CONCORD, N.C. - Whenever the NASCAR Cup Series visits the “Gateway City” of St. Louis, it’s hard not to think about one of Hendrick Motorsports' most beloved drivers: Fenton, Missouri’s Ken Schrader.
Coming to the organization in 1988 and taking on full-time duties in the No. 25 Folger’s Chevrolet, Schrader was a stalwart competitor for team owner Rick Hendrick over nine NASCAR Cup Series seasons.
While a member of Hendrick Motorsports, he won four NASCAR Cup Series races and finished top five in points on three occasions (fourth in 1994, fifth in 1993 and 1995). Among his many memorable results, he grabbed three-consecutive DAYTONA 500 pole positions (1988-1990) and won two straight Clashes at Daytona International Speedway (1989 and 1990).
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In 1988, Schrader took home his first NASCAR Cup Series triumph at Talladega Superspeedway, just beating out teammate Geoff Bodine at the stripe. It was also Hendrick Motorsports' first 1-2 finish in organization history.
“The first win is always the hardest to get,” Schrader said after the race. “It feels awfully good. We just felt if we kept running hard, it would happen sooner or later.”
Schrader came to Hendrick Motorsports after driving for legendary team owner, Junie Donlavey, who was best known for fielding “Junie’s Army” of 72 drivers who had driven his car at one point or another, and having success in the Cup Series on a shoestring budget. The unforgettable No. 90 entry was often seen mixing it up with the bigger teams on a regular basis throughout the 80s and 90s.
“(Donlavey) did a lot with a little but he did it with the utmost class and just the way he carried himself,” Schrader told NASCAR.com. “Even now talking about him, I still get goosebumps. He was just a tremendous man. Him, Bud Moore, Junior Johnson, along with the Frances, what they did to build that sport. It wouldn’t be there (without) them guys.”
The 1987 season was an uneven one for the No. 25 team, as driver Tim Richmond had fallen ill and interim driver Benny Parsons, who drove the better part of that season, was putting the final touches on his Hall of Fame career before retiring in 1988. A coveted ride in the Cup Series was suddenly open.
“When I went to work for a small team for three years and all of a sudden, I had the opportunity to go drive for Mr. Rick, it was a total dream come true.”
Ken Schrader
Schrader originally thought he was going to sign with Moore, but Donlavey, who had spoken with Mr. Hendrick, had a different opportunity in mind. One that presented itself after that year’s Southern 500.
“Mr. Donlavey called Mr. Rick, and I got a phone call that afternoon,” Schrader told The Scene Vault podcast. “From the first time I got a phone call, to the meeting, to the signed contract was about a day and a half.”
It was an opportunity Schrader couldn’t pass up.
“When I went to work for a small team for three years and all of a sudden, I had the opportunity to go drive for Mr. Rick, it was a total dream come true,” said Schrader to HendrickMotorsports.com in January of 2017.
Under the Hendrick Motorsports banner, the No. 25 Chevrolet had Hendrick’s father, “Papa Joe” Hendrick listed as the owner. It was his team, and he wanted it operated in a certain way. Schrader, a grassroots short-track racer in both stock cars and sprint cars, couldn’t have been a better match.
“My deal, I didn’t understand it when I first went over there but the No. 25 car was always listed as Papa Joe’s,” Schrader continued on the podcast. “In Pop’s mind, that was his team, and he wanted to do what he wanted to do. And man, did we have fun. I had so much fun with Pop; it was like being around my own dad.
“Being around him (Rick Hendrick) him and Papa Joe, even though we’re not that far apart in age, he really was like a brother, but he was the older brother that ran the show,” Schrader added. “Being around him and Pop was like being around my dad because the values that I grew up with – this is right, this is wrong, you don’t do this and this is the way you take care of people – it was the same there (Hendrick Motorsports). From the time I went to work for him until now, obviously Rick’s business has grown quite a bit, but it’s because of those values.”
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Overall, the 1985 Cup Series Rookie of the Year drove 763 races during a 29-year NASCAR Cup and national racing series career. Now 70, Schrader still competes, having run more than 70 dirt track and short track races in 2024, including limited ARCA Series races.
“I’m still having as much fun as I’ve ever had,” Schrader told AutoWeek in 2023. “I’d like to do it another 30 years … that’s how long I’d like to do it, but that’s not likely to happen.
“Really, every part of racing is still fun for me,” he added. “The travel, the actual racing, being in the shop with the guys, getting ready to go racing, going to different tracks and racing different cars. It’s never gotten to a point where I’ve ever thought about quitting. I’ve never given it a thought, never even considered not doing this for as long as I can.”