Racing in NASCAR’s top division is hard. Staying at that level for years, even decades?
That’s even harder.
Hendrick Motorsports’ 40th anniversary season celebration took place Sunday at Martinsville Speedway, the site of the team’s first win. Four ruby-red cars (40 years is the ruby anniversary) took the green flag in front of many former Hendrick personnel.
The broadcast made a big deal out of the anniversary. It probably got talked about too much during the race, but it is a big deal.
Teams come and go in the Cup Series.
How hard is it to stick around? A look at the spring Martinsville race just 10 years ago is eye-opening. That race featured 43 starters among 22 team owners. Just eight of those teams fielded cars Sunday. The teams that have since fallen by the wayside include winners and even a Cup championship organization. A couple of the owners still have cars in the Xfinity Series, but have left the Cup Series.
But how many owners have hit the 40-year mark in the Cup Series? Hendrick became the sixth this year. Only four teams have made 40 or more consecutive seasons on NASCAR’s top circuit.
Let’s take a closer look at the 4-decade club and what those six owners have accomplished.
Wood Brothers Racing: 71 years
Wins: 99 among 19 drivers
Championships: none
Races: 1,731 among 45 drivers
Most wins: David Pearson (43)
Most recent win: Ryan Blaney 6/11/17
Petty Enterprises: 60 years
Wins: 268 among drivers
Championships: 10 between 2 drivers (Lee Petty 3, Richard Petty 7)
Races: 2,817 among 52 drivers
Most wins: Richard Petty (198)
Most recent win: John Andretti 4/18/99
Richard Childress Racing: 51 years
Wins: 116 among 11 drivers
Championships: 6 (Dale Earnhardt 6)
Races: 3,300 among 42 drivers
Most wins: Dale Earnhardt (67)
Most recent win: Kyle Busch 6/4/23
Junie Donlavey Racing: 45 years
Wins: 1, Jody Ridley
Championships: none
Races: 863 among 64 drivers
Most wins: Jody Ridley (1)
Most recent win: Jody Ridley 5/17/81
Team Penske: 41 years
Wins: 139 among 9 drivers
Championships: 4 among 3 drivers
Races: 2,442 among 20 drivers
Most wins: Rusty Wallace (37)
Most recent win: Ryan Blaney 10/29/23
Hendrick Motorsports: 40 years
Wins: 305 among 20 drivers
Championships: 14 among 5 drivers (Jeff Gordon 4, Terry Labonte 1, Jimmie Johnson 7, Chase Elliott 1, Kyle Larson 1)
Races: 4,737 among 52 drivers
Most wins: Jeff Gordon (93)
Most recent win: William Byron 4/7/24
Donlavey is a bit of an outlier in that the team didn’t enjoy major success during its tenure. The other teams are among NASCAR’s elite and they all have multiple wins and hundreds of races behind them.
The active teams have more races in their log books mainly because multi-car teams are common today — Hendrick has four full-time Cup cars in 2024 and Penske three plus satellite Wood Brothers, for whom it provides cars. Childress is currently at two full-time efforts, but has had three and four in the past. Petty Enterprises had a higher winning percentage than Hendrick because they fielded cars in fewer races, though Hendrick has more total wins.
Hendrick also boasts the most winning drivers at 20, with just two holding more than half the total. Petty has almost two-thirds of his family team’s victories and Earnhardt has more than half of RCR’s total.
In 75 years of NASCAR racing, just these six have reached the four-decade mark. Roush Racing/Roush Fenway Racing/RFK Racing (37 years with Jack Roush) and Joe Gibbs Racing (33 years) are getting closer to that number.
The recipe for longevity?
In general, it’s winning. With the exception of Donlavey, whose longevity comes more from desire than success, the ones who last have multiple wins with multiple drivers and usually titles with at least one. Winning doesn’t guarantee many years at the top, but it’s the biggest part of the recipe.
TV might have overhyped it Sunday, but 40 years in the Cup Series is a big deal.
Amy is an 20-year veteran NASCAR writer and a six-time National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) writing award winner, including first place awards for both columns and race coverage. As well as serving as Photo Editor, Amy writes The Big 6 (Mondays) after every NASCAR Cup Series race. She can also be found working on her bi-weekly columns Holding A Pretty Wheel (Tuesdays) and Only Yesterday (Wednesdays). A New Hampshire native whose heart is in North Carolina, Amy’s work credits have extended everywhere from driver Kenny Wallace’s website to Athlon Sports. She can also be heard weekly as a panelist on the Hard Left Turn podcast that can be found on AccessWDUN.com's Around the Track page.