Did Rick Hendrick ever race in NASCAR? All you need to know

Rick Hendrick is undeniably one of, if not the most successful, team owners in NASCAR's history. However, Hendrick has some experience behind the wheel, having entered at least one race in all three of the sport's three national racing series.

Hendrick is a 75-year-old American businessman and team owner of the NASCAR teams, Hendrick Motorsports and JR Motorsports. Outside the stock car racing league, the North Carolina native runs the Hendrick Automotive Group, a dealership group that sells new and used cars.

While Hendrick is best known for leading the 14-time championship-winning team, let's take a look at his few entries as a driver.

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NASCAR Cup Series

In 1987, Rick Hendrick entered the Winston Western 500 at Riverside International Raceway. Driving the No. 25 Chevrolet, the team owner started the race 21st, with No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports driver Geoff Bodine securing pole position.

However, the No. 25 car exited early following a mechanical failure. He finished 33rd in the race after clocking 75 of 119 laps.

The race entry happened due to No. 25 HMS driver Tim Richmond missing races for health issues. Richmond ran a few races in 1987 before retiring later in the year.

Rick Hendrick with seven-time Hendrick Motorsports champion Jimmie Johnson - Source: Imagn

Hendrick also had another go at Riverside International Raceway the following year. He drove the unique No. 18 Chevy alongside teammates Darrell Waltrip, Ken Schrader, and Geoff Bodine.

The team owner made it to the final qualifying round again to start the race 13th in the field, sharing row seven with Bodine. While Elliott Forbes-Robinson got in the No. 18 car mid-race, Hendrick was still credited for a P15 finish.

When asked in an interview after getting out of the car, Hendrick said he still wanted to drive. However, the deal within the team was to let Forbes-Robinson take over, hence the driver switch.

The No. 18 car didn't return until the 1990 season when Greg Sacks drove it for 13 starts.

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NASCAR Xfinity Series

Rick Hendrick also drove in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, or the Busch Grand National Series back in the day. He entered the Amoco 300 race at Road Atlanta Speedway in 1987 driving Geoff Bodine's No. 15 Chevrolet.

Hendrick Motorsports competed in the Xfinity Series under merged efforts with JR Motorsports for a long time - Source: Imagn

The team owner had a strong qualifying performance and started the race in P6, with Rusty Wallace securing pole position. However, his race ended early following a clutch issue. He clocked 53 of 74 laps of the race won by Morgan Shepherd.

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NASCAR Truck Series

During the inaugural season of NASCAR's pickup truck-based series in 1995, Rick Hendrick drove the No. 25 HMS Chevy at the Heartland Park Topeka road course. Unfortunately, a mechanical issue forced his truck to retire after clocking 45 of 60 laps.

In the same year, Hendrick handed the No. 25 Chevy to Jack Sprague who scored multiple top-fives. Sprague then drove the No. 24 HMS truck to three championships, making him and the team among the winningest in the series.