“Being able to go up against one of the all-time greats,” Jeff Gordon said in 2019, “changed my life forever.” These comments were about a 60-minute documentary exploring the intense rivalry between Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Sr. Their on-track competition was the stuff of dreams for NASCAR fans in the 1990s. But while the opposing racers from Hendrick Motorsports and Richard Childress Racing locked horns on track, their crew chiefs were up to a different agenda.

A secret alliance that boosted Hendrick Motorsports

“They would have fired us on the spot,” Andy Petree, former Vice President of RCR, told Sirius XM NASCAR. “But it helped us both. Back then, they didn’t realise the benefit of having that kind of teamwork that we gained from it. The rivalry was still real – we were trying to beat each other on strategy on the track. But when it came to the cars and the setup, we were like an open book with each other.”

This mysterious alliance was between Andy Petree and none other than Ray Evernham, a former legendary crew chief at Hendrick Motorsports. Evernham worked with Jeff Gordon, while Petree worked with Dale Earnhardt Sr. The No. 3 RCR Chevrolet and the No. 24 HMS Chevy were neck-deep in competition for over 8 seasons, finishing in 1-2 positions 7 times. But as Petree said, this rivalry thrived because he shared notes in the background.

“We were almost like teammates,” Petree continued. “We actually debriefed with each other at every race, in ’93, ’94, ’95. So every race, when I would do the post setup on the car, I would have Ray with me. He would have his stuff, I’d have mine, and we would talk about it, and we were very open.” He added, “We even had our own radio channel that I could flip over to. And we could talk to each other in a separate channel during the race.”

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Ray Evernham had previously revealed this radio channel to Dale Earnhardt Jr. In February 2024, the Hendrick Motorsports icon confessed on a Dale Jr Download episode. Evernham even admitted to building the shocks for the No. 3 car for an October 1994 race in Charlotte.

“I felt like we learned so much from each other that that’s what accelerated both of our careers,” Andy Petree said. “He’s using me because of the experience side of it. He was kind of new to Cup. I’m using him because of all the things he’s bringing, all the innovation, all the new thinking, all the things he was opening up.”

The results were, as we know, brilliant. RCR secured the championships in 1993 and 1994, while Hendrick Motorsports won the title in 1995. That was the beginning of Rick Hendrick‘s championship streak in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Rick Hendrick, thankfully, could not punish the secretly aligned crew chiefs. Now, he is addressing a new driver’s antics.

A candid discussion with the youngster

The 1990s were a golden era for Hendrick Motorsports. Standing in 2026, the team boasts big talents now as well. However, Rick Hendrick’s latest recruit brewed a storm over his on-track aggression. Corey Day, wheeling the No. 17 in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, had multiple run-ins with rivals like Ryan Seig, Carson Kvapil, and Connor Zilisch. And as NASCAR drivers questioned the 20-year-old’s antics, a proper discussion followed.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., team owner of Connor Zilisch, admitted that JR Motorsports and HMS sat down with Corey Day.

“We all got together, and we all sat down. Rick [Hendrick] had a conversation with Corey, and we’re all trying to help him understand, ‘Look, man, we want you here. We believe in you, we believe you’re a winner. We want to see you succeed. But we have to do this without being detrimental to each other,” Dale Jr. said.

“What Corey’s doing is nothing new. We’ve had teammate issues in the past; we will have them in the future. When you bring all of these young kids into the same building, they’re all on different paths, they are all eager to get that next opportunity.”

Clearly, Rick Hendrick is continuing his pursuit of excellence while straightening out the wrinkles. His former crew chief’s past alliance, however, may have laid the foundation for Hendrick Motorsports.