Anytime the Hendrick Motorsports team heads to Martinsville, Virginia there are mixed emotions.  One of the organizations’ most successful tracks on the circuit, Martinsville has been home to some of HMS’ brightest and darkest moments.  This weekend, however, the team celebrated the 25^th anniversary of their first Cup Series victory which came on April 29, 1984 at Martinsville.

Honoring that day the only way they know how, teammates Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon battled for the lead much of the afternoon, with Johnson putting his Rick Hendrick-owned Chevrolet in victory lane. While the three-time defending champion celebrated the win, the other Hendrick cars were able to come home in the top-10.

That first victory for Mr. Hendrick came nearly 25 years ago thanks to the efforts by driver Geoff Bodine. 

“I didn't get to take a picture with Bodine 25 years ago, but we got to take one out there today with Jimmie,” Rick Hendrick said following Sunday’s win. “It was a special day. You know, any time you can win here, it was a heck of a race, it's really neat to be able to win one to celebrate the 25th, so excited.”

There is no doubt the entire Hendrick stable was gunning for victory lane extra hard during Sunday’s Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500. A week of hype leading up to the event both in house and in the media put the pressure of the teams to get the job done and they performed when it mattered most.

While Hendrick has enjoyed great success at the Martinsville Speedway (18 wins, 53 top-5s and 86 top-10s), the team also has a dark place in their heart for the half-mile track in the hills of Virginia. In 2004, a plane carrying members of the Hendrick family, engine builder Randy Dorton and others crashed en route to the speedway, killing all ten people on board. 

“You know, these guys, it's a special group and we're all family,” Hendrick went on to say. “We've got a lot -- there's a lot of mixed emotions when you fly up here. From the loss we had with my family, Randy Dorton and everybody. So you see 25 years, you see All-Star racing out there. We don't ever come here and we don't think about a lot of things. Everybody to the man today told me, I'd love to win this thing.  It's for the organization.

“So it's a special as any win and maybe more so than any win that I can ever remember,” Mr. H added. “So, this one was really neat.”

Following his impressive victory on Sunday, Jimmie Johnson pointed out the win meant more to honor the 25^th anniversary than to get his first win of 2009. 

“I guess definitely it's the fact that it's Rick's 25^th. I don't want to take anything away from how special it feels to win a race,” Johnson said of the importance of his win. “It's hard to put one above the other. I'm leaning towards the fact that it's the 25th anniversary.”

Crew chief Chad Knaus reiterated Johnson’s sentiments saying, “[It] means a lot to win here, 25 years after the first victory for Rick Hendrick, everybody at Hendrick Motorsports.  Hopefully it's only the first of the year.”

Since that first win at Martinsville twenty-five years ago, Hendrick Motorsports has become the dominant force in NASCAR racing.  176 victories, 693 top-5s, 1,146 top-10s and eight championships have put this team atop the racing pedestal. With performances such as Sunday’s at Martinsville, there is no doubt the Hendrick stable is still a dominant force and will remain so for years to come.