CONCORD N.C. - Hendrick Motorsports' win last Sunday at Iowa Speedway not only marked the organization's 318th Cup Series victory, but it also delivered the engine department its 548th win in NASCAR.
The engine department builds engines for multiple teams across the sport. In addition to supplying motors for the four Hendrick Motorsports Cup Series teams, the department also provides engines to Hyak Motorsports and Spire Motorsports as well as JR Motorsports, Jeremy Clements Racing and Hendrick Motorsports in the Xfinity Series.
Having multiple engine partners is a significant responsibility for any team and Scott Maxim, director of powertrain at Hendrick Motorsports, emphasized the importance of every partnership that his team maintains.
"We are incredibly proud to be able to have the partners that we have with our teams at Hendrick Motorsports, Hyak Motorsports and Spire Motorsports in the Cup Series and JR Motorsports and Jeremy Clements Racing in the Xfinity Series, along with, of course, Hendrick Motorsports in the Xfinity Series," Maxim said. "These are all teams that are a joy to work with on a daily basis. We work together, we compete together, and we all have common goals of trying to help each other be the best, and that means a lot to all of us here in the engine shop."
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Maxim also ensures his team's work does not go unnoticed, whether it is a Cup or Xfinity Series win.
"We certainly think of every win as having a certain and near equal overall impact on our shop," Maxim emphasized. "Some of our most memorable wins are from teams that don't win as frequently. And when they do win, the joy and the elation that they have is next level, and you see that, and it always makes me just super proud to be a part (of the wins) and happy for them. When we work hard and we prepare well, we can win on a frequent basis, but we have to be careful that we don't take that for granted. We enjoy each and every win that we can.
"Our mindset is we're always looking for the next race. We want to do a better job, regardless of how our weekend turns out, our focus moves very quickly to the next race. However, we do have to remind ourselves to stop and be in the present. Enjoy this time, share in the victory, absorb it and take it in with all of your teammates that worked so hard to get to that point. Even though you may be thinking about that next race, you've got to work to put that on delay and be in the present and enjoy it."
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This camaraderie is evident not only on the Cup side, but also in the Xfinity Series. After JR Motorsports earned its 100th victory with Connor Zilisch's win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the team and Hendrick Motorsport's engine department came together to celebrate, signing the winning hat to commemorate the achievement.
"We recently just got our entire shop together and shared some donuts and took a group picture for the 100th JRM win," Maxim noted. "We had everybody sign the Indy race winning hat and it's on top of the race winning engine. That's the way that we commemorated the 100th victory for Jr. Motorsports."
As for the 550th win, the department has not made plans to celebrate just yet. Instead, they are focused on finishing the season strong, but that will not stop them from enjoying the moment if it comes in the near future.
"We don't have a specific plan for 550. We never want to lose sight of celebrating the victories, but we also want to take time to acknowledge and appreciate and enjoy them," Maxim said. "We also know that win is probably going to come at a point in time where we still have a lot of work left to do this year. So, we will acknowledge it, we will appreciate it, we will celebrate it, and then we're going to move back to doing our very best to prepare for the remainder of the season."
With Watkins Glen International next on the Cup and Xfinity schedule, the engine department has a chance to notch its 550th victory in the sport. Hendrick Motorsports has delivered strong performances in the past at the 2.45-mile road course and while the opportunity to make history is within reach, Maxim wants his team focused on making the best engines possible for the post season.
"I think we work within a cadence all year to match that of what the rules in the structure are for that in that given year," Maxim concluded. "As we build engines and coordinate our engine planning throughout the year, we've got to work within the NASCAR rules and requirements for engines that run multiple races and where they run and how often they run.
"We try to position ourselves such that in the playoffs we have the engines that give us the highest level of confidence and are in the best position for success on a per race basis. So, we work all year long during the regular season to put ourselves and our teams in the best position possible in the playoffs. That'll be engines that will be powerful and durable and give the highest chances and highest likelihood for success."