“We had decided to shut the doors”: When Rick Hendrick recalled the 'pivotal' moment that revived HMS' NASCAR destiny

In 1984, Rick Hendrick entered NASCAR with just five employees, including crew chief Harry Hyde. The now billionaire team owner gravely struggled with funds for the upkeep of his team, All-Star Racing (now Hendrick Motorsports). A few months into the sport and with no sponsor to further back his venture, Hendrick had decided to close his team. However, he agreed to a final shot at the Martinsville Speedway, which paid off massively.

Geoff Bodine, a legend in Modified racing and well-versed in taming the 0.526-mile Martinsville short track, paired with Hyde to participate in the 500-lap event. Things weren't going their way as Bobby Allison was hot on his #22 Buick's wheels with 266 laps led. Nonetheless, the Bodine-Hyde duo proved heavy for their rivals, as the #5 Chevy driver mastered the final 49 laps in the race, leading 55 laps, and giving Rick Hendrick his first NASCAR win.

Unfortunately, the team owner was at a church event in Greensboro, North Carolina, and couldn't witness history in the making. When Hendrick got a call from his mother he realized what happened at the race, and rushed to Bodine's house for celebration.

On the occasion of HMS' 300th win, secured by William Byron at the 2023 Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas Motor Speedway, the team owner revisited the 'pivotal' moment that changed their NASCAR destiny.

"That was a pivotal race. We had decided to shut the doors because we didn't have a sponsor and couldn't go any further. Harry (Hyde) said, 'Hey, Geoff (Bodine) is good at Martinsville (Speedway). Let's go to that race. We won that and got a sponsor, Northwestern Security Life and then Levi Garrett came on. It was that close to this place not being here. You just think back on those moments in time. It was so close to there not being a Hendrick Motorsports," Rick Hendrick said via HMS official release.

Following their Martinsville triumph, Geoff Bodine reigned supreme two more times, and attracting sponsorship money became easy.

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"I helped get those 300 wins just by winning one race": Geoff Bodine revisits the moment he saved Rick Hendrick's NASCAR future

HMS is now the winningest NASCAR team, boasting 312 Cup Series victories and 14 championships at NASCAR's Premier Level. However, had Rick Hendrick decided not to field his #5 Chevy with Geoff Bodine behind the wheel in the 1984 Sovran Bank 500 race, operations at Hendrick Motorsports could've ceased.

After Bodine saved the team from closing down, Rick Hendrick didn't face problems while gathering sponsors. A decade later in 1995, Jeff Gordon, who now observes the role of Vice Chairman at HMS, became the first driver to bring home a Cup Series championship for the team and continued his pursuit until raking in three more titles.

On the team's 40th anniversary, the driver who sowed the seed for HMS' string of Cup Series race victories, reflected his mindset going into the 1984 Martinsville race. He said (via HMS website):

"Knowing it might be the last race, that added some pressure to it. Once you get in the race car and you get dialed into the race, all that goes away and you are just thinking about what you got to do," Bodine said.

Bodine then touched upon the "incredible" feeling of becoming the first race winner for Rick Hendrick and added:

"I always pull for the Hendrick cars because I feel a little responsible for Hendrick Motorsports. I'm glad I was the first. Pretty incredible to think I helped get those 300 wins just by winning one race."

HMS continues to prove itself a dominant team in NASCAR, with its three cars in the playoffs- William Byron, Kyle Larson, and Chase Elliott- testifying the same.