He started with one Chevy franchise in a cornfield. Now he runs a $14 billion empire and NASCAR’s greatest dynasty.
Rick Hendrick doesn’t talk about culture — he builds it. Fifty years in the car business, 40 years in racing, 304 NASCAR Cup Series wins, and a people-first philosophy that has outlasted oil embargoes, 20% interest rates, a financial crisis, and a global pandemic. This is the story of how he did it.
In Episode 69 of Full Throttle, Jason Stein sits down with Rick Hendrick for a wide-ranging conversation about what it really takes to build something that lasts — recorded live at Hendrick Motorsports in Charlotte, NC.
What’s inside:
- The COVID decision to pay every employee rather than lay anyone off — and what his CFO told him
- Why employee satisfaction always comes before customer satisfaction
- The cornfield Chevy dealership in Bennettsville, SC that started it all
- How Hendrick Motorsports almost shut down after six races
- Jeff Gordon as Vice Chairman and what he brings to the organization
- The GM Cadillac Formula One engine facility being built on his campus
- Rolling out AI across 135+ stores — from an admitted “old car dog”
- Why the Hendrick family committed to staying private for the next 50 years