William Byron claimed a win for HMS with the #24 car at Martinsville. The track also saw its first-ever 1-2-3 finish for a team. So it turned out to be quite fitting that the former #24 driver-turned-Vice Chairman at Hendrick Motorsports, Jeff Gordon, had joined forces with Geoff Bodine to give the starting command for the Cook Out 400 on Sunday.

In the absence of Rick Hendrick and the presence of around 1500 Hendrick employees and family members on Turn 2, Gordon had some overwhelming feelings surrounding HMS’ momentous occasion in Virginia.

Jeff Gordon impressed by strong employee support and a historic occasion

Prior to the weekend, it was announced that Rick Hendrick was to undergo knee replacement surgery. Thus, rendering him unable to attend the Martinsville race on Sunday. Hence, the VC took charge, and for the first time in Martinsville’s history, three drivers, all belonging to the HMS stable, swept the podium. William Byron emerged victorious, while Kyle Larson closely followed in P2, and Chase Elliott marked the P3 spot.

Post-race, Gordon spoke about the strong support from the people involved. “it wasn’t just, Hey, come for free. It was, bring a family member, and if you want more tickets, we’ve got a really good discounted rate on more tickets. They bought more, right? We expected, I don’t know, maybe 500 people. You just don’t know until you put that invite out to the group and they start RSVPing. One day it was 400, the next day it was 700, the next day it was 900…”

With William Byron bringing it home to Hendrick Motorsports, that too in the #24 car, the former driver was certainly impressed, as he continued, “To see our folks rally behind this milestone and this moment, this day, get on buses early this morning and come up here… They were partying up there pretty early. They had a good time. To be able to cap that off with the victory, like what this is going to do for our company is incredible, right?” 

“To be able to have them that engaged with a day like today, our history, but also making history at the same time.” Safe to say, the acting VC and the entire Hendrick team rightfully made history.

Current HMS stable living up to legends of the past

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When Geoff Bodine claimed Hendrick Motorsports first victory at Martinsville, Rick Hendrick received the news over a phone call in Greensboro, NC, attending a church event with his wife Linda. Ever since, HMS has become one of the most dominant race teams in the history of NASCAR with 304 Cup wins and 14 Cup Series championships. Gordon himself has contributed to four of those trophies for the Hendrick garage. Moreover, the former #24 has also led the most laps at Martinsville with an impressive tally of 3,779. With 38 blazing-fast displays, Gordon is also the record holder for the most top-10 finishes at the 0.526-mile short track.

Nevertheless, from Kyle Larson sweeping Stage 1 from pole position to Chase Elliott earning his first podium finish in almost ten months, and Alex Bowman making sure all 4 entries maintain their presence in the top 10, it was a good day for Jeff Gordon and even a better one for his successor, Byron.

How Rick Hendrick Handing the Reigns to Ray Evernham and Co Made NASCAR History