History Maker: A Q&A With Rick Hendrick

February 9th, 2010

Throughout NASCAR’s 60-plus years of competition, the decades have been dominated by team owners who were as innovative as they were powerful.

The 1950s were marked by Carl Kiekhaefer — the first of the big-time team owners who were not afraid to spend large sums of money to win on the race track. The 1960s belonged to the factory teams of Petty Enterprises and Holman-Moody — teams that enjoyed tremendous support from the auto manufacturers when the cars were the stars of the show.

The 1970s saw continued success from Petty Enterprises, but also saw the emergence of former driver Junior Johnson, who built a dynasty that lasted through the 1980s when he shared the spotlight with another former driver-turned-team owner, Richard Childress, whose star driver was the late Dale Earnhardt.

Childress was a dominant team owner entering the 1990s, but it wasn’t long before he was battling with Rick Hendrick for supremacy in NASCAR. Led by a young Jeff Gordon and an aging Terry Labonte, Hendrick Motorsports won four-straight Cup titles from 1995-98.

The past decade was certainly marked by Hendrick’s domination with Gordon winning the Cup title in 2001 before Jimmie Johnson began his historic run of four-straight Cup championships from 2006-2009. And with a new decade dawning for NASCAR, Hendrick Motorsports remains the team to beat in NASCAR entering the 2010 season.

During the recent NASCAR Sprint Media Tour hosted by Charlotte Motor Speedway, National Speed Sport News had a chance to hear from Rick Hendrick on why his team is so successful and what is in store for the team in 2010. Those are just a variety of subjects that Hendrick addressed.

NSSN: With all the success you have had with Jimmie Johnson winning the last four NASCAR Sprint Cup championships and three of your four drivers sweeping the top three positions in the 2009 Chase, what is your outlook for 2010?

HENDRICK: “You can’t be as cautious and afraid to make changes and try to improve. You are only as good as you were last race of last year. We are all even starting at Daytona and I hope that you aren’t asking me in September or October what is wrong; what happened and where did it fell apart. That is what I work hard trying to do.”

NSSN: What is your outlook for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. this season after finishing 25th in points last year?

HENDRICK: “I think it has been said many times there is more pressure on him than he deserves, but that just comes with the territory. At the same time we did a lot of self-evaluation. I could not be prouder of Allen Gustafson and Lance McGrew in the way they have gone after it. We knew some things we wanted to do differently and he was willing to start making those changes two or three races from the end of the year. Dale didn’t want to take away an opportunity for Mark Martin to win but what we finally accomplished is I have the utmost respect for Allen and Lance and all the crew chiefs that participated. I said if we had one team, take the best that we’ve got and we structure it this way and we race two cars and if I want to swap the seats on Sunday morning, then I want to be able to do that. That is how I want to make it better.

“I was blown away with how much Allen and Lance went to work on that before we ever raced Homestead.

“I have to look at what we can do and we have done it a long time and I know what works for us. There is no way to silence the critics other than get the job done. I’m not going to do a whole lot of explaining. This is Showtime and that is what we are going to do.”

NSSN: You’ve made a lot of changes between the 88 (Earnhardt) and the 5 (Martin). What do you need out of Dale, Jr. to set that up in your mind?

HENDRICK: “We could see spurts at the end of the year where the car was getting better and we had the most awful luck in the world. When you are snake-bit you go to the track thinking it is going to happen and waiting for it to happen. We have tried to put all of that behind us and get started again. Dale has been working out. He has been here with the team and is doing all of the things we’ve asked him to do. He feels the pressure because he wants to race good and he wants to run good. We need to get a couple of good races under our belt and not have any bad luck. We are in it for the long haul and we’re going to keep attacking it. I’ve seen the commitment from him. They are as locked and loaded as we all know to be and so is Dale.

“But we’re not going to be able to make you feel better or the fans feel better until we do better.”

NSSN: What about Dale, Jr.’s mental outlook? Last year we saw the frustration that he went through.

HENDRICK: “He and I spend quite a bit of time talking about life in general. You go through those times. As long as you don’t stay in the same rut not changing everything, it gives all of us — Dale included — the fire and enthusiasm when you see things changing. He had the whole crew up at his house the other night and they were doing things together. He spends more time talking to the other guys. I can’t explain that he had the best car in the stable for three-quarters of the year in 2008 and then we fell off the table. You keep making changes until you get it fixed. I’m sure the commitment is there and we have to go do it now.”

NSSN: Why is it more difficult for four teams to be successful instead of three teams? Is the fourth team a drain?

