Sunday was nothing short of extraordinary for Hendrick Motorsports benefactor Rick Hendrick. With the Martinsville Speedway being chosen as the destination where his team would be celebrating their 40th anniversary in NASCAR, his drivers upped everyone by bringing home a 1-2-3 finish in the Cup Series race. Despite not being at the venue during this iconic moment, Mr. Hendrick did not celebrate any less than those who were there.
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“I’m still having a hard time believing it today,” he said to racer.com on Monday, sidelined at home due to a knee replacement surgery. “It was almost like divine intervention with just how in the world it all ended up like that on a day like that.” Despite the pain in his leg and the timeline of a few more weeks before being back to full function, he couldn’t limit expressing his disbelief.
Mr. Hendrick has memories that go back several decades when he was just another kid shoving into the Martinsville crowd hoping to catch an autograph from legendary racers. The dreams that his eyes caught from the dust during those days transpired into something far more tangible when Hendrick Motorsports won its first NASCAR race on the same short track in 1984.
From then till last Sunday, Mr. Hendrick has seen the highest of peaks and lowest of trenches in the Virginian short track. The entirety of this journey culminated beautifully as he watched the race along with his wife, daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren. Joining them in a balloon-filled room was the CEO of Speedway Motorsports, Marcus Smith.
Mr. Hendrick’s experience watching the Martinsville race away from the track
“We had a fun time,” Mr. Hendrick said of his race day. “My daughter brought balloons, and I’m not sure that was a good idea to celebrate before the race was over but we were a nice group and had a fun time.” Thankfully, all the balloons were more than justified at the end of the event. He was particularly grateful that his drivers raced clean till the end and staved away from wrecking each other.
Those who were at the track called him on FaceTime after the checkered flag to share the news and include him in the celebrations. He noted how his phone lit up almost immediately after the race and was filled with unanswered calls and unreplied messages. “I’ve got a lot of calls to make here in the next couple of days,” he said. Not a bad problem to have right now, Mr. Hendrick.
