1on1: Rick Hendrick

Owner on Jimmie's dominance and first year with Junior

By Joe Menzer

CONCORD, N.C. -- Last Sunday's Cup Series race at Dover belonged, in the end, to the Fords from Roush Fenway Racing that finished first, second and third.

But the boys from Hendrick Motorsports were not far behind, and led by two-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson remain very much in contention in the 2008 Chase to the Sprint Cup championship. Rick Hendrick spent a few minutes to talk with NASCAR.COM about a variety of topics Tuesday during Cup testing at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

Q: What was it like for you, watching driver Greg Biffle lead a 1-2-3 finish for Roush Fenway Racing to the checkered flag last Sunday at Dover?

Hendrick: To be honest with you, I became a race fan. They were racing so hard. I watched it from that standpoint. But I also thought if those were my guys, I'd probably be saying, 'Hey, be careful. Be careful.' They went at it really hard. I thought they might end up getting together and then we were going to have a real good day.

Q: Could you imagine a scenario where you would have to tell a guy to back off to let one of your other guys win, maybe if it were, for instance, to win a championship at the very end of a year?

Hendrick: The most I've ever said to one of our guys is, 'Hey, look at the big picture.' And they know what's at stake. We talk about it all the time. When it's all said and done, we've got to keep the unit together and keep everybody working on the same page. But you know, you're not going to tell a guy he's got to pull over or anything like that. You're just going to remind them to look at the big picture and then let their conscience be the guide.

Q: Could you talk about how you ended up putting Brad Keselowski in one of your Cup cars for two races later this season, beginning with the Oct. race at Lowe's Motor Speedway (read more)?

Hendrick: Dale [Earnhardt Jr.] kept talking about [Brad] and his talent. But I'll tell you when he really opened my eyes: I watched him in a number of Nationwide races and he did an extremely good job. But the job he did in Charlotte, when he was going at it with [Kyle] Busch and Denny Hamlin and they weren't intimidating him at all, was especially impressive. On a restart with 10 to go or 20 to go, to get in there and really dig and take it from a veteran -- to not give up anything but at the same time not be reckless or dangerous -- that impressed me.

So he's got the talent. He's competitive and he's got the desire. Then when I sat down with him and just listened to the maturity in his voice and how calculating he is, I realized he knows exactly what he wants. He's very driven but very professional about it. I have a tremendous amount of respect for people like that. So to me, he had the whole package.

Q: But why put him in a Cup car now?

Hendrick: He wasn't in any hurry [to get in a Cup car]. I told him before, 'You can have only one audience with the Pope. There's only one Grand Opening.' You've got to be careful that you pick the right time and you don't get in a position where you create a problem or go out there and you aren't the best prepared that you can be. By going out there for just a couple races here, there isn't any pressure. It's not going to be the end of the world if we don't even make the races. We would be disappointed, but we don't have sponsorship riding on it. We don't have to sell anything to anybody. We're out here just as part of a learning curve, and I'm looking forward to it. But there is not a doubt in my mind that he can't get it done. We've had him test back-to-back with our guys, and they've raced with him on the racetrack and seen the talent that he has. And then when the engineers and all the crew chiefs offered their feedback on him, they were like, 'The kid's really good. He feels the car and knows just what to do in the car, and knows exactly what he wants in the car.' And if he has this positive attitude outside of the car, I don't know how you can go wrong.

Q: When do you see possibly putting him in a Cup car on a longer basis, and is it possible he could split a ride with Mark Martin as early as 2010?

Hendrick: If you could get NASCAR to change the rules and let us add a fifth car, he'd probably be in one today. But he's not in any hurry, and we're not any hurry. We know we're going to have openings and situations that can change. But right now we're just focused on two things: one, we want to just run these two races and gain as much experience as we can; and then, two, we want to really go after the Nationwide championship hard next year, just like this year. We've been second in the points and we're up against some pretty tough competition. I'd love to have our RO7 motor in the car and then I think the world would be a lot different. But we're focused on the future, and he's a student of the sport.

He reminds me a lot of Jimmie Johnson. He wants to understand and he's interested in all the aspects of it, and not just showing up and driving the car. I think that's part of his family upbringing, that his family is a family of racers. He's just a really neat young man when you sit down and get to know what he's all about. He's got a road map to be successful, and I don't think he'll stray from that in any way. I'm sure going to try to help him get there, because I think he can offer a lot to our organization down the road.