HENDRICK: “I don’t think the difference between two, or three or four is the issue; you just have to have the right people in the right spots. Then, there is a lot of racing luck that happens. If I go to the race track and break two or three motors in a row, then I go to the next race expecting to break a motor. If I have one car break a motor then I go down pit road to find out what it is because I’m expecting it again. That is just the nature of what we do.

“When you’ve had bad luck or one week you make a mental mistake or the pit crew made a mistake than mentally, you are thinking what is next. Every year you have somebody that goes through a bad luck streak, they get off track and start trying something different. It’s unbelievable that Jimmie Johnson has had his stretch without a letdown. And with Jeff, I didn’t think it would ever happen with the 24 and it dipped and we had to come back. We had it happen with the 5 when Kyle Busch was leading all the laps. We just didn’t close the deal.

“It’s not always just a number. If you add a team just to add a team than that is when you get in trouble. If you can take baby steps and try to fix them. If you had told me I would have finished 1-2-3 in the points I would have said you are dreaming because too many things can happen; too many things can break.

“I’d like to ask the Dallas Cowboys what happened to them in the playoffs. How can they be that good and then get thumped that bad? Did the talent in those guys change? Something happened and I’m not trying to be an analyst, but I try to look at things like that. How do you change that? What do you do?”

NSSN: Why did you decided to get involved with Danica Patrick?

HENDRICK: “She is connected to one of our sponsors and she has a confidence and she is not expecting things to where she is going to go out and dominate or outrun these guys. She said she wants to try this and see how it feels. She was very impressive in the first Nationwide test. That is what the Nationwide Series is supposed to be about — giving people an opportunity. The sport can use that right now, the excitement of her fans coming over. I think it’s really cool that Kelley Earnhardt is a partner in the deal now and she and Kelley are two women that can do some pretty exciting things with sponsors and ideas in motorsports. I think our sport can use that and I think Danica is very impressive. She is about as together in the way she analyzes things and her approach to walking into something and not letting pressure get to her and say, ‘Hey, I’m going to do what I can and see how it unfolds.’”

NSSN: What can be done to make NASCAR more relevant to the manufacturers?

HENDRICK: “I remember the days when you would show up at the race track and somebody would have a new nose and somebody had a new tail and there would 15 Ford up there or 15 Chevrolets up there and everybody would be bitching and whining. I remember those days. I like going to the race track when I know I have a fair shot. If we get back to too much separation than the fans will say, ‘Why are you giving Dodge this?’ or ‘Why are you giving Toyota that?’

“I think we can get it closer. I think NASCAR has the technology and we can see some changes to where the cars closer resemble those on the streets but we don’t want to go back to the day when you give a guy two weeks to approve a nose and a tail and there is a new piece every week and you have to go out there and explain to the fans that we were outclassed because of a competitive disadvantage.”

NSSN: You want to build seamlessness between the 5 and the 88? Is there something that has precluded that?

HENDRICK: “First of all they didn’t start this thing like the 48 and the 24. When you have one team and you grow it with people that is what happened with the 24 and the 48. We had the 5 in the building and the 25 in the building and then there has been change — driver change and crew chief change. We brought in Tony Eury, Jr. and some of his guys and then we had another two groups working. What we did was go back to the old philosophy with Allen and Lance and that was take the best people, give them all a job, build the cars and take the engineers and get the best we’ve got here. We didn’t take anything away from the 24 and the 48. Mark Martin is like an engineer, crew chief and a driver all rolled into one. We made him stronger by making them both stronger.

“This is the first time we have taken two guys without any separate agendas and they interviewed everybody, decided on every person, decided on what they needed and what the job description was for that shop with two cars, one team and took the people and started moving them. It doesn’t make any difference if the lead engineer was on the 5 and on the 88 this year. I couldn’t be prouder of Allen and Lance. You are talking about a loyal guy that is willing to change his team up with three races to go running second in the points for the good of the company that he is that confident in his ability and Mark’s ability and all the people around here. I’m just very fortunate we have the mindset we have that they took that approach. We have to go to the race track and make it work but these guys have created a bond between these crew chiefs and have accepted the bond that they are stronger together. As long as they don’t lose that, we will be competitive.”

NSSN: How do you describe your active role on the team?

HENDRICK: “I would like to take credit for all the success and none of the failures. I feel like we got this thing started but his has grown into a life of its own with Ken Howes and Doug Duchardt. My role is to keep them between the ditches. If I see something getting out of whack to step in and get a decision made. This thing is too big for one person to make a decision. When we have a problem I sit down with all these guys and say, ‘Here is the problem. How would you fix it if this was Gustafson Motorsports or Knaus Motorsports?’ You’ve put it on them. I have to get it started and keep it rolling along with the least amount of friction and take care of the sponsors but I’m just a part of the team that wants to continue to be successful.

