Rick Hendrick was set to have the honor of being a pace car driver for a NASCAR Cup Series race for the first time in his NASCAR Hall of Fame career at Martinsville Speedway in April. However, Hendrick underwent an unexpected surgery on his knee, which ended his hopes of pacing the field in the race where Hendrick Motorsports celebrated its 40th Anniversary of the team’s first-ever win.
While it took Hendrick 40 years of being a NASCAR team owner before he finally got the call to serve as a pace car driver, it didn’t take long for him to get the second call. Hendrick has been named the honorary pace car driver for Sunday’s Brickyard 400, a race that will honor the 30th anniversary of the inaugural Brickyard 400, which was won by Jeff Gordon and the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team.
For Hendrick, who holds 10 wins as a team owner in the Brickyard 400 (most all-time) being named the driver of the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 pace car for Sunday’s Brickyard 400 presented by PPG at the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a moment he is grateful for.
“Time goes by fast,” Hendrick said in a press release from Indianapolis Motor Speedway. “I can’t believe it’s been four decades since we started Hendrick Motorsports and 30 years since Jeff (Gordon) won the inaugural Brickyard 400. I’ll never forget the excitement around that event and the thrill of winning a race at Indianapolis.
“I’m grateful to our 40-year partners at Chevrolet for the opportunity to drive a Pace Car for the first time. I also want to thank my great friend Roger Penske and everyone at the track. Taking the field to green on Sunday will be something I’ll always remember.”
Hendrick Motorsports has the most victories of any team in NASCAR Cup Series history with 309, and they’ve all come in Chevrolet race cars. The auto manufacturer states that they are honored to have Hendrick pilot their pace car for the first Brickyard 400 since the 2020 season.
“For all of us at GM and Chevrolet, as well as for our partners at IMS, it’s an honor to have Rick Hendrick lead the NASCAR Cup Series field to the green flag at this year’s Brickyard 400,” General Motors President Mark Reuss said. “Chevrolet and Hendrick Motorsports have had a storied history together over the past 40 years. Having Rick pace the 30th anniversary of this prestigious race is a special way to celebrate our partnership and the legacy he has built in NASCAR.”
The Brickyard 400 had been a staple on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule since being added for the 1993 season following a well-documented tire test at the 2.5-mile speedway in 1992. But following the 2020 season, where the race was run without fans in the stands due to COVID, NASCAR and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway opted to change things up a bit, and the race was moved to an annual stop around the speedway’s road course layout.
Then, last September, Indianapolis Motor Speedway and NASCAR announced the triumphant return of the Brickyard 400 for the 2024 season.
With 2024 serving as the 30th anniversary of Hendrick Motorsports’ win in the first-ever Brickyard 400, and the race returning to the 2.5-mile oval layout of the legendary racetrack, it gave IMS the chance to pay homage to the history of the Brickyard 400 by placing Hendrick in the pace car for the race.
“Honoring history, even as we look to the future, is a huge part of everything we do at IMS,” IMS President J. Douglas Boles said. “Rick and Hendrick Motorsports made history here in 1994 with Jeff Gordon’s win in the inaugural Brickyard on the famed oval. As we return to the oval and celebrate 30 years with NASCAR, having Rick pace the field is a fitting celebration.”
Hendrick Motorsports hopes their legendary team owner leading the field to green in Sunday’s race can signal a good omen for the four-car organization. If a Hendrick Motorsports car can break through for the team’s 11th Brickyard 400 win, it’ll be the first win for whichever driver can pull off the feat.
