Drivers Who Got Their First Cup Win With Hendrick Motorsports

Since the week before shutting down All-Star Racing in 1984, Hendrick Motorsports has a long tradition of winning. 296 times in the Cup Series to be exact. But here are the drivers who scored their first career Cup Series victory with the Chevrolet Powerhouse.

It All Started With Geoff Bodine April 29, 1984

Geoff Bodine won 18 times for Hendrick Motorsports, But it all started at Martinsville for both Hendrick and Bodine. 

Bodine at the 1984 Sovian Bank 500 at Martinsville. Image Credit unfound

Kyle Busch. California (2) 2005

He would go on to become the winningest driver in the history of the sport. In 2005, the hothead rookie from Las Vegas scored his first career win in Hendrick's iconic #5 Chevrolet Monte Carlo. Kyle would win a total of 4 races for the organization in Cup.

Casey Mears. Charlotte Coca-Cola 600 2007

Casey Mears would score his first and only career win for Hendrick in the #25 National Guard Chevrolet in the sports longest race. A fuel gamble paid off for the young driver and became the last win in the Hendrick #25. 

Chase Elliott. Watkins Glen 2018

Chase Elliott finished runner up 7 times before he was finally able to pull it off halfway through his 3rd full-time season as a driver at the Glen. Elliott would save just enough fuel to make it to the finish line only to run out on the cooldown lap. He was famously pushed to the line by teammate Jimmie Johnson. Since then he has 18 victories with HMS. 

William Byron. Daytona (2) 2020

Young Willy B scored his first Cup win at the perfect time to lock himself into the Playoffs at the summer Daytona cutoff race in 2020. Since that race, Byron has gone on to win at least 2 races a year adding up to 7 so far in his short career. He is also the driver to bring the HMS 24 car win total over 100. 

Ken Schrader. Talladega (2) 1988

In his only season on the team, Ken Schrader would go on to score his first career win at the Summer Talladega race in the #25 Chevrolet for Rick Hendrick. This would be his first of 4 wins for the team during his 9 year stint with the team. 

Jerry Nadeau. Atlanta (2) 2001

Jerry scored his first and only Cup win behind the wheel of the No. 25 in the NAPA 500 at the season ending race at Atlanta. Jerry would run nearly 2 1/2 seasons for the team before being released in 2002. 

Brian Vickers. Talladega (2) 2006

Vickers ran 3 Full seasons for HMS starting in 2003 after a few starts in 2002. He would score his first career win with 6 races to go in 2006 in a very controversial finish after he spun teammate Jimmie Johnson and fan favorite Dale Jr on the final lap. 

Alex Bowman. Chicagoland 2019

Bowman got his start in Cup for 2 years in start-and-park rides and with no apparent future in the series in 2016, he was tasked to fill in for Dale Jr in the No. 88 nearly winning the fall Phoenix race. He would finally get that win in 2019 at Chicagoland holding off future teammate Kyle Larson and getting stuck in the grass during his burnout. He now has 7 wins for the team. 

Jeff Gordon. Charlotte Coca-Cola 600 1994

Gordon would score an emotional first career victory in the 1994 Coca-Cola 600 for Hendrick Motorsports, crying in victory lane. He would go on to be the winningest driver in the team's history and the winningest in the Modern-era with 93, two records that are likely to never be broken. 

Jeff Gordon celebrating his first career win at Charlotte's Coke 600 in 1994. Image: NASCAR HoF

Jimmie Johnson. California 2002

In his 13th career start, Jimmie Johnson, future 7x Champion, would score his first Cup Series victory at California Speedway. Johnson would go on to win 83 times for HMS before retiring from full-time competition in 2020 and buying into his own team in 2023. 

By: Tom Luttermoser