CONCORD, N.C. - With Hendrick Motorsports owner, Rick Hendrick, and vice chairman, Jeff Gordon, joining a media call during NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 week on Tuesday, it was never going to take long for the topic of conversation to shift to history.
Not with all the two have made together, starting way back in 1995 with Gordon delivering Hendrick his first championship in stock car racing's premier series.
Now, 30 years later, William Byron and Kyle Larson fill out half of the Championship 4 contenders at Phoenix Raceway this weekend and each has a chance to hand Hendrick a 15th title.
"Well, I was thinking about that this morning and how hard it is to win a championship," Hendrick said to start his comments. "It's pretty special. In some ways it doesn't feel like it's been 30 years. In some ways it feels like it's been a long time. But I'm really thankful for Jeff in that first one. Hopefully we can get number 15 here next weekend."
Certainly, since Gordon broke through in 1995 and certainly since the organization's conception in 1984, plenty has changed in the world of NASCAR. Through formats, car changes, ups and downs, wins and losses, triumphs and tragedy, Hendrick Motorsports has remained, however, perched at or near the top, eclipsing nearly every benchmark possible.
And yet, the driving force - Hendrick's own competitive fire - remains very much intact.
"Listen, those four drivers that are going out there and those four teams, that's all they care about is winning a championship," Hendrick said. "If nobody else cares about the championship, we do. I know everybody does, so, it's going to be a hard-fought battle and we'll go get it done."
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But more than just the desire to win, with experience, success and failure comes a sense of how to win. And so by now, with 320 victories and 14 series titles to his credit, Hendrick knows just what to say to his drivers heading into this weekend's winner-take-all tilt at Phoenix Raceway.
And maybe, more importantly, what not to say.
"They know what to do. The best thing I can do now ... I can stand back," Hendrick said. "I've talked to all of them and said, 'Listen, I'm proud of you. We got two cars out of the four and let's go get it done. You don't want to put any more pressure on them than they already have."
Even in a two-horse race within his own company, Hendrick has experience to fall back on.
In 1996, it was Gordon and Terry Labonte who slugged it out to the end with Labonte winning his second championship and his first for Hendrick Motorsports. That year, Gordon won three races in a row in September to surge ahead before Labonte took the lead for good in the third-to-last race of the season, eventually winning by a miniscule-at-the-time 37 points.
With the current format, Byron and Larson - as well as fellow Championship 4 competitors Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe - enter on even footing. Highest finisher, wins.
"I was thinking back when Jeff and Terry Labonte were racing each other for the championship," Hendrick said. "I was so concerned about, 'OK, if one of them wins and I have to go to victory lane, what is the other guy going to think about? He's going to think, "Well, I was pulling for that team."' I've already rehearsed what I'm going to say. I'm going to talk to them and tell both teams, 'Look, when you look up, I'm going to shake the loser's hand - the guy that finished behind - and then go to victory lane.
"I hope that's the problem that I have. I hope I'm going to be dealing with going to victory lane. But I'm going to tell them both - and this is what I tell them every week - 'Hey, you guys have done a heck of a job. You've really won by being here. You've put yourself in this position to win."
Certainly, with the volatility of the current format, Hendrick understands that Sunday's one-race scenario won't serve as a representation of 2025 holistically speaking.
No, the story of his 42nd season has already been told and for Hendrick, it was another rousing success. But he's already eyeing the future - both Sunday and beyond.
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"We won the regular-season championship and for a period of time, we were 1-2-3 in the points," Hendrick said. "That's all you can ask, if you can be competitive. Two of the cars have led the most laps - William with the most and Kyle second.
"I look at it like if you can lead -- You can be lucky sometimes but you've got to be able to run up front and lead and win stages.
"When you have two cars, no matter how you get there, we've got a lot to be proud of. Whatever happens (Sunday), happens. It's a race, but we'll have a lot of momentum going into next year."