[media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”225″]
[/media-credit]“I have guys that I went to high school with and haven’t talked to in 30 years that have reached out, and that’s been pretty special,” Rick Hendrick says. “But all of the folks from GM, and just in racing that I have not seen or heard from in probably 20 years, that’s been the neat thing, to talk to some of the drivers that have been calling in and jabbing me. It’s been a real neat deal.”
This past weekend at Darlington Raceway, Rick Hendrick scored his 200th Sprint Cup Series victory as a car owner when Jimmie Johnson crossed the line in first place. Hendrick says the win will be celebrated as he’s got a lot of things planned for his people due to being a milestone.
“We ave reached out to all the drivers that have won races with us and they are excited about being a part of something,” he says. “We are going to have a little get-together and celebrate. It’s a huge accomplishment for our people and I’m really proud of them. You know, you need to stop and celebrate something like, this because they don’t come along too often.”
Over the years, 15 different drivers have won races for Rick Hendrick to contribute to the total. After the win, Hendrick was presented with a helmet that had been signed by all of the drivers, except for Tim Richmond, whose sister signed it.
“The coolest thing about it all is being able to meet guys like Tim Richmond and Geoff Bodine and Darrell (Waltrip) and Kenny (Schrader) and Kyle (Busch) and all of the guys that have been there that won races,” Hendrick says. “Still see them in the garage, a lot of them. Some of them don’t race anymore. But it’s really an honor to have those guys be excited about the 200 and the relationship I have with all of them, so the helmet has all of that.”
The win at Darlington also marked the first win of the season for the Hendrick Motorsports organization. Last month at April, it looked like Hendrick Motorsports was going to win there as Jeff Gordon and Johnson were first and second going into a late race restart.
“I think that one crushed me more than any one ever has, because I wanted to win at Martinsville,” he says. “That would have been a great place for the 200th win, where the accident happened. I have a lot of family there and had relatives on the plane. That one crushed me, and I don’t think I’ll ever get over that one.”
So far this season, the Hendrick Motorsports’ group hasn’t had as much success as some may have predicted in the pre-season after Hendrick said he’d be disappointed if all four cars didn’t make the Chase and one didn’t win the championship.
For Gordon, it’s mostly been bad luck that’s bitten him this year as he’s led laps, yet has had wrecks and engine failures cause unexpected finishes.
“Between Kasey (Kahne) and Jeff Gordon, probably the rottenest luck I’ve had in racing in my career,” Hendrick says. “I mean, I can’t even remember as many flat tires or wrecks or Kasey is running third on the last lap and gets shoved into the wall. We have had some freak things break on the car.
“But I’m not going to take away from the competition level that’s out there, but I still believe that I think the momentum is going to be on our side when we get to the Chase. I think Jeff is going to win races. We have got to get to 20th in the points but I think he’s going to win races, and Kasey is going to win races.”
Turning the page, this weekend marks the Sprint Cup All-Star Race, the second non-points event of the season. Three of Hendrick Motorsports’ drivers are locked into the event – Gordon, Johnson and Kahne.
“I think the All-Star Race was one of my favorite races,” Hendrick says. “You get to run flat-out. You don’t have to worry about points. And the fans, it’s a night race, it’s at Charlotte; it’s always a wild race.
“We always have some kind of spectacular event during that race, and it’s one that we really want to win, but it’s also a fun race to watch, because you really don’t have the pressure of the points. You don’t have as much on the line. And I like that the format is always pretty interesting.”
The All-Star race marks a good reference point for teams to begin to prepare for the Coca-Cola 600 next weekend.
“I think this year, with the 600 moved back a little later in the day, it’s even going to be more important to see how your car reacts on two tires and all of the other things, the adjustments you make during the race,” Hendrick comments. “You know, we are going to take this one race at a time. We want to win the All-Star Race, because it’s a lot of bragging rights. But we’ll get a lot of information over there that will prepare us for the 600.”
Hendrick is hoping the momentum carries forward from Johnson’s Darlington win to propel them to victory. It’s done its job so far as the 48 team won the pit crew challenge on Thursday night.
“I think the fact that everybody is kind of running good, and we’ll ride the momentum of the excitement of getting the 200th one done, and everyone is on their toes for this race, anyway,” he says. “I think it’s good momentum for all of our guys going into the race.”
