Friday, April 23, 2004
The racing pioneer has won 118 races and five championships.
By HANK KURZ Jr.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- It was 20 years ago that an unproven Geoffrey Bodine drove an unsponsored car to victory at Martinsville Speedway, giving Rick Hendrick his first win as an owner.
That victory paved the way for Hendrick's success in NASCAR.
But don't expect him to recall wonderful stories about watching Bodine take the checkered flag on April 29, 1984, or the celebration in Victory Lane.
"I was in church in Greensboro with my family," Hendrick said, explaining that he'd made a commitment to his wife that he couldn't break.
He didn't learn until much later that Bodine, driving the No. 5 All-Star Chevrolet, had outrun the likes of Bobby Allison, Harry Gant and Darrell Waltrip in the Sovran Bank 500.
"I actually went to a pay phone. That's how long ago this was -- we didn't have cell phones in 1984 -- and I called my mom who was watching on TV," he said. "I asked her how we ended up and she said, 'You don't know? We won!' I just couldn't believe it."
Bodine won two more races that season, allowing Hendrick Motorsports to secure sponsorship and establish itself as a winning program. It now rates as the most successful in NASCAR's modern era with 118 victories and five championships.
"We were running the deal out of our pocket and needed to have some success so we could attract a sponsor," Hendrick said. "I told Jeff (Gordon) the other day that he probably wouldn't be driving for me if Bodine hadn't won that race for us."
Bodine, who prior to last weekend's race at Martinsville made a parade lap in the same car that he won in 20 years ago, said his original agreement was for just 15 races.
"Once we won, that changed everything for us," he said.
Innovative mind
Two years later, Hendrick established himself as a racing pioneer, adding Tim Richmond as a second driver and getting his teams to share strategic information. He figured the more minds involved, the better it would be for both teams.
Any skepticism other owners had about the wisdom of having competitors work to help each other get better was erased in the mid-1990s, when Hendrick Motorsports became the only organization to win four consecutive championships in the premier series.
Now, multicar teams are the rule, rather than the exception.
Hendrick owns four, with drivers Gordon, Terry Labonte, Jimmie Johnson and rookie Brian Vickers. He's also got promising Kyle Busch driving in the Busch Series.
Jeff Gordon and crew chief Ray Evernham won championships for Hendrick in 1995, 1997 and 1998, and Labonte won in 1996, with Gordon second. Only Junior Johnson has won as many as three straight owner titles, with Cale Yarborough from 1976-78.
Visionary owner
Evernham left to start his own multicar team in 2000, but views Hendrick as a visionary in NASCAR, one whose perseverance made his multicar idea become standard.
"He struggled through it a lot," Evernham said. "I don't think it was an easy transition for him to make it work, but he believed enough in what he was doing to stick to his guns, and sometimes that's the hardest part about doing this. Now he does it and everybody says that's the way you do things. He's the guy that made it work."
Even as an opponent, Evernham still draws from his experiences with Hendrick.
"When you've got a guy that's probably been the leader in a lot of areas, and he's a great business guy, to be able to copy from and to learn from, it was certainly a big advantage," Evernham said. "I still call him up and ask his advice on stuff."
Copyright 2004 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.