Did Rick Hendrick Himself Race in NASCAR? Everything About the Legendary Owner’s Racing Career

Rick Hendrick is the most successful team owner in the NASCAR Cup Series by a mile. His outfit, Hendrick Motorsports, has won 320 races so far and is strides ahead of second-placed Petty Enterprises, which has 268. Not much, however, has been said about his career behind the wheel in recent years.

Off the racetrack, Hendrick is one of the most renowned and powerful businessmen in the country as the owner of the Hendrick Automotive Group. He sells cars in showrooms by day and sends his teams out for stock car racing by night. He did not build this profile without substance.

Hendrick was a race car driver himself back in the day, and this is a side of him that does not get enough attention in mainstream media. He competed in four NASCAR events. Two were in the Cup Series, and the others were in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and the Craftsman Truck Series.

Both of his Cup Series appearances came at Riverside International Raceway in California in 1987 and 1988. His best result came in the latter outing, when he qualified 13th and finished 15th. Notably, that race was the final one held at the historic facility. Even more interestingly, he finished ahead of his three regular drivers and proved to them why he was the boss.

The iconic Ricky Rudd had been a part of the field that day as well. He was one of the many in awe of Hendrick’s skill. He said, “Rick had a lot of skills. I’m convinced that he could have been a top road racer. I don’t think he even tested before going out there for that race. No idea how he prepared for it, but he could wheel a car on a road course.”

He went on to join Hendrick Motorsports a couple of years later.

The results of Hendrick’s other races

Hendrick’s first Cup Series appearance in 1987 had not gone by as sweetly as the second did. He completed only 75 laps of the 199-lap race and finished 33rd with a transmission gone bad. His O’Reilly Auto Parts Series came in the same year on August 2. He started in sixth place and finished 24th after parking due to issues with his clutch.

His final entry as a driver came in 1995 in the Craftsman Truck Series at Heartland Park. He started in 16th place and finished in 23rd. It doesn’t take sharp eyes to notice that all his races were on road courses. 

Hendrick loved these track types more than the others and would have absolutely loved to keep the ball rolling. But, as any good team owner would, he knew that there were others who could do the job better. And so came his racing career to an end.