Sunday’s race in Bristol saw Hendrick Motorsports (HMS) break yet another Cup Series record. When Chase Elliott led the field in the 62nd lap, he helped the team cross 80,000 laps led in NASCAR. Its first-ever lap led came back in April 1984 when Geoff Bodine raced at Martinsville.
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HMS has now led 80,024 of the 407,084 laps (19.66%) that it has raced in the Cup Series. These successful laps have come from 29 different drivers and in 35 different tracks. Over 50% of the mark comes from the laps led by team legends Jimmie Johnson (18,941 laps) and Jeff Gordon (24,936). The current roster of drivers accounts for nearly 17% of it.
The Martinsville Speedway has been the team’s best track in this regard, with drivers leading 10,614 laps there. The highest laps that the team led in a single season came in 2021 when it led 4,119 laps. All these laps make for 105,335.391 miles led in the Cup Series.
Elliott told NASCAR.com before the race, “It’s a lot of laps, for sure, and a lot of race wins encapsulated into all those laps that they’ve led as a company. Definitely proud to have been a very, very small part of that, but I’ve enjoyed my time, and hopefully we can keep adding to it.”
One team. 80,000 laps led. #History pic.twitter.com/fUyGtxzcnJ
— Hendrick Motorsports (@TeamHendrick) March 17, 2024
Chase Elliott has now led 5,113 laps in HMS colors. The outfit has already won the Daytona 500 this season and Kyle Larson gave it its 100th stage win at Las Vegas. With records seeming to be broken with every race, Rick Hendrick is bound to celebrate hard by the time the curtains are drawn on the season.
Rick Hendrick is overjoyed at the dominance of Hendrick Motorsports
“In life, business and definitely in sports, you got to have milestones and you have to have goals to reach every year or every week,” Mr. Hendrick told his media team. “You think about winning 500 races with the engine shop and 300 wins in the (NASCAR) Cup Series. I never dreamed we would win 10 or 15 races, let alone 300. All the poles and laps led. We keep setting high marks.”
Hendrick Motorsports is currently the biggest fish in NASCAR with over 300 wins in the Cup Series. With icon Jeff Gordon set to take over when Mr. Hendrick does retire, the future of the organization appears to be on an increasingly bright path.
The team’s next race will be at the Circuit of the Americas next Sunday.
