Hendrick Motorsports

Born July 12, 1949, in Warrenton, N.C., Joseph Riddick "Rick" Hendrick III was raised on his family's farm, a stone's throw from the small Virginia community of Palmer Springs. It was there, south of Richmond near the North Carolina border, where his father instilled the value of a hard day's work and a pure passion for the automobile.

Under the watchful eye of "Papa Joe," that love of cars led Hendrick into the world of auto racing. At age 14, he quickly made a name for himself by setting speed records at a local drag strip with a self-built 1931 Chevrolet. Two years later, the self-described "gearhead" won the Virginia division of the Chrysler-Plymouth Troubleshooting Contest, a competition for engine builders. He was just 16.

A standout athlete at Park View High School in South Hill, Va., Hendrick considered an opportunity to play professional baseball before pursuing a co-op work-study program with North Carolina State University and Westinghouse Electric Company in Raleigh, N.C.

Hendrick Automotive Group

While on "Tobacco Road," Hendrick's deep-seeded automotive passion led him to open a small used-car lot with Mike Leith, an established new-car dealer. The venture's success soon convinced Leith to name Hendrick the general sales manager of his new-car import operation at the age of 23.

In 1976, the 26-year-old Hendrick took a chance by selling off his assets to purchase a struggling franchise in Bennettsville, S.C., thus becoming the youngest Chevrolet dealer in the United States. His influence sparked a dramatic sales increase as the once troubled location soon became the region's most profitable.

Bennettsville's success was a precursor to Hendrick Automotive Group, which today operates collision centers, accessories distributor installers and more than 100 retail franchises across 13 states. It currently is the second-largest privately held dealership group in the United States according to industry publication Ward's Dealer Business.

Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Hendrick Automotive Group generated a company record $6.1 billion in revenue in 2012 after selling more than 150,000 vehicles and servicing 1.5 million cars and trucks. Hendrick leads the organization, which employs more than 8,000 people, as its chairman.

Hendrick Motorsports

As his automotive business steadily grew, Hendrick enjoyed similar success in the realm of professional motor sports. In the late 1970s, he founded a drag-boat racing team that won three consecutive national championships and set a world record of 222.2 mph with the boat "Nitro Fever."

But Hendrick soon transitioned back into car racing, sponsoring and co-owning a limited number of NASCAR Late Model Sportsman Series (now NASCAR Nationwide Series) entries, which included a 1983 victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway with the late Dale Earnhardt Sr. as driver.

In 1984, Hendrick founded All-Star Racing. That year, the fledgling outfit fielded a single NASCAR Winston Cup Series (now Sprint Cup) team with five full-time employees and 5,000 square feet of leased workspace. With Geoff Bodine driving an entire 30-race campaign in the No. 5 Chevrolets, All-Star Racing finished ninth in championship points after earning three victories and three pole positions in its first season.

Known as Hendrick Motorsports since 1985, the organization today is headquartered in Concord, N.C., with 430,000 square feet of workspace on 140 acres that spans Cabarrus and Mecklenburg counties. Hendrick's original race shop overlooks a state-of-the-art facility housing more than 500 employees and featuring complete engine- and chassis-building areas to support four full-time Chevrolet teams in NASCAR's elite Sprint Cup Series.

Now one of the sport's premier operations, Hendrick Motorsports has garnered a NASCAR record 13 national series owner's championships and 14 overall: 10 in the Sprint Cup Series, three in the Camping World Truck Series and one in the Nationwide Series (driver's title only). Its roster of stock-car drivers includes Kasey Kahne, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

In May 2012, Hendrick became just the second owner to reach the 200-win milestone in the Sprint Cup Series. He currently is second on NASCAR's all-time Cup victories list (1949-present) and leads all owners in modern-era wins (1972-present). His teams have won at least one Cup-level race each season since 1986 – the longest active streak – and averaged 10 points-paying wins annually over the last decade (2003-12).

The Hendrick Marrow Program

In 1997, Hendrick chartered the Hendrick Marrow Program, a nonprofit fundraising effort that works with the Be The Match Foundation to support the National Marrow Donor Program. The program raises funds to add volunteers to the Be The Match Registry, which helps patients find a bone marrow match, and provide assistance to recipients with uninsured transplant costs.

