Celebrating the 40th anniversary of their first win in the NASCAR Cup Series, three of Hendrick Motorsports’ drivers gave Team Owner Rick Hendrick the gift of a lifetime.
William Byron, one of four HMS drivers sporting a ruby red-colored paint scheme to commemorate 40 years, led teammates Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott to the checkered flag in Sunday’s Cook Out 400 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway.
The team’s first win came at the 0.526-mile paperclip-shaped track on April 29, 1984 with Geoff Bodine aboard the No. 5 Chevrolet.
It was the first time an organization has finished 1-2-3 at Martinsville and the 29th win for the team at the Virginia-based race track. In total, the team led 238 of the 415 laps on Sunday.
Despite a late caution triggering an overtime restart, the top three stayed firm as Byron led the way to notch his series-leading third win in the first eight races of the season.
“I just want to thank Chase for racing me clean there,” Byron said after the race. “Could get really physical at the end. He gave me a shot, which is expected. We all finish it off.
“Just so proud of everyone at Hendrick Motorsports. Grew up a big Hendrick fan. To be here for the 40th anniversary, all that goes into just this organization, all the people, it’s all about the people. Just want to thank Mr. Hendrick and Linda and everyone involved.
“It’s pretty awesome. Badass to win at Martinsville. We’ve been struggling at the short tracks. Just kept inching up on it. I got a great team. They just kept my head in it. It stunk to do a restart there at the end like that, but that’s the way it goes.”
HMS’ fourth driver, Alex Bowman, earned the team a fourth top 10 in eighth.
NASCAR Hall of Famer and HMS vice chairman Jeff Gordon beamed on pit lane as he described the moment.
“You can’t script it any better,” Gordon said.
“First I just want to say hi to Mr. and Mrs. Hendrick. I know how bummed they were not to be here. All our folks are able to be here to see this happen.
“You can’t script it like this. I knew we had good race cars when they showed up here yesterday. But the race, the way it played out, to get that green flag stop was it. Our cars were so good on the short runs. We just needed to get that track position,” Gordon continued.
“Then that last restart, oh, my God, I didn’t want to see that (laughter). I was so hoping we could get the 1-2-3.
“These guys, these three guys, as well as Bowman, they drove their butts off.”