It's been a Hall-of-Fame week for Rick Hendrick.
First, he was chocen for induction into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame.
Then, he was chosen for induction into the National Corvette Hall of Fame.The honors show that he is much more than just a "car guy."
Hendrick is a familiar personality to anyone who follows the American automotive industry or auto racing at any level. His dealership empire, which includes the Hendrick Durham Mall, encompasses 13 states and nearly 100 dealerships. His NASCAR operation has won 15 championships.
Perhaps more impressive than his business success could be his killer car collection - of which the most recent addition is the first Z06 Corvette Stingray that he purchased for $1 million at an auction benefitting cancer reseatch.
In an article posted to the Hendrick Motorsports Web site, Hendrick is described as one of the "most influential individuals in the history of the Corvette."
He said he considers induction into the Corvette Hall of Fame a bigh honor:
“I can’t tell you how excited I am to be selected," Hendrick said. "My love for Corvettes goes back to when I was a teenager, and it was the love for the car that got me into racing and the automobile business."
Hendrick, a car collector for more than 30 years, owns a large collection of Corvettes that includes many of the first and last in models and generations.
As reported in a 2014 article in USA Today, Hendrick's grandchildren ultimately will own three of Hendrick's Corvettes. He bought each of the cars on the day a respective grandchild was born and plans to present a Corvette to each grandchild on the landmark 16th birthday.
The Corvette Hall of Fame was founded in 1998 by the National Corvette Museum Board of Directors. Entry into the Hall recognizes "those people who have made significant contributions to their respective fields, each having reached the highest level of accomplishment. Inductees must also possess the highest standards of integrity and character to positively reflect and enhance the prestige of the Corvette and the National Corvette Museum."
Hendrick is entering the Hall in the category of Enthusiast, in the Racing and GM/Chevrolet categories, respectively.
"To be honored at a place where so many of the Corvette greats are honored (is) just humbling," Hendrick said. "I never dreamed that I'd be recognized in such a way."
The Corvette Hall of Fame announcement kept Hendrick in the automotive spotlight just days after his induction into the N.C. Sports Hall of Fame was announced. Given what Hendrick has meant to the sport of auto racing, that announcement was no surprise.
In the 30 years since he started Hendrick Motorsports in 1984, the organization has grown from five employees to more than 500. It has achieved victory in at least one Winston/Sprint Cup-level race in each season since 1986 - the longest active streak in the sport.
A native of North Carolina, born in Warrenton, Hendrick in 1996 won the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, among the most prestigious awards presented by the Governor of North Carolina to individuals who have a proven record of extraordinary service to the state. Contributions to their communities, extra effort in their careers, and many years of service to their organizations are some of the guidelines by which recipients are selected for this award.
Hendrick's Corvettes may mean more to him than any honors or accolades. And there is at least one other big fan of his collection.
"A lady called me about 10 years ago and said she had heard that I collect Corvettes," he told USA Today in 2014. "She said her husband had died. She wanted to sell his 1957 Corvette, but she wanted it to have a good home. She wanted me to promise that she could come here to see it and that I wouldn't sell it at (the well-known) Barrett-Jackson (auction). I said: 'You've got a deal.' Every year, she brings her friends down from Virginia Beach to look at the car."