“It’s always hard. I’m a procrastinator any way. One reason we are so tight here is I don’t like to make a decision because I’m not as smart as these other guys are. If I can get them all together. I learned this from Saturn a long time ago and it’s called ‘Going Green.’ If you have one guy that is a red light and thinks it won’t work then you work on him until you get him into a neutral zone. It’s never failed to me that if I have one guy that is adamant against something then we will talk it through. The negativeness is sometimes good. Communication is so important in this sport and every business that is out there.”

NSSN: What are the qualities about Chad Knaus about always wanting to do it again this year when it comes to the championship?

HENDRICK: “Chad is a gunfighter. I’ve tried things to change things up and he has always made things work. It’s that commitment that he and Jimmie have how he can identify things to make them better. With the success he has had he isn’t afraid to make a change. That is the confidence he has in his team.

“Chad is always changing. They believe in the way they communicate and share information. They have gotten over some of their rough spots. Nobody works any more hours than he has. The cool thing about it is how the drivers have picked up other things from the other drivers and the crew chiefs have done the same and they all ratchet themselves up. Chad is the guy that can say, ‘I’ve just won a championship, but I‘m not satisfied. I know I can get better.’ I see the other guys inspired by that and following suit. I’ve never seen Jeff Gordon more fired up than he was at Homestead. He has a gleam in his eye and a fire that excites me.”

NSSN: Do you see Danica Patrick taking over the 5 car when Mark Martin retires?

“Mark Martin will never retire. That is way down the road. We have a long way to go with Danica. The one thing about Danica is she didn’t come into this thing thinking she was going to jump out there and beat the Cup guys. She came in to see if she liked it and what her skill-set is in these cars. She’s committed to the IndyCar program. I think she has the right approach. We will have to wait and see after she puts some laps in. She has a really cool head on her shoulders.”

NSSN: What do you think of the changes NASCAR is making?

HENDRICK: “I think they are listening. They have been doing this a long time. To me the competitiveness is about as good as it can be. We were running three wide at Homestead. When I first came into this sport you had four cars to beat to win a race and two cars to beat for a championship. Today, with all the money and you have everybody with an opinion having a TV show and then the fans are able to voice their opinion and react in real time what they don’t like. Jimmie Johnson said it is much better than everybody thinks it is, but you still have to deal with what is perceived. But when you grow from being a regional sport to a national sport, for the first time in my 25 years in the sport I have never seen NASCAR as open-minded and open to new ideas as they are now from the Fireside Chats to the Town Hall Meetings. We are all trying to make it better.

“They are asking drivers what is on their mind and how to make it better. The times have changed and you have to change with the times. I think the NASCAR team is really more open-minded to race tracks again. I’ve brainstormed with the track owners and how we can make things better. We are all working together. The economy is hurting and we are getting back to putting on a good show. We are listening to the fans. And that is a good thing. We all have skin in the game. The drivers love what they do, all the guys that work on the teams and the sponsors — we are all in this together. NASCAR has done a whole lot more listening than talking.

“I think it is great that NASCAR has opened up and said, tell us what you think. We want to make it better. We can make it better. I’ve never seen them come to the teams and ask them to tell them what we think. The meetings have been great and I have never seen NASCAR any more eager to make our sport better. I applaud them for that and shame on us if we don’t take them up on that.

“You have to listen to your customers, but more than just the fans, if you listen to the 10 percent of the fans that are vocal you might screw it up for the 90 percent that aren’t vocal. You have to make sure what you do is good and it is going to work. There are so many guys in the garage area we aren’t going to mess it up. We’ll see how it all turns out.”

NSSN: What do you think of the spoiler tests?

HENDRICK: “This is my opinion — I don’t know how many engineers are in the sport but we have some of the brightest minds in the sport and if they get together we can make a great race car out of this car. We never used to see that. We used to get blind-sided by the rules, but in my 25 years I have never seen NASCAR so open to the changes than they are now.

“They don’t want to hurt us; they want to make it better. Whatever testing we are going to do they are going to let us do that. Everybody has a vested influence. They are not going to make everybody happy but the key thing is we will end up with a better product.”

NSSN: How do you feel about the American automobile business in 2010?

HENDRICK: “I was real, real happy with the way it worked out. We started off last year with car companies in bankruptcy and were able to pull out of it. I see the market getting better. From what I have seen in the business Toyota was off and everybody was off but coming back I think 2010 will be a better year. I think this will be a good year.”

