Team Owner

Born July 12, 1949 in Warrenton, N.C., Rick Hendrick was raised on his family's farm, a stone's throw from the small Virginia community of Palmer Springs. It was there, south of Richmond near the North Carolina border, that his father instilled the value of a hard day's work and a pure passion for the automobile.

Under the watchful eye of "Papa Joe," that love of cars led Hendrick into the world of auto racing. At age 14, he quickly made a name for himself by setting speed records at a local drag strip with a self-built 1931 Chevrolet. A year later, the self-described "gearhead" won the Virginia division of the Chrysler-Plymouth Troubleshooting Contest, a competition for engine builders. He was just 15 at the time.

A standout athlete at Park View High School in South Hill, Va., Hendrick considered an opportunity to play professional baseball before pursuing a co-op work-study program with North Carolina State University and Westinghouse Electric Company in Raleigh, N.C.

Hendrick Automotive Group

While on Tobacco Road, Hendrick's deep-seeded automotive passion led him to open a small used-car lot with Mike Leith, an established new-car dealer. The success of the venture soon convinced Leith to name Hendrick the general sales manager of his new-car import operation at the age of 23.

In 1976, the 26-year-old Hendrick took a chance by selling off his assets to purchase a struggling franchise in Bennettsville, S.C., thus becoming the youngest Chevrolet dealer in the United States. His influence sparked a dramatic sales increase as the once-troubled location soon became the region's most profitable.

Bennettsville's success was a precursor to the Hendrick Automotive Group, now encompassing more than 70 franchises and 5,000 employees from the Carolinas to California. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., the company generated revenue upward of $4 billion in 2005 after selling 100,000 vehicles and servicing over one million cars.

Hendrick Motorsports

As his automotive business prospered, Hendrick was enjoying an equal amount of success in the realm of motor sports. In the late 1970s, he founded a drag-boat racing team that won three consecutive national championships and set a world record of 222.2 mph with the boat "Nitro Fever."

But Hendrick soon transitioned back into car racing, sponsoring and co-owning a limited number of NASCAR Late Model Sportsman Series (now NASCAR Nationwide Series) entries, which included victories in 1983 with the late Dale Earnhardt as driver.

In 1984, Hendrick founded All-Star Racing. That year, the fledgling outfit fielded a single NASCAR Winston Cup Series (now Sprint Cup) team with five full-time employees and 5,000 square feet of workspace. With Geoff Bodine driving an entire 30-race campaign in Hendrick's No. 5 Chevrolets, the group finished ninth in championship points after earning three victories and three pole positions in its first season.

Rechristened Hendrick Motorsports in 1985, the organization today is headquartered on more than 100 acres of North Carolina property straddling Cabarrus and Mecklenburg counties.

The 600,000-square-foot facility houses complete engine- and chassis-building areas to support four full-time teams in NASCAR's top division – the Sprint Cup Series.

Hendrick Motorsports has garnered 11 NASCAR championships – seven in the Sprint Cup Series, three in the Craftsman Truck Series and one in the Nationwide Series – making it one of the sport's premier operations. Its roster of stock-car drivers includes Casey Mears, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

In the 2007 season, Hendrick surpassed 200 combined victories in NASCAR's top three divisions. He is currently second on NASCAR's all-time Cup win list (1949-present) and leads all owners in modern-era victories (1972-present). His Cup-level teams have won at least one race each year since 1986 – the longest active streak – and have averaged more than 10 wins annually over the last decade.

The Hendrick Marrow Program

In 1997, Hendrick chartered the Hendrick Marrow Program, a fundraising initiative that promotes tissue typing and supports those suffering from leukemia and other blood-related diseases. A member of The Marrow Foundation's board of directors, Hendrick takes a personal approach to the cause after being diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia – better known as "CML" – in 1996.

Since its inception, the program has raised millions of dollars, added more than 75,000 volunteers to the National Marrow Donor Program Registry and assisted more than 2,000 patients with grants from the Hendrick Family Fund for Patient Assistance.

Hendrick and his wife Linda were honored in 1999 with The Marrow Foundation's Leadership for Life Award, which recognizes individuals who have made an extraordinary commitment to the National Marrow Donor Program and The Marrow Foundation. Past recipients include Congressman C.W. Bill Young, baseball great Rod Carew and former postmaster general William J. Henderson.

Hendrick himself has been in remission since 1999.

The Hendrick Foundation for Children

Another of Hendrick's passions is the Hendrick Foundation for Children.

Established in 2004 in honor of Hendrick's brother, the late John L. Hendrick, the Hendrick Foundation for Children provides programs and services to benefit youngsters with illness, injury, disability or other hindrance. So far, the organization has raised millions of dollars toward community-oriented initiatives that improve the quality of children's lives.

The Foundation committed $3 million in 2005 to assist in the establishment of Charlotte's 12-story, 234-room Levine Children's Hospital, a world-class facility dedicated to the needs of children and their families. In recognition of the gift, the hospital will dedicate its pediatric intensive care centers in honor of Hendrick's late son, Ricky. The hospital is scheduled to open in 2007.

The Joe Hendrick Center for Automotive Technology

Hendrick recently donated $1 million toward the creation of the Joe Hendrick Center for Automotive Technology, which opened in late 2006 on the Matthews, N.C., campus of Central Piedmont Community College, the largest community college in North Carolina.

The facility, named for Hendrick's late father, will provide cost-effective, state-of-the-art training to prepare students for future careers in the automotive industry.

The Horatio Alger Award

In April 2006, Hendrick was presented with the prestigious Horatio Alger Award at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C.

Each year, the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans (www.horatioalger.org) bestows the Horatio Alger Award on truly outstanding Americans. Association members are dedicated community leaders who demonstrate individual initiative and a commitment to excellence as exemplified by achievements accomplished through honesty, hard work, self-reliance and perseverance.

In accepting the award, Hendrick joined a group of prominent Americans that includes former U.S. Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan; Hall of Fame athletes Hank Aaron, Julius Erving and Wayne Gretzky; entertainers Waylon Jennings, Quincy Jones, James Earl Jones and Oprah Winfrey; author Maya Angelou; astronaut Buzz Aldrin; and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

Other Honors

Gov. Jim Hunt recognized Hendrick in 1996 with The Order of the Long Leaf Pine, North Carolina's highest civilian honor. The award is bestowed upon citizens of the state who have a proven record of extraordinary service. Past recipients include award-winning journalist Charles Kuralt, Rev. Billy Graham, artist Bob Timberlake and Hendrick's late father, Papa Joe, who was presented the award by Gov. Mike Easley in 2004.

Hendrick also offers his time to multiple boards and other business-related ventures. One of five dealers to be selected for the national planning committee for General Motors' Saturn Division, he also served on the GM President's Dealer Advisory Council and has taken on other various roles with automobile manufacturers.

A resident of Charlotte, Hendrick is vice chairman of the North Carolina Motorsports Association, a nonprofit group that acts as a proponent of the motor sports industry throughout the state, and recently helped lead the region's successful bid for the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Hendrick even has a film credit to his name after serving as a technical advisor on the 1990 motion picture "Days of Thunder." The film, which starred Tom Cruise, netted more than $80 million at the box office.