Apart from passion for racing cars, sponsorship money, and financial partnerships play a big role in the team’s success. Back in 1984, NASCAR’s winnings team owner, Mr. Rick Hendrick, had no idea about the scale of his project, which he started with a North Carolina-based car dealership.

Apart from sponsors, a race team needs the backing of a manufacturer, and this marked the start of a fruitful partnership between Hendrick Motorsports and General Motors. Despite the changing landscape and trends of the automotive industry, Chevy has stuck around with the team, and Mr. H fondly recalls his humble beginning on the team’s 40th anniversary.

Mr. H takes a stroll down memory lane

Hendrick Motorsports has to be one of the influential teams that have helped NASCAR as a sport progress over the years. While they have 14 Cup Series championships and 310 wins on the track, they have managed to strengthen and nurture their bond with their partners as well. Chevrolet, a sister concern for GM, has stuck by the team ever since the beginning, and that bond isn’t breaking up anytime soon.

A series of on-track events and memorable 1-2-3 finish by the drivers at Martinsville Speedway have kicked off the 40th-year celebration for Hendrick Motorsports. But Mr. H took his time out to reflect on his origin story when they started off in a small City Chevrolet dealership shop. While HMS has gone on to become a NASCAR powerhouse, GM has gone on to become the leading automobile company, with a reported net worth of $45.7 billion.

“Linda and I were talking about it coming here, and it’s been an honor to have been in NASCAR when I look back, and there’s some pictures here when we announced the first car at City Chevrolet. This little building that we have started in just so many things tonight when you look through all these exhibits, they bring back so many memories.” Mr. H said this via a video shared by the team on X.

However, a few months into his racing venture, fielding a Cup car, Rick Hendrick was looking to take an exit road from NASCAR. But Geoff Bodine’s victory at Martinsville proved to be a turning point in Hendrick Motorsport’s history. And the rest, we all know, is history.

The interesting story of how Mr. H and Co. celebrated HMS’s maiden NASCAR victory

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Mr. H had lost any hopes of continuing in NASCAR, and he conveyed this message to his crew chief, Harry Hyde, before the Martinsville race. However, Bodine had other ideas, and against all odds, he won at the Virginia short track. Usually, team owners are present at the track knowing that their driver has a shot at winning the race, but that wasn’t the case with Mr. H and Linda.

“We beat them all. We didn’t inherit the race by anyone falling out, so that made you feel really good. The good thing was we won. Let’s call Rick up and pray that this keeps the door open, and it did,” Bodine recalls the winning moment. Unable to soak in the team’s maiden win, Rick Hendrick and his wife Linda decided to drive to Bodine’s house. They threw the toilet paper all over his house in the spirit of celebration, and this has been picked up by many teams and drivers since then.

So far, the 40th-anniversary run is going well for Rick Hendrick and his team. All four of his drivers have locked themselves in the playoffs. Kyle Larson in particular looks hungry to get his second championship title.