NSSN: Do you think we’ll see Ray Evernham back in the sport?
HENDRICK: “He is too rich right no. He’s already been involved in this. Ray and I have been buddies for quite a while. Ray doesn’t want to be back on the firing line seven days a week. But we like to collect cars and go to car shows. We talk about a lot of things.
“Ray and I are very close friends and he is way beyond coming back as a crew chief. There are a lot of things that we still enjoy being together. I think Ray is at a point in his life where, what does he have left to prove? He and I advise each other and that relationship will always be there whether we are at the track together or at a car show together. We have talked about doing things together but it all depends on what he wants to do. There are a lot of things that we can do that doesn’t have to mean he is going to call pit stops. I’m always open because Ray and I have a special bond.”

NSSN: What are some of the things you are doing with the earthquake in Haiti and your reason to help out?

HENDRICK: “My wife went to Haiti on a missionary trip years back and my daughter was down there and we talked about how tough it was down there. There was this little sailboat made out of horns that the kids made down there for her and she was so touched by that. When we heard about the earthquake we wanted to do something so we contacted Missionary Flights International and we were some of the first planes in there. Our crews volunteered with mechanics and pilots and we have actually delivered surgeons to Haiti. I’ve gotten stacks of letters from family members that talk about the extraordinary things that are going on down there. That has meant a lot to me and the organization that we are helping save a lot of lives by flying two planes a day with a lot of medical supplies there. We’ve been flying in and out of Fort Pierce, Florida.”

NSSN: What has a fourth Cup championship meant to Jimmie Johnson in terms of extra endorsements and attention?

HENDRICK: “He’s got so many deals right now. You can’t have but so many deals without being conflicted by people you are already dealing with. He has a lot of deals. I was real proud of him being named ‘Male Athlete of the Year.’ That was a big deal for our sport. He deserves all of his success and whatever comes along with it.

“He is a very genuine guy. He is not vanilla. He is far from it. He can have a good time. He is a good person and because he is so successful he still gets mentally and physically ready. At the race track he is focused on what he does which is why he is so good.”

NSSN: How do you see the competition coming after you this year?

HENDRICK: “We have won four Cup championships in a row before (with two different drivers) and then we fell off the map for a few years so we know what can happen. We know they are gunning for us and a lot of good teams capable of winning. But we are going to work hard and if they beat us they are going to have to take it from us.”

NSSN: Are you ever worried about Chad Knaus leaving?

HENDRICK: “No. I have a lot of things to worry about and Chad Knaus leaving is not one of them.”

NSSN: How do you describe Mark Martin?

HENDRICK: “Mark Martin has been an inspiration to everybody here. He is unbelievable. Watching him run 500 miles, he doesn’t even break a sweat. He eats like he is supposed to; sleeps like he is supposed to and is like a computer in the car. He has changed us all in how we look at things.”

NSSN: What is the satisfaction you get out of your role in NASCAR?

HENDRICK: “I’ve been very fortunate in my life and I’ve been able to do a lot of things I’ve wanted to do. I enjoy being around. I love what I do in racing and I’m very blessed. I’m thankful every day when I get up that God has given me a new day. There are a lot of people that don’t have a chance in life that they get to do what they want to do and I’ve been blessed by being able to have that.”

NSSN: What do you think of NASCAR’s future in regards to the economy?

HENDRICK: “I think we have turned the corner as far as the economy goes. It’s going to be better. Not a ton better but I think NASCAR has survived it pretty well. You still have cutbacks. Every company in America has had to go through some kind of adjustment. I think NASCAR has changed with the times and with the input of all of the teams working together for a common goal the future is bright. We are all in this together. Sponsors are more creative. NASCAR is more creative and the teams are more creative. In terms of unity it has never been this good since I’ve been in the sport.”

NSSN: In addition to collecting cars, what else do you collect?

HENDRICK: “I’m a real Pack Rat. I collect a lot of things. A cool thing I’ve got is we did the 25 Year Anniversary of the team and I have boxing gloves that Sylvester Stallone gave me. One is autographed by him and the other is signed ‘Rocky Balboa.’ I have a cue stick that Paul Newman used in the ‘Color of Money.’ Reggie Jackson gave me a bat. I have drum heads from The Beatles, Rolling Stones and Bruce Springsteen.”

NSSN: What would you like to see with the NASCAR schedule?

HENDRICK: “Personally, I’d like to see more Saturday night races. I grew up watching racing on Saturday nights and I really like that. I’d like to see half of our schedule be Saturday night races. That’s just me, personally. That’s because I like Saturday night races the best.”

NSSN: When you look back at the beginning of All-Star Racing and see what you have now with Hendrick Motorsports, what do you think?

HENDRICK: “It’s hard to believe, isn’t it? I wake up sometimes and think this has happened in a hurry but it’s been a phenomenal amount of work, too. Where we have been is the easy part. Keeping it going is the hard part.”