SILVER CELEBRATION: Hendrick Motorsports celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2009. Team owner Rick Hendrick founded the organization in 1984 with five employees and 5,000 square feet of rented work space. Today, more than 500 people work on the more than 100-acre campus in Concord, N.C. Hendrick’s teams have claimed 12 NASCAR championships (eight in the Sprint Cup Series) and 175 Cup-level wins (most in the modern era, second all-time). Since 1984, the organization has posted at least one pole position every year (25 straight years) and scored at least one win for 23 consecutive seasons. In its 25 years, Hendrick Motorsports has averaged 1.4 top-10 finishes per race and seven wins per season.
DUSTY: In honor of Hendrick Motorsports’ 25th anniversary, Hendrick today was presented with “Dusty,” the first in-house chassis constructed by Hendrick Motorsports. Restored by employees campus-wide, “Dusty” was given to Hendrick as a surprise during the company’s season kickoff luncheon. The car — “HMS 001 Dusty” — was built in 1989. Greg Sacks drove the original car in 1990, recording a runner-up finish at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway in May and a pole position at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway in July. Since then, the organization has built more than 500 chassis.
DRIVE FOR NINE IN ’09: With eight Sprint Cup Series championships, Hendrick Motorsports trails only the legendary Petty Enterprises, which has recorded 10 Cup titles. Hendrick currently ranks first in NASCAR history with 12 combined NASCAR driver championships (eight Sprint Cup, one Nationwide Series and three Camping World Truck Series) and is tied with Richard Childress Racing in owner championships (11). Hendrick Motorsports is the only team in NASCAR history that has captured four consecutive Sprint Cup titles.
VETERAN TOUCH: Mark Martin, who celebrated his 50th birthday on Jan. 9, will pilot the No. 5 Kellogg’s/CARQUEST Chevrolet in 2009. Martin enters his 20th full season of Sprint Cup competition and brings with him 35 wins, 243 top-five finishes and 396 top-10s. He will make his 750th Cup start in September at Dover (Del.) International Speedway and his 1,000th NASCAR start in August at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. Martin joins Alan Gustafson, who is entering his fifth season as crew chief of the No. 5 team.
FOUR-PEAT: Jimmie Johnson and his No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet team will be going for their fourth straight championship this season — a feat yet to be accomplished in NASCAR. In 2008, Johnson became only the second driver to win three consecutive titles. Cale Yarborough was the first after winning Cup championships in 1976, 1977 and 1978. Johnson has finished fifth or better in the standings in each of his seven full seasons on the Cup tour, all with primary sponsorship from Lowe’s. In 2009, Kobalt Tools, which is sold exclusively at Lowe’s, will be featured on the car for 11 races.
RARE COMPANY: Johnson’s performance last season brought Hendrick into an elite fraternity. Hendrick now is one of just three owners to have had two drivers win three or more Sprint Cup championships. Yarborough and Darrell Waltrip won three titles apiece for Junior Johnson, while Lee Petty (three) and Richard Petty (seven) won 10 combined championships for Petty Enterprises. Gordon has scored four titles for Hendrick (1995, 1997, 1998 and 2001), while teammate Johnson earned one in each of his last three seasons.
FOUR SCORE: Should a Hendrick Motorsports team win the Sprint Cup championship this season, it will mark the second time the organization has earned four consecutive titles. Jeff Gordon (1995, 1997, 1998) and Terry Labonte (1996) combined to win Hendrick’s first four Cup championships.
FIRESTORM: Yellow flames blend into red and black to form the primary colors of Gordon’s new No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet. Gordon has partnered with primary sponsor DuPont since his Sprint Cup debut with Hendrick Motorsports in 1992. During that 17-year run, his No. 24 Chevrolet has changed its look just three times — from the “Rainbow Warrior” scheme, which Gordon drove to three of his four Cup championships, to the “Fire and Flames” he started using in 2001. Last October, Gordon unveiled the “FireStorm” look, which will make its debut next month in the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona.
GUARD JOINS 24 PROGRAM: This season, Gordon and the No. 24 team will help bring awareness to the National Guard’s community initiatives, such as the National Guard Youth Challenge, Active First, College First, Path to Honor and Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve (ESGR). The programs will be showcased on the No. 24 DuPont/National Guard Chevrolet in eight races this season: March 8 at Atlanta Motor Speedway; April 5 at Texas Motor Speedway; May 9 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway; June 14 at Michigan International Speedway; July 11 at Chicagoland Speedway; Sept. 12 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway; Sept. 20 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Oct. 25 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.
SHOOTOUT SENSATION: Around this time last year, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was making his debut for Hendrick Motorsports in grand fashion. The driver of the No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet opened 2008 by winning the Budweiser Shootout and then a Gatorade Duel 150 at Daytona. Earnhardt, who finished ninth in the Daytona 500 and went on to win at Michigan International Speedway in June, made the Chase for the Sprint Cup in his first Hendrick Motorsports season and was voted by NASCAR fans as Most Popular Driver for the sixth straight year.
AT DAYTONA: Since 1984, Hendrick Motorsports has gone to Victory Lane six times during the prestigious Daytona 500. Geoff Bodine drove the No. 5 Chevrolet to capture Hendrick’s first Daytona 500 win in 1986. Most recently, Johnson started ninth and led 26 laps before taking the checkered flag in 2006. In 25 seasons of competing in the Daytona 500, Hendrick’s teams have recorded a top-10 finish in all but three events; the drivers have accounted for 19 top-five finishes and 34 top-10s.
STEWART AT DAYTONA: Two-time Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart will attempt to qualify a No. 80 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet prepared by Hendrick Motorsports for the Feb. 14 Nationwide Series event at Daytona. Last February, Stewart started from the pole position and won the season-opening race for the third time. Overall, Stewart has scored three wins, four top-five finishes and five top-10s in eight Nationwide appearances at the superspeedway.
SEVEN IN ’09: In 2009, Brad Keselowski will attempt to qualify for seven Sprint Cup events for Hendrick Motorsports driving the No. 25 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet. The effort will be led by veteran crew chief Lance McGrew, who also worked with the 24-year-old driver during his Cup debut in 2008. Keselowski made his first two Cup-level starts in November, recording solid top-25 results for Hendrick Motorsports and GoDaddy.com at Fort Worth, Texas, and Homestead, Fla. He will qualify at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 1; Texas Motor Speedway on April 5; Darlington (S.C.) Raceway on May 9; Dover International Speedway on May 31; Chicagoland Speedway on July 11; Michigan International Speedway on Aug. 16; and Kansas Speedway on Oct. 4.
Hendrick Motorsports, Press Release