Since its inception, the Hendrick Marrow Program has raised more than $12 million, added in excess of 100,000 potential donors to the Be The Match Registry and eased the financial burden of more than 8,000 patients with grants from the Hendrick Family Fund for Patient Assistance.

Hendrick and wife Linda were honored in 1999 with the Be The Match Foundation's Leadership for Life Award, which recognizes individuals who have made an extraordinary commitment to serve marrow transplant patients. Past recipients include U.S. Rep. C.W. "Bill" Young, Hall of Fame baseball player Rod Carew and former Postmaster General William J. Henderson.

Hendrick takes a personal approach to the cause after being diagnosed in November 1996 with chronic myelogenous leukemia, commonly known as "CML." He has been in remission since December 1999.

The Hendrick Foundation for Children

Another of Hendrick's passions is the Hendrick Foundation for Children.

Established in 2004 by Hendrick's brother, the late John L. Hendrick, the Hendrick Foundation for Children supports programs and services that benefit youngsters with illness, injury, disability or other hindrance. Continued in John Hendrick's memory, the organization has raised millions of dollars toward community-oriented initiatives that improve the quality of children's lives.

The Foundation committed $3 million in 2005 to assist in the establishment of Charlotte's 12-story, 234-bed Levine Children's Hospital, a world-class facility dedicated to the needs of children and their families. In recognition of the gift, the hospital dedicated its pediatric intensive care centers in honor of Rick Hendrick's late son, Ricky. The hospital opened in October 2007.

The Joe Hendrick Center for Automotive Technology

In April 2004, Hendrick Automotive Group donated $1 million toward the construction of the Joe Hendrick Center for Automotive Technology at Central Piedmont Community College (CPCC).

Located on the Matthews, N.C., campus of CPCC, the largest community college in North Carolina, the facility provides cost-effective, state-of-the-art training to prepare students for future careers in the automotive industry.

Named for Hendrick's late father, the Joe Hendrick Center opened in the fall of 2006.

The Horatio Alger Award

In April 2006, the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans presented Hendrick with the prestigious Horatio Alger Award at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C.

Association members are dedicated community leaders who demonstrate individual initiative and a commitment to excellence as exemplified by achievements accomplished through honesty, hard work, self-reliance and perseverance. The award is given annually to truly outstanding Americans.

In accepting the honor, Hendrick joined a group of past recipients that includes former U.S. Presidents Dwight Eisenhower, Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan; Hall of Fame athletes Hank Aaron, Julius Erving and Wayne Gretzky; entertainers Waylon Jennings, Quincy Jones, James Earl Jones and Oprah Winfrey; author Maya Angelou; astronaut Buzz Aldrin; and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

Other Honors

On Dec. 4, 2009, at the Sprint Cup Series Awards Ceremony in Las Vegas, Hendrick was presented with the Bill France Award of Excellence by Betty Jane France, widow of former NASCAR chairman and CEO Bill France Jr. Given only on rare occasions, the honor recognizes significant contributions to NASCAR.

Gov. Jim Hunt acknowledged Hendrick in 1996 with The Order of the Long Leaf Pine, North Carolina's highest civilian honor. The award is bestowed upon citizens of the state who have a proven record of extraordinary service. Past recipients include award-winning journalist Charles Kuralt, Rev. Billy Graham and artist Bob Timberlake. Hendrick's late father, Joseph Riddick "Papa Joe" Hendrick Jr., was presented the award in 2004.

Hendrick also has offered his time to multiple boards and other business-related ventures. One of five dealers to be selected for the national planning committee for General Motors' Saturn Division, he served on the GM President's Dealer Advisory Council and has taken on various roles with automobile manufacturers.

A resident of Charlotte, Hendrick is a member of the board of trustees of the North Carolina Motorsports Association, a nonprofit group that acts as a proponent of the motor sports industry throughout the state, and helped lead the region's successful bid for the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Hendrick even has a film credit to his name after serving as a technical advisor on the 1990 motion picture "Days of Thunder" starring Tom Cruise. Inspired in part by the real-life relationship between crew chief Harry Hyde and driver Tim Richmond, the film netted more than $80 million at the box office. In 2009, Cruise narrated "TOGETHER: The Hendrick Motorsports Story," a documentary-style film chronicling Hendrick's first 25 years in NASCAR.