NASCAR CUP SERIES: DRYDENE 400

May 16, 2021

Rick Hendrick

Press Conference

An Interview with:

THE MODERATOR: We are now joined by the owner of Hendrick Motorsports, Rick Hendrick, whose cars finished 1-2-3-4 today. We are going to open it straight up to questions for Mr. Hendrick.

Q. Was this on a bucket list for you at all to see your cars go 1-2-3-4 in a race?

RICK HENDRICK: Every time you're in a race, you like to see them run 1-2-3-4. The feeling is unbelievable. It was probably the longest last hundred laps that I've ever seen in a race just because I kind of wanted to see it so bad, so close. To be able to pull that off, that's kind of one of those things in racing that you would say was on your bucket list.

I'm extremely happy and proud of all the guys. It was a great day for the organization.

Q. One away now from Richard Petty, Petty Enterprises. We just heard from Kyle Larson that he said you talk about this all the time with him, remind them how close you are. How big of a deal would it be for you to catch now and tie with just one away?

RICK HENDRICK: Well, Richard is a good friend. He's the King of this sport. But any time there's a record out there, you have an opportunity to break it or tie it. I think a few years back, I thought it would be impossible. If you told me in 19, what, 84 that you're going to be here for this long or that you had an opportunity to win all these races and championships. I kind of pinch myself because it's just really hard to do. The sport is so competitive right now.

But I think our guys, I know our guys, are working together better than they ever have in the shop with Chad and Jeff Andrews. We've got a lot of talented people. Good to see these young guys like William, 11 races in the top 10. When you look at that, now we have four wins this year. Chase has been so close. We got some great tracks for him coming up. I'm really proud of the folks. I just love to see guys like Cliff or Greg become star crew chiefs.

It's all been really good for us. Good to have Rudy. Put Rudy and William together, it's like magic. We just have to keep digging because everybody behind us, they're going to be there every week.

I'm glad we got it done one time. I don't know if we'll ever do it again. I've seen Joe do it, I've seen Penske do it, I've seen Stewart-Haas maybe not win all four cars, but all three cars. To see them dominate a race like that...

We just got to get ready, do it again, show up, have a game face on, do the best we can.

Q. When did you start to think perhaps you could catch Petty? Did you get to 150 or 200? At what point did that become a goal?

RICK HENDRICK: One time I thought I'm not going to live long enough to do this (smiling). It was around 250. Then last year we clicked 'em off. Actually I really tried not to think about it until this year. This year when everybody started talking about it, then I thought, Man, this is in reach.

I'm really proud of the organization. But I'll say this about Richard: nobody in this sport has ever given as much as he has. To see him on pit road, see him signing every autograph. I've got one of his autographs when I couldn't get in the garage area through the fence at Martinsville. I know what that feels like. He's a tremendous ambassador for this sport.

If I get the record, somebody will break it behind me.

Q. We've seen a Hendrick team, mostly the 9 team, be dominant, win races. Now you have sustained success across the organization. Why do you think that is?

RICK HENDRICK: I think we've had superstars that win. We've won 17 races before in a year. One car was just dominant, maybe too dominant than the others, which is just so-so. The way we've kind of started back four, five years ago, putting all engineers in one place, putting all the crew chiefs in one place, taking our best folks like Ron Malec, they're in charge of this part of the vehicle, Chad is in the shop, you have Jeff Andrews.

When I look at the way they're working together, respect that the drivers have for each other. They want to beat each other. That's what we pay 'em to do. I know we don't, we've never had the focus on four. Maybe we wanted to, maybe we tried to, but when they all are in there together, you could give one of the other guys his car and they wouldn't know the difference, you know, swap cars.

It's rewarding to see. To see Marshall, Jeff Andrews, Chad, the crew chiefs, all of the folks working, and Chevrolet. GM has been a big supporter. Richard Childress and I now have aligned to do things together. Boy, that's going to make a big difference and has made a difference. He's a good friend. I respect him a ton.

So there's a lot of things that have come together. But I think having these young guys that are all so young, having Kyle in the mix, he just drives the wheels off of it. I think they all make each other better. To see William blossom like he has, Alex, a guy that didn't have a chance now have two wins this year, finish sixth in the points last year, I think the future is really bright for us.

There's nothing that beats teamwork. You're stronger together. That's been my philosophy on the automobile side and the racing side. I was told early on that I'd never win a championship having multiple cars. It's worked.

It's all about people. I don't care what kind of business you're in, it doesn't make any difference. It's people. It's people that make the difference.

Q. Alex Bowman's future with your team, can you give an update on where you're at?

RICK HENDRICK: We've already started. It should be done any time. We want Alex there. He wants to be there. It's kind of at this point just a formality.

