MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Rick Hendrick was a car owner with a fading dream when he went to church with his wife 25 years ago as his team prepared to race at Martinsville Speedway.
When he emerged, life as he knew it would never be the same.
Geoff Bodine, the driver who ached for an opportunity to race, and Harry Hyde, the mechanical whiz who convinced Hendrick he could build a winning race car, proved it at the track in southwest Virginia, giving the car dealer his first NASCAR victory as an owner.
There have been 174 more victories since, as well as eight Sprint Cup Series championships, making Hendrick one of the dominant figures in a sport he almost abandoned.
“Had we not won that race 25 years ago, Hendrick Motorsports would not be here today,” Hendrick said this week.
Now, he boasts four of the biggest names in racing — Jeff Gordon, a four-time series champion; Jimmie Johnson, the winner of the last three championships; Dale Earnhardt Jr., the most popular driver in the series; and Mark Martin, who came on board for this season.
“I think that everyone that works for him wants to succeed for him,” Martin said.
He drives the No. 5 Chevrolet for Hendrick, the same number car that Bodine drove into Victory Lane back in 1984, and he would like to take the checkered flag today for Hendrick.
On Saturday, a steady drizzle and intermittent showers washed out practice for today’s race and forced postponement of the Camping World Truck Series race until Monday.
Brown leads top fuelers
BAYTOWN, Texas — Antron Brown took the top spot in top fuel qualifying at the O’Reilly NHRA Spring Nationals.
Cruz Pedregon (funny car), Jason Line (pro stock) and Andrew Hines (pro stock motorcycle) also took the provisional No. 1 positions in their categories.
The Associated Press
Today’s races
NASCAR SPRINT CUP
Goody’s Fast Relief 500
Site: Martinsville, Va.
TV: KDVR-31, 11:30 a.m.
Track: Martinsville Speedway (oval, 0.526 miles, 12 degrees banking in turns). Race distance: 263 miles, 500 laps
Next race: Samsung 500, April 5, Fort Worth, Texas
On the Net: www.nascar.com
NHRA
O’Reilly Spring Nationals
Site: Baytown, Texas
TV: ESPN2, 2:30 p.m. tape
Track: Houston Raceway
Next event: SummitRacing.com Nationals, April 5, Las Vegas
On the Net: www.nhra.com
Points standings
NASCAR SPRINT CUP
1. Jeff Gordon, 794
2. Kurt Busch, 718
3. Clint Bowyer, 715
4. Kyle Busch, 709
5. Carl Edwards, 665
6. Kasey Kahne, 639
7. Tony Stewart, 633
8. Denny Hamlin, 631
9. Jimmie Johnson, 627
10. Matt Kenseth, 610
11. David Reutimann, 607
12. Kevin Harvick, 584
13. Jeff Burton, 579
14. Brian Vickers, 553
15. J. Montoya, 546
16. AJ Allmendinger, 532
17. Elliott Sadler, 530
18. Greg Biffle, 526
19. D.Earnhardt Jr., 518
20. Martin Truex Jr., 508
NATIONWIDE SERIES
1. Carl Edwards, 690
2. Kevin Harvick, 576
3. Kyle Busch, 566
4. Brendan Gaughan, 512
5. David Ragan, 493
6. Jason Leffler, 488
7. Brian Vickers, 467
8. Justin Allgaier, 466
9. Kenny Wallace, 437
10. Scott Lagasse Jr., 423
11. Jason Keller, 422
12. Greg Biffle, 416
13. Joey Logano, 406
14. Joe Nemechek, 399
15. Brad Keselowski, 398
16. M. McDowell, 396
17. Steve Wallace, 390
18. David Green, 364
CAMPING WORLD TRUCKS
1. Kyle Busch, 560
2. Todd Bodine, 535
3. Mike Skinner, 441
4. Ron Hornaday Jr., 436
5. Chad McCumbee, 426
6. Matt Crafton, 423
7. Terry Cook, 413
8. T.J. Bell, 412
9. Timothy Peters, 406
10. David Starr, 384
11. J.R. Fitzpatrick, 359
12. Johnny Benson, 355
NHRA
Top fuel
1. Antron Brown, 259
2. B. Bernstein, 239
3. Larry Dixon, 206
4. Doug Kalitta, 194
5. Tony Schumacher, 181
Funny car
1. Ron Capps, 263
2. Bob Tasca III, 225
3. Del Worsham, 188
4. Robert Hight, 164
5. Mike Neff, 163
Pro stock
1. Jason Line, 285
2. Allen Johnson, 228
3. Jeg Coughlin, 223
4. Greg Anderson, 212
5. Mike Edwards, 211
Pro stock motorcycle
1. Hector Arana, 117
2. Matt Smith, 98
3. Andrew Hines, 74
4. Shawn Gann, 72
5. Karen Stoffer, 56
