Hendrick Motorsports Sets Win Record
by Tom Jensen May 31, 2021
With the team’s 269th premier series race victory, Hendrick squad stands alone in NASCAR record book.
Kyle Larson’s dominating victory in the 2021 Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway means Hendrick Motorsports is now the all-time leader in NASCAR premier series race victories at 269, surpassing the 268 wins earned by Petty Enterprises.
Here is a look back at some of Hendrick’s milestone victories:
Geoffrey Bodine’s victory at Martinsville Speedway kept Rick Hendrick’s fledgling team afloat. Photo courtesy of NASCAR Archives & Research Center via Getty Images
No. 1. April 29, 1984, Martinsville Speedway
With team founder Rick Hendrick’s (2017) first-year All-Star Racing team in danger of going out of business, Geoffrey Bodine led the final 49 laps to win the Sovran Bank 500 at Martinsville Speedway. The victory helped Hendrick get enough sponsorship to stay on track. After the first season, the team changed its name to Hendrick Motorsports.
Fresh off his first title in 1995, Jeff Gordon kept on winning big in 1996, including the spring race at Darlington. Photo courtesy of NASCAR Archives & Research Center via Getty Images
No. 50. March 24, 1996, Darlington Raceway
In a dominating performance, defending premier series champion Jeff Gordon (2019) qualified second and led 189 of 293 laps to win the Transouth Financial 400 at historic Darlington Raceway. It was Gordon’s second victory in the first five races of the season.
It took a last-lap pass, but Jeff Gordon won at Michigan International Speedway to give Hendrick Motorsports its 100th victory. Photo courtesy of Robert Laberge/Allsport
No. 100. June 10, 2001, Michigan International Speedway
On the way to his fourth premier series championship, Jeff Gordon had another milestone victory, this time in the Kmart 400 at Michigan International Speedway. There, Gordon qualified on the pole and led 143 of 200 laps, but it took a last-lap pass of Ricky Rudd in Robert Yates’ (2018) Ford for Gordon to seal the deal.
It was party time for Jimmie Johnson and his crew in Las Vegas in 2007. Photo courtesy of Warren Wimmer/Getty Images
No. 150. March 11, 2007, Las Vegas Motor Speedway
It was a Hendrick Motorsports 1-2 in Sin City, where Jimmie Johnson took the checkered flag 2.795 seconds ahead of teammate Jeff Gordon to win the UAW-Daimler Chrysler 400. After qualifying 23rd, Johnson charged to the lead on Lap 22 and went on to lead 89 of 267 laps to win his first race of the season.
Historic win No. 200 for Hendrick Motorsports came at one of NASCAR’s oldest tracks, Darlington Raceway. Photo courtesy of Todd Warshaw/Getty Images
No. 200. May 12, 2012, Darlington Raceway
Hendrick Motorsports became just the second NASCAR team in history to win 200 premier series races when Jimmie Johnson captured the Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. This time, Johnson led 134 of 367 laps, taking the lead for good on Lap 325.
Chase Elliott’s first victory was Rick Hendrick’s 250th. Photo courtesy of Sarah Crabill/Getty Images
No. 250. August 5, 2018, Watkins Glen International
The first victory of Chase Elliott’s career occurred in the Go Bowling at the Glen premier series race on the Watkins Glen International road course. On the final lap, Elliott missed Turn 1, allowing Martin Truex Jr. to close on his bumper, but Elliott held on to win as Truex ran out of fuel while in second place. Elliott himself ran out while on his cool-down lap.
All smiles after his rainy victory in Texas, Chase Elliott helped Hendrick Motorsports tie NASCAR’s all-time victory mark. Photo courtesy of Chris Graythern/Getty Images
No. 268. May 23, 2021, Circuit of the Americas
NASCAR’s first visit to the magnificent 3.41-mile Circuit of the Americas road course in Austin, Texas, was a wet one, as monsoon-like rains pelted the track, forcing NASCAR to shorten the Echopark Texas Grand Prix from a scheduled 69 laps to 54 laps. When teammate Alex Bowman pitted on Lap 50, Chase Elliott took the lead and stayed there for the final five laps.
Rick Hendrick (right) is now the car owner with the most premier series race wins in history following Kyle Larson’s Coca-Cola 600 triumph. Photo courtesy of Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
No. 269. May 30, 2021, Charlotte Motor Speedway
Hendrick Motorsports had a picture perfect night at Charlotte Motor Speedway, which is only about a mile from the team’s shop. Starting from the pole, Kyle Larson led 327 of 400 laps to crush the field in the Coca-Cola 600. Larson’s teammates Chase Elliott (second), William Byron (fourth) and Alex Bowman (fifth) all finished in the top five, making it a true evening to remember, as Hendrick Motorsports now stands alone as the organization with the most premier series victories in NASCAR history.
