a sight to see on the track as the huge #24 car completed the laps. The team had three of the best drivers in the world - Jimmie Johnson, Jenson Button, and Mike Rockenfeller. The goal was to finish the race which the team did in P39 out of 62. Certainly an impressive result for a debutante team.

Hendrick Motorsports' fateful plane crash

The team may enjoy its time as one of the biggest race teams in the world right now but the road has been a rocky one for Rick Hendrick and others involved. The legendary team owner suffered an unthinkable personal tragedy in 2004 when a plane crash took the lives of several people he considered near and dear, including his son Ricky Hendrick. The others who met their demise were John Hendrick and his daughters, Kimberly and Jennifer Hendrick, Jeff Turner, and Randy Dortom. They were all employees at HMS. The accident was attributed in part to pilot error, both of whom also lost their lives in the crash. Other passengers included Joe Jackson and Scott Lathram.

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