Hendrick Motorsports earned its 300th win as an organization with William Byron at Texas, Sunday. Let’s look back at the other milestone victories in this organization’s history.
William Byron earned his sixth win of the season, on Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway, but it was another important milestone for his team. Hendrick Motorsports won its 300th race, continuing to set the record high for all-time wins by an organization. Founded in 1984 by Rick Hendrick, a Charlotte, North Carolina car dealer, the organization has won 14 Cup Series titles and sets the standard for excellence in the Cup Series. Let’s take a look back at some of Hendrick Motorsports milestone victories.
#1, 1984 Sovran Bank 500 at Martinsville Speedway:
Nearly out of money, Rick Hendrick and All-Star Racing needed to win to keep the race team running. With driver Geoff Bodine and crew chief Harry Hyde, the team leading up to the eighth race at Martinsville had a best finish of sixth. Bodine, a modified driver, and Hyde a veteran crew chief went into this race confident.
The perfect pairing of driver and crew chief paid off, Bodine and Hyde won the race. The win saved Rick Hendrick’s investment in NASCAR. The pairing won three races in 1984, fourteen top-tens, and over $350,000 in purse winnings. One of the races the team won was the 1984 Nashville 420 at the Nashville Fairgrounds.
#50, 1996 TranSouth Financial 400 at Darlington Raceway:
Coming off his first Cup Series title, Jeff Gordon and Ray Evernham already had a win at Richmond earlier in the month. The #24 team would qualify second to Ward Burton, but that team would wreck out of the race on lap 137. Gordon and his team would lead 189 laps of the 293 to get his second win of the season. The #24 Chevrolet team would win the next race at Bristol, and finish the season second in the championship. Terry Labonte, driving the #5 for Hendrick won the championship, Hendrick Motorsports’ second championship in a row.
#100, 2001 K-Mart 400 at Michigan Speedway:
Coming off a win at Dover the weekend before, Jeff Gordon and his team are looking like threats for a championship again. Working with crew chief Robby Loomis, the #24 team won the pole. The team would lead 143 of the 200 laps at the two-mile track. Rick Hendrick’s #24 team and Jeff Gordon would win the 2001 Cup Series title, his fourth and final title, and over $5 million in winnings. Thanks to NASCAR Classics, you can watch the full race here.
#200, 2012 Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway:
Jimmie Johnson, who was a five-time champion in 2012, is looking for the #48 team’s first win that season. Still working with Chad Knaus, the #48 would qualify second for the Southern 500. Johnson would battle Kyle Busch for the lead on 324, and lead the last forty-four laps. This would be Johnson’s only Southern 500 win, and the first of five wins in 2012.
#250 2018 Go Bowling at Watkins Glen:
Son of NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott, Chase Elliott was winless in his third full-time season at Hendrick Motorsports. Driving the #9 his father drove and working with crew chief Alan Gustafson, the #9 team would qualify third at Watkins Glen. Battling with Martin Truex Jr., Elliott lead the last thirty-four laps, fifty-two in all. Chase would run out of fuel on the cool down lap and got a push to victory lane by Jimmie Johnson.
#269, 2021 Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway:
Driving the #5 Chevrolet, Kyle Larson and crew chief Cliff Daniels, the team had one win already in the season, at Las Vegas. Larson and his team would win the pole for the Coke 600, NASCAR’s longest race. Larson and Elliott would battle for the win in this race. Winning this race would break the record set by Petty Enterprises at 268 Cup Series wins. Larson would win the next two races in a row, and win ten races in 2021 in route to a Cup Series title.
#300, Echo Park Automotive 400 at Texas Motor Speedway
William Byron had five wins before the race at Texas. Qualifying eighteenth, Byron would finish fourth in stage one, and would not earn points in the second stage. Surviving the attrition, Byron would pass Bubba Wallace on lap 262, and lead the final six laps, the only laps Byron would lead.
Hendrick Motorsports after 300 wins:
With two drivers in the playoffs with Kyle Larson and William Byron, and two winning drivers in Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman, the future continues to be bright for the powerhouse team. Byron is the clear favorite for the championship, being locked into the round of eight with this win at Texas. Byron also won the race at Phoenix in the spring, a valuable amount of data to have if the #24 team makes it to the final four. Larson, who might have won the race at Texas if not for a race-ending spin late in the race, has had speed to win every weekend.
Elliott and Bowman, while both out of the playoffs, still are in contention for top-tens and even wins. The #9 and #48 teams finished eleventh and twelfth at Texas. Look out for those two as drivers outside the playoffs looking to make the best out of a bad season.
Every driver at Hendrick Motorsports has a shot to win races, two are past champions. Hendrick Motorsports could be looking at win number #350 pretty soon.
Hendrick Motorsports is heading to Talladega Super Speedway for the Yellawood 500 on October 1st at Noon ET on NBC. Tune in to see if a Hendrick driver can get win #301.
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