- 1949: Born in Warrenton, N.C.
- 1963: Rebuilt a 1931 Chevrolet, began drag racing
- 1965: Won Virginia division of the Chrysler-Plymouth Troubleshooting Contest, a competition for engine builders
- 1968: Pursued co-op work-study program with North Carolina State University and Westinghouse Electric Co.
- 1972: Became general sales manager for a Raleigh, N.C., import dealership
- 1976: Acquired a Chevrolet franchise in South Carolina, making him the youngest Chevrolet dealer in the country
- 1978: Bought City Chevrolet in Charlotte
- 1979: Founded a drag-boat racing team that won 3 consecutive national championships
- 1982: Drag-boat driver Jimmy Wright killed in a boating accident. Hendrick switches back to car racing.
- 1984: Founded All-Star Racing, a NASCAR Cup Series team; won 3 races in its 1st season
- 1985: Changed team name to Hendrick Motorsports
- 1996: Diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia
- 1997: Started the not-for-profit Hendrick Marrow Program to support blood cancer patients
- 1999: Declared in full remission from leukemia
- 2004: 10 people, including Hendrick's son, brother and 2 nieces, killed in an airplane crash in Virginia
- 2012: Became the 2nd NASCAR Cup Series owner to reach 200 wins
- 2017: Inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame
HERITAGE CENTER Concord, N.C.
When employees at Hendrick Motorsports' sprawling campus here see a dark red helicopter approach, they spread the word: Here comes Airwolf.
Airwolf -- the chopper's nickname -- shuttles Rick Hendrick between his two companies: Motorsports racing here and Hendrick Automotive Group, about 20 miles southwest in Charlotte.
Hendrick is the glue that bonds the businesses. He operates them to complement each other in branding, recruiting and retaining talent, and delivering profits.
"I pinch myself sometimes because I'm so appreciative that I get to make a living doing what I love," said Hendrick, 67, chairman of the dealership group and owner of Hendrick Motorsports. "I have never done either one of these businesses for money. I did it for love."
Hendrick entered the racing and retail worlds early. He built his first drag racer at age 14. At 26, he bought a run-down Chevrolet dealership. Today, his 102 dealerships with nearly 10,600 employees constitute the sixth-largest car dealership group in the U.S., based on new-vehicle retail sales.
In 1984, he entered the racing business with five employees. Since then, Hendrick Motorsports has earned a record 12 car-owner championships in NASCAR's premier division. Hendrick Motorsports employs about 560 people.
Each business must be profitable on its own, Hendrick said.
"But the racing brand helps us. We have 11 million people who follow us with Hendrick Motorsports. That's 11 million opportunities to sell a car. Racing has done a lot for my automobile business, and my automobile business has gotten me into racing."
Hendrick is most at ease in his Heritage Center on the Motorsports campus. The 58,000-square-foot building houses 210 cars and a museum that traces his life story. Getting in is by invitation only.
Hendrick goes there to reflect, relax and conduct business meetings in a conference room where the chassis of his first Corvette, a 1963 model, supports the long glass-topped table in the center.
Hendrick typically starts his day at 6 a.m., spending about 70 percent of his time on the retail business and 30 percent on racing. Last year, those ratios reversed because his race team was struggling.
The extended enterprise relies on technology, he said, plus a lot of "good people."
"Thank goodness for video conferencing now. It's saved me," said Hendrick. "But I put a lot of miles on in the air, traveling to the races and to the dealerships."
At the start of each month, Hendrick begins a series of video conference calls at 8 a.m. Over the next 12 hours, he will speak to each dealership's general manager about the prior month's results.
