CONCORD, N.C. - In the hours and days following Sunday's win for Kyle Larson in the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race, Hendrick Motorsports team owner Rick Hendrick has had time to reflect.
He thought back to the company's humble beginnings in the early 1980s, to past drivers like Tim Richmond, Darrell Waltrip, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson and on where his organization is now with rules package changes and a new car on the horizon in 2026.
He's thought about the number 15, as in championships he's won since Gordon broke the ice in 1995 with the company's first.
"It is a big number. It means I'm an old man," Hendrick grinned during a brief media scrum ahead of Tuesday night's NASCAR Awards Banquet in Phoenix.
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Hendrick Motorsports championships by year
| Year | Driver |
|---|---|
| 1995 | Jeff Gordon |
| 1996 | Terry Labonte |
| 1997 | Jeff Gordon |
| 1998 | Jeff Gordon |
| 2001 | Jeff Gordon |
| 2006 | Jimmie Johnson |
| 2007 | Jimmie Johnson |
| 2008 | Jimmie Johnson |
| 2009 | Jimmie Johnson |
| 2010 | Jimmie Johnson |
| 2013 | Jimmie Johnson |
| 2016 | Jimmie Johnson |
| 2020 | Chase Elliott |
| 2021 | Kyle Larson |
| 2025 | Kyle Larson |
"It's kind of a neat deal to look back. You get so busy you don't look back. But I started looking back at the old pictures, when I was a lot smaller, with (crew chief) Harry (Hyde) and Tim Richmond and Darrell and you think, 'We've had a lot going on for these 40-some years.'
"I love the people in the sport. I love the family kind of atmosphere. I'm excited to go do it again."
It's that appreciation for the moment and preparation for the future that's kept Hendrick Motorsports at the top of the sport for so long. Starting out of a single garage back in 1984, the company almost went belly up until Geoff Bodine now-famously drove to victory lane for the first time at Martinsville Speedway in 1984.
Hendrick Motorsports wouldn't win its first championship until over a decade later with Gordon finishing the deal in '95, kickstarting a run of four straight for the company. Along the way, the organization has rewritten the record books in terms of victories (320), DAYTONA 500s (10) and championships in addition to numerous other statistical superlatives.
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"Fifteen is a big number and I never thought we'd win one of these things," Hendrick continued. "I thought you'd just go to New York and watch Richard Childress and Dale Earnhardt and you'd sit back there and say you're happy to be there.
"I think about that a lot. I'd go into the complex, and we were in a tin building on a gravel road with 5,000 (square feet) and five people and thinking I should be at Daytona (International Speedway) when we showed up (in 1984). And then we won a race and now we have almost a million square feet over there and all the people.
"We've just been blessed. We win that Martinsville race and the rest is history."
NASCAR Cup Series records owned by Hendrick Motorsports
| Category | Number |
|---|---|
| Championships: | 15 |
| Wins: | 320 |
| Poles: | 259 |
| Top fives: | 1,322 |
| Top 10s: | 2,260 |
| Laps led: | 85,367 |
| DAYTONA 500 victories: | 10 |
| Brickyard 400 victories: | 11 |
| Southern 500 victories: | 12 |
| Coca-Cola 600 victories: | 12 |
And speaking of history, Hendrick plans to keep making it for a long time.
"Here we are, 42 years and still feel like we have a lot left to do," Hendrick said. "Jeff plays such a great roll, Jeff Andrews is such a great leader and all of our crew chiefs work really well together. And I think if we can keep that together, family taking on the world, I think we'll continue to be competitive and so, I'm very thankful and excited about next year."
Like any other season, 2026 will bring with it its own unique challenges. Recently, NASCAR announced a spike in horsepower to 750 at tracks under a mile and a half in length. Also, Chevrolet will bring a new body to the race track next season.
And like anything that's faced the company in over four decades of competition, Hendrick is confident the organization is ready to meet it head on.
"We've got to learn the car, it won't be perfect right out of the gate," Hendrick said. "I'm super excited about the power and I'm excited about having a new car that we can work with that's got a little more downforce."
Even as decorated as the walls of the buildings on the ever-growing campus based in Concord, North Carolina are, and will continue to be, Hendrick has always maintained that success stretches far beyond checkered flags and trophies. For him it's always been about the people, starting with the five that helped push out the first car in 1984 and now includes well over 700 employees.
"I'm excited about the future and we're just as hungry as we've ever been," Hendrick said. "If we keep our teams together and keep getting better and learning from each other and sharing together - better, stronger together - I think we'll be a force every year."
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"Again, keeping the people together, learning together, the young people coming in but keeping the core and keeping the culture there, I'm excited about next year. I still have the fire to go out and perform but I really do love to see people like Cliff and all the crew chiefs and the engineers that grow up in the organization and can go live their dream too."
"I think we've got the best makeup that Jeff Gordon and Jeff Andrews and Chad Knaus and our four crew chiefs we have and the marketing - it takes everybody to make it work. The greatest thing for me is when people visit our complex, they tell me everyone is smiling, they seem to be happy. And we do a lot of things as a big family and that makes me proud."