“It’s going to be a huge deal. I think our fans love that.” Joe Gibbs said these words ahead of the NASCAR Cup Series championship weekend. Roger Penske, who has dominated the Cup Series title for the past three years, saw all his drivers eliminated from the Final Four. Instead, Gibbs and Rick Hendrick were pitted against each other in the final battle at Phoenix Raceway.

The iconic rivalry played out between Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe on Joe Gibbs’ side, and Kyle Larson and William Byron on Rick Hendrick’s side. Only one of them emerged as the winner in a sensational end to the rivalry. However, their racetrack battle hardly resembles the fuzzy and lighthearted relationship off-track, which Hendrick let slip recently.

Rick Hendrick’s sad dilemma at the NASCAR awards

Kyle Larson was the focus of the NASCAR Awards ceremony on Tuesday, having won the 2025 Cup Series title. However, his team owner, Rick Hendrick, stole some of that spotlight with a funny address. He talked about his fellow champion team owner, Joe Gibbs, whom he beat by a hair’s breadth in Phoenix. “See Joseph sitting down there. I actually hurt for Joe, not too bad. But I did call Joe, and he didn’t call me back right away. You know, he doesn’t answer his phone…He gets upset at me if I don’t return his calls. But he doesn’t return my call.”

Well, the championship race was not at all a peaceful one. Denny Hamlin led for 208 laps and yet lost the title by a hair’s breadth, snapping hopes of a 19-year-old ambition. What’s more, his wish to present the title to a terminally ill father also fell apart. So a gloomy air pervaded the Joe Gibbs Racing team at the NASCAR awards ceremony. Hence, Rick Hendrick did his part to lighten the mood at the NASCAR Awards event. He hailed Hamlin and his team’s efforts: “But Joe and Denny..I called Denny. I felt bad for those guys. That’s the most excited I’ve been, almost jumped off the pit box with one lap.”

That was not the end of Rick Hendrick‘s phone call misadventure. Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney may have lost hopes of continuing a three-year chokehold on the title. So Hendrick attempted to brighten their team owner’s mood too. Roger Penske is the third heavyweight team owner in the NASCAR Cup Series. Hendrick continued, “And Roger Penske. Roger, my hero over there, thank you for what you do for this sport. Thank you for being a friend. I got two heroes here I have to race against.”

Even Richard Childress, in whose team two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch drives, was not spared. Jesse Love won the 2025 Xfinity Series championship for Childress last Saturday, and Rick Hendrick attempted to congratulate them. But he complained, “And all of the other friends, Richard Childress. I called Richard Childress, he didn’t call me back either…Nobody called me back.”

Hopefully, Rick Hendrick’s friends and peers will ring back the now 15-time Cup Series championship holder. And the reason for this camaraderie runs deeper than just the NASCAR Awards address.

The deep roots of a friendship

30 years ago, Joe Gibbs was unheard of in NASCAR circles. He was a legendary football coach, having guided the Washington Redskins (now Commanders) to three Super Bowl victories. And then Gibbs’ two sons advised him to go into racing, with his first point of contact being Rick Hendrick. When Gibbs’ NASCAR Cup team made its debut in 1992, its Chevrolet engines were leased from Hendrick. Since then, Hendrick has acquired 15 Cup championships, while Gibbs has obtained five. What is more, the duo also built a solid camaraderie along the way.

It grew stronger along familial lines. Both Rick Hendrick and Joe Gibbs have lost their children, and supported each other through the harsh times. Gibbs said recently, “Rick and I have talked a lot about that, our boys and the fact that they’re not here. It’s really hard. I do know that with my two boys, and I’m sure with Ricky, their dream was to be a part of racing in the future. Certainly, I think that’s what Rick kind of had planned. That’s what I had planned. Sometimes in life, God has a different idea. We share a lot of similar heartbreaks.” 

Rick Hendrick also expressed the essence of his bond with Joe Gibbs. “Joe and I have had some good times. We’ve had some sad times together. There’s nobody I respect any more than I do Joe Gibbs and the great organization he’s put together. I admire the man for his strength, what he’s gone through. I lost a son. He’s lost both sons. We both had plans, and they kind of got shattered. We have a bond and a friendship that, no matter what happens on the track, we talk during the week.”

Evidently, this stout bond is what helped the team owners share laughs at the NASCAR Awards event. With 2026 only a few months away, let us see how they renew their rivalry on the racetrack!