Jimmie Johnson was just an unknown driver trying to survive his first race at Darlington Raceway. Darlington is a very hard track that ruins many race cars. But Johnson was driving perfectly, right next to the wall. Ricky Hendrick happened to be watching the race, and that one moment amazed him. He saw a natural talent in the young driver that nobody else saw.

Ricky went to his father, Rick Hendrick, with one message: hire this guy. At the time, Hendrick Motorsports only hired proven champions like Terry Labonte and Darrell Waltrip. They did not take risks on unknown drivers. Johnson did not have a great racing record, and there was no clear reason to give him a top-tier Cup Series car. Ricky did not care. He kept bringing the name up in every meeting until people started listening. Jeff Gordon raced against Johnson at Michigan, saw it for himself, and got on board, too.

“My son said, ‘Hey, he’s going to be a rock star,’ and Jeff raced against him in Michigan, and boy, was that a good move,” Rick Hendrick said.

Johnson had no clue any of this was going on. He went to Gordon’s transporter one afternoon, looking for career advice. His team’s sponsorship was falling apart, and he needed guidance. Gordon listened. Johnson got up to leave. Gordon called him back.

“I probably shouldn’t say this, and you’re not going to believe it, but on my way here, I stopped at Hendrick Motorsports, sat down and had a meeting with Rick. We’re going to expand to a fourth team, and the only driver we spoke about to drive that car was you.”

Johnson could not process it. “Me? How do you know my name? I don’t even know you.”

He figured it out later. For every board meeting, there was, and in every conversation about the fourth car, Ricky had been in the room, saying his name.

“God bless Ricky, he kept dropping my name at the right time, and I kind of had the ride from day one. It was wild,” Johnson said.

Jimmie Johnson got the No. 48 and proceeded to win seven championships, including five in a row, from 2006 to 2010. His historic success helped Hendrick Motorsports reach a record 322 Cup Series wins. Gordon, who co-owned the 48, spent the back half of that decade watching a car he helped build repeatedly beat him for titles. He later joked that he hated losing to Jimmie on Sundays, but loved his bank account on Mondays.

Sadly, Ricky never got to see any of it. He died in a plane crash in October 2004, just as Johnson was hitting his stride. To this day, both Rick and Johnson point to him as the reason it happened at all. Gordon put it beautifully.

“Rick is going all in believing in this kid. Let’s go see if he can get it done. And he did. I’ll always be proud I was a part of that.”

From the track to the showroom ft. Rick Hendrick

Hendrick has always had a nose for the right bet. On June 30, 2026, his Hendrick Automotive Group acquired Foreign Cars Italia from longtime friend Benny Yount, adding Ferrari, Aston Martin, Bentley, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, and Porsche to his empire in one move.

It started with a text. Hendrick sent Yount a photo of his personal car collection and four words:

“I’ve got Ferrari fever.”

Yount replied that he was ready to sell. The deal covers two major locations in Charlotte and Greensboro, covers 15 acres, includes over 100,000 square feet of buildings, and brings 130 workers and eight car franchises to Hendrick’s company. Hendrick had actually tried to buy this exact Ferrari business 30 years ago. His CFO talked him out of it, arguing it was cheaper to just buy Rick a new Ferrari every year instead.

He is not waiting this time. A new Ferrari facility in Charlotte, another in Raleigh, and a new Porsche dealership in Greensboro are already in the works. Since 1993, Foreign Cars Italia has had exclusive Ferrari retail rights across both Carolinas, serving 16 million people. That territory is Hendrick’s now.

The deal pushes him to 31 nameplates across more than 100 dealerships nationwide. Ricky saw something in an unknown driver that nobody else could. His father has spent the last two decades proving he has the same eye, just in bigger and bigger rooms.