Q: What did you mean by saying you wish you had the RO7 engine?

Hendrick: I'm talking about how it doesn't make any sense that we don't have our motor now. We're using the SB2 in the Nationwide Series. That's our old motor. We didn't want 'em to cut Toyota back [on horsepower], make it look like they were pulling Toyota back. We just wanted them to give us our motor.

We'll get it next year. We'll have it going into next year. I just never could understand why should there be a motor approved that is good for Cup, but it's not approved for the Nationwide Series. And there is no explanation that makes sense to me in that area. If the Dodge motor and the Toyota motor were approved for Cup and Nationwide, why would GM be the one that didn't have the motor approved [for Nationwide]?

Q: Well, what was the explanation offered by NASCAR that didn't make sense to you?

Hendrick: [They said,] 'You don't need it.' I think we won too many races or something.

Q: Speaking of Jimmie Johnson, what do you think of his chances of becoming only the second driver in the history of the sport to win three consecutive championships?

Hendrick: I think they're great. I have tried to find some weaknesses in his armor, but I've never seen it. The more competitive it gets, the more he'll cinch it up. He and [crew chief] Chad [Knaus] are both that way. They've got an awesome team around them, they want it really badly, and they're willing to do whatever it takes. With Chad, I don't know when the guy sleeps. He'll text me in the mornings, and he's always way ahead of me. That doesn't take a whole lot -- but he's always thinking about how to make that car better.

Calming voice

When Dale Earnhardt Jr. was complaining about a set of new tires on his No. 88 Chevrolet at New Hampshire, team owner Rick Hendrick joined the conversation to try and get his driver to focus.

And with Jimmie, I don't think anybody in the Chase, pound for pound, can outdrive him. If we don't have any bad luck, they're gonna have to beat him. That's kind of how I feel about it. He's peaking at the right time. I really look forward to Kansas. I think he's got something for 'em there, and in all the races coming up. He just knows how to do it. He's been there before, and so has Chad. This time of year, they just have some kind of magic that they kind of work. Anything can happen, but I like our chances.

Q: Can you compare Jimmie's hot streak the last three years to how Jeff Gordon was in the late 1990s?

Hendrick: They're a lot the same. If you go back and look at Jeff, he was just always there. And he was there again last year. But if you look at wins and statistics in the Chase, Jimmie has just had a phenomenal run. That's just total commitment. He's so focused -- from working out to driving to every piece of it. He's high energy. He and Chad both, they just switch on and it's hard to beat their record. There are a lot of good teams out there, but there won't be any team that works any harder, any team that wants it any more. Nobody is going to outwork 'em, and I don't think anybody has more talent than they do -- so they should be there.

Q: Do you ever struggle with deciding which pit box to sit on top of during a race, especially if two or more of your cars are in contention for a win?

Hendrick: No. If it's two of them battling for a win, I'll go to a neutral spot. I don't want it to look like I'm favoring one team over the other. I know where Victory Lane is, so that's where I'll head when it's over.

Q: How do you balance trying to help each of your drivers without any of them getting a little jealous about what you might be telling the other guy?

Hendrick (laughing): I usually tell them privately that they're each my favorite. We kid about that all the time. They all know I'm going to give them the best I can. I think I have a good relationship with all of my guys, personally and individually. I just try to encourage them to do the best they can, and then I'm the first one to tell them that if it doesn't work out, it's not life-threatening. We're all in this for the long haul. There is a balance you have to strike there. Do the best that you can, but then if it doesn't work out you have to realize that happens sometimes in life and you can't get too down about it. You've got to gear up to go again.

Q: Are you cool with Dale Jr. since your spirited in-race radio exchange at New Hampshire recently, when you tried to calm him down after he got upset with crew chief Tony Eury Jr. and his teammates?

Hendrick: It was cool after New Hampshire. I understand him and he understands me. He knows why I said what I did. One thing about Dale, we have an unbelievably good relationship. We enjoy being around each other, and he knows I'm just trying to help.

I couldn't ask for a better job than he did last Sunday [at Dover]. The car was just terrible. He had every reason to complain, and he just didn't. He knows those guys are working hard. I'm real proud of him for that. I'm sure there will be other times where he gets all excited, but I wasn't on the radio [during the race at Dover] other than to wish him good luck and listen. I try to help where I can, but I don't want to get in the way.