“I Wasn’t Playing Favorite”: Rick Hendrick Turns the Clock Back as He Dives Into His Conflict Resolution Tactics at Hendrick Motorsports

One of the key milestones that Hendrick Motorsports reached in the 2023 season was its 300th win as an organization. Since 1984, the racing team has also won a record 14 owner’s championships in NASCAR’s top division. Numbers like these don’t come by without visionary leadership at the top. And Rick Hendrick is no simpleton. Just like any other organization in the world, Hendrick Motorsports has seen its fair share of politics and in-house competition over the years.

But Rick Hendrick’s strategic mindset broke those challenges down and fueled the growth of the team further. Talking to John Hammond recently, Mr H opened up about his methods of conflict resolution by delving into his thoughts and the team’s history.

Rick Hendrick reflects on the difficulty of handling a team in the old days

A key point that Rick Hendrick discussed with John Hammond was about his words to his teams when two of his own were fighting for the championship. He said, “It was going to be one of those two cars. I would go to the guys and say, ‘Look. At the end of this race one of us going to be a champion. Now I want you to know this. I’m going to the guy that finishes second first and tell them a good job. Then I’m coming over to see you guys that have won it.’ Because I wanted them to know I wasn’t playing favorite.”

Though Mr Hendrick is of the opinion that every team owner did things that way in today’s world, he particularly emphasized that it was a lot of hard work to make things work. He also mentioned how at some points he had to put his foot down and force his drivers and crew chiefs to accept his methods or find a different camp to work at. Providing clarity to his team handling techniques, he also narrated an incident from HMS’s early days.

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Rick Hendrick displays his leadership abilities with an example from the ’80s

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When Rick Hendrick broke away from All-Star Racing in 1984, he brought the crew chief Harry Hyde along with him to form Hendrick Motorsports. While Hyde was initially paired with Geoff Bodine, he moved teams when Tim Richmond came along shortly. After a short stint during which Hyde and Richmond did not get along with each other, they eventually found chemistry and began winning races. Back in Geoff Bodine’s camp, Gary Nelson took over as the crew chief.

Rick Hendrick has this particular time during the mid-1980s as he said, “Gary Nelson had come up with something pretty trick on the front end of his car, and so I wanted Harry to try it but I knew Harry wouldn’t. So I went to Harry and I said, ‘Hey, Harry, listen. I want you to help Gary Nelson figure out how to get his car to work and so I want you to go over and look at it. I want you to tell him what he needs to do to make it right.’

Mr Hendrick also mentioned how he’d already spoken to Gary Nelson about his plan and said that he would have to play along with him. The top man’s idea was that Hyde would look at Nelson’s car and replicate it in his own. Fortunately, the plan played out perfectly. Mr H continued, “I took Harry over there and he was critiquing Gary’s car. Everything that was wrong with it and then went right back to his shop and I didn’t say a word. [Harry Hyde] started putting the front end under his car the same way.”

Rick Hendrick’s narration involving the top names reflected his experience and a key point in the history of Hendrick Motorsports. With him at the top, Hendrick Motorsports will not be slowing down anytime soon.

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