Q. Is it a multi-year deal?

RICK HENDRICK: Yes.

Q. You were talking about Alex. It's one thing to get the opportunity to join Hendrick Motorsports in general. This year, with him taking over the 48 that made so much history, planting the car in Victory Lane at Dover, talk about how Alex has embraced this opportunity.

RICK HENDRICK: First of all, ally, the sponsor, we're great partners in the car business and in racing. When you say you have to replace Jimmie Johnson, they were more than willing and wanted to let Alex have a chance.

I told Alex, You've got to be your own guy. You can't be Jimmie Johnson light. You got to be Alex Bowman, just do your deal. We are going to be there with you and you're going to do great.

Greg is a great crew chief. I just didn't want Alex to have too much pressure on him getting in that situation. That is some big shoes to fill. No different than going behind Dale or Jeff Gordon, all the championships he has.

But I think Alex has embraced it really well. He and Greg are very good together. And ally does a ton of promoting and they really like him. It's all good.

Q. Chase has run up front most of the season but has yet to get into Victory Lane. Is there anything that stands out to you with him or is it mostly circumstances?

RICK HENDRICK: It's just circumstances. I mean, he had a five-second lead at Daytona, the road course. We elected to pit, couldn't get back to the front. So he's been in position to have a good day and win races, but it just hasn't worked out.

He had a great run I think it was Kansas. Guy with new tires on the outside, got blocked there at the end. Those things are going to happen. But he's too good. That team is too good. He'll be there. He's going to win some races and he'll be there for the championship again.

Q. You mentioned some of the challenges building up. A few years ago there were some challenges with the organization, the car not able to win. Talk about this journey going from some relevance to dominance.

RICK HENDRICK: Well, I think we had to do some work on the car. I think we submitted a car that was probably a little too vanilla, too many character lines, too much like a stockcar when everybody else, Ford and Toyota, went more aggressive. We had to pay for it.

Then when the 1LE came out, all the teams worked together, it was Ganassi, Childress and us, and GM put a lot of effort into the car, we're seeing the results. I feel like we're even or as good as or better than a lot of the guys out there.

When you've been on top of the mountain, you stand there and watch somebody else win 15 races or whatever, you struggle, it just makes you work harder. I think our group of people have so much pride in what has been accomplished, that now they're super excited. They see the youth in our camp. Nobody is going to retire any time soon.

I've seen too many drivers retire. I've been through it with Dale and Jeff and Jimmie and others. I think we are set for a really good run here for the next years, multiple years. I like where we are. This doesn't mean a lot. This means we did it one time out of 40 years, I guess. We just got to stay sharp and not think that we're ahead of anybody, but we just got to race to be there.

I think we got great momentum right now. I can't believe William has 11 top 10s and run up front a lot, I mean, lead, and he's won two races, last year and this year. I think we're ahead of schedule with Alex. Chase showed what he can do last year. Having Kyle in the mix, his talent, just makes everybody better.

Q. I'm not trying to push you off to the side, but how much patience do you have, how has that changed, certainly you could be closer at any point to just retiring on a boat and enjoying your free time as opposed to being at the track as much. Is there less patience because of fewer opportunities to win races and championships?

RICK HENDRICK: Well, I do like to fish. I do like the boat. When I go to the doctor anyway, they ask me if I'm retired. I tell them I've got two jobs. I work every day and weekends. I love it. I mean, that's what makes me get up in the morning. I'm competitive. I think the guys around me are very competitive. We want to win and we want to set records.

I'm not going to be every single week, two days a weekend, if we get back to it at the track. I'm there with the guys. I'm with them in the morning. I balance it. But I love it. I've raced all my life. That's all I've done. The two things I love in my life other than my family is the car business and racing. I've been fortunate to be able to make a living doing both of them.

I don't see retiring any time soon.

Q. You've seen a lot of Hall of Famers come through your stable. What are your feelings with this specific group that you have now, when you have a day like, this the momentum you do? How does it compare to the days past dominating and winning championships with Jimmie?

RICK HENDRICK: I kind of like it better in the old days where you had a points lead, you didn't have to go to a Round of 4, Round of 8, have a little spread. If you had a really good year, you kind of had a lot. It's hard to do it now. You could have a flat tire or anything can just take you out of it after you've had a banner year.

I think these guys, William at 23 has got so much ahead of him. Chase at his age. Alex and Kyle. They're young guys. I mean, they've got a lot of runway ahead of them. We should just get better. They will get better. We will get better. I love the chemistry. I think we're in good shape for a while.

THE MODERATOR: Mr. Hendrick, congratulations on the fantastic day at Dover today. We appreciate your time.

RICK HENDRICK: Thank you. Good to see people without a mask.