Hendrick Motorsports, celebrating its 40th year, looks to end Daytona 500 drought
Each season he’s been at Hendrick Motorsports, Kyle Larson has heard about a lingering lack of a certain accomplishment.
Hendrick Motorsports, the longtime NASCAR powerhouse, has claimed an all-time 14 championships from five different drivers in the sport’s premier series since it was founded in 1984. The legendary racing team is home to two of the Cup Series drivers who reached last year’s Championship 4, Larson and William Byron.
At nearly every track on the Cup Series’ circuit, Hendrick drivers lead or are tied for the most wins of any team.
But at the Daytona 500, a Hendrick racer hasn’t taken the checkered flag since Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2014.
“You know you’re gonna have a shot to win each and every week,” Larson said in an interview with The Charlotte Observer. “From the team they’ve assembled, all the smart people in place and the race car is always fast, so that’s great. But when you win, you know that you’re adding to Hendrick Motorsports’ legacy, and an already historic, legendary racing team.”
Everyone at Hendrick Motorsports, which held a ceremony on the infield at Daytona on Friday to celebrate its 40th anniversary, puts the date of Sunday’s race on their calendars at the start of every year.
Obviously, motorsports’ crown jewel event known as the “Great American Race” will always hold incredible historical significance to anyone in NASCAR — especially at Hendrick.
It took eight years for Earnhardt Jr. to win his first Daytona 500. Fellow Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip began his career in 1972 and didn’t solve the annual season-opening race until 1989.
“If you asked somebody who won the Super Bowl, what’s it like to win the Super Bowl in the NFL?” team owner Rick Hendrick told reporters. “That’s what it’s like to win this thing.”
Larson knows that all four of Hendrick Motorsports’ drivers have talent. He and Chase Elliott have won Cup titles in recent memory. Byron was victorious a remarkable six times last year.
But Larson knows that people, in any business, want to work with the best people. He feels Hendrick’s success over the last 40 years has been a product of the personalities in their building in Concord (roughly a mile from Charlotte Motor Speedway).
They treat people right, and it’s led to continued success. Larson wants to stay there as long as he can.
But first, leave the Daytona 500 victorious.
“Somebody’s gonna win this race,” Jeff Gordon told reporters. “We’ve been fortunate to win it many times, and there’s no other win like it. There just isn’t. I want one of these four guys to experience that — I want all four to experience it in the future. It is so special, and you realize it once you win it. But right now, they’re realizing how hard it is to win. I didn’t realize that as much early in my career.”
This story was originally published February 15, 2024 at 6:11 PM with the headline "Hendrick Motorsports, celebrating its 40th year, looks to end Daytona 500 drought."
