Gibbs, Hendrick Share Friendly Rivalry, Personal Grief
Rick Hendrick (l), Joe Gibbs (r)
(Photo courtesy of Imago)
By Dennis Krause
Joe Gibbs and Rick Hendrick, the two car owners involved in this weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series championship-deciding race at Phoenix Raceway, go way back.
When Gibbs, a three-time Super Bowl winning coach of the Washington Redskins, was looking to form a NASCAR Cup Series team in the early 90’s, he was put in touch with team owner Rock Hendrick. Hendrick, a self-described fan of Gibbs and the Redskins, was happy to oblige.
Little could either of them had known then how much their racing endeavors and personal lives would mirror each other. For the second time in four years, the two team owners will face off against each other for stock car racing’s biggest prize.
“Yeah. What it’s like? I don’t like it, okay (laughter),” replied Gibbs.
“I would prefer to go against somebody that’s not very good (smiling). The problem is that doesn’t happen in NASCAR. So to get to the Final 4 is just so hard. So now we got one race. We know what we’re up against, somebody that’s really, really good. Two cars in there for them (No. 5 Kyle Larson, No. 24 William Byron). Two for us (No. 11 Denny Hamlin, No. 19 Chase Briscoe).
“Hopefully this will be good for the fans and everybody and the excitement. Probably won’t be good for me. I’ll be so nervous and uptight about it (smiling).
“To get to the Final 4 is a thrill, and we’re thrilled to be in it. It’s great for our sponsors and our entire organization. You got to give Rick and them just all the credit in the world.”
According to Gibbs, Hendrick was instrumental in helping him form his team.
“It was really, really important for us. When I started thinking about trying, you got to remember, I was a football coach. I didn’t have anything. So when both boys, J.D. and Coy, we talked about getting in racing. Could we do that? Could you do something in NASCAR? Everybody referred me to Rick.
“Thank goodness he was a big Redskins fan. Got him to a football game. Get him to tell you that story where his shoes came apart on the sideline. He almost lost his toes, it was so cold. That was a story,” added Gibbs.
“Rick helped us a lot. He let his general manager at that time, kind of go with me to a lot of meetings. He just helped and gave advice. Then we started off originally leasing motors and everything from Rick.
“It was a huge deal for us, for us to be able to get off the ground. Rick played a huge role in that. I just really appreciate that.”
“Biggest mistake I made in racing was helping Joe Gibbs (smiling).”
“Oh, yeah,” recalled Hendrick. “Biggest mistake I made in racing was helping Joe Gibbs (smiling).
“No, Joe, I can’t believe it, but Joe has been kind of one of my idols. I love the Redskins. When I got a call from him, and I went up to camp, and then I went to a game when they were playing the Falcons. I think it was the Playoffs. It was cold, and I got off the tram. I started toward the field, and the bottom came off of my boot. I had one of these I guess mountain boots I hadn’t had on in a while. So the bottom came off.
“I go down on the field, and I’m standing in water. It’s freezing and sleeting, and I got no shoes on. I mean, I got the bottoms come off both of my boots.
“There’s Joe Gibbs up there. I’m like, Should I go up and try to ask him can he get me a pair of shoes or something (laughter)?
“After, when I told him, he said, You should have said something.
“I said, Man, all those bodyguards around you, if I walked up to you, I probably would have been put in jail.”
In addition to their success in NASCAR, each has suffered unimagined personal loss. Gibbs lost both of his sons; J.D. in 2019 to a neurological disorder and Coy who died in his sleep of unknown causes in November 2022. Hendrick’s son, Ricky, died in a plane crash in October 2004.
That shared heartache is something that binds the two team owners together.
“Yeah, I think Rick and I have talked a lot about that, our boys and the fact that they’re not here.”
“Yeah, I think Rick and I have talked a lot about that, our boys and the fact that they’re not here,” said Gibbs. “So we’ve had discussions about that, and it’s really hard. We both have experienced that.
“Yeah, I do know that with my two boys, and I’m sure with Ricky, their dream was to be a part of racing in the future. Certainly I think that’s what Rick kind of had planned. That’s what I had planned. Sometimes in life God has a different idea.
“We’re in a totally different place, both of us. But I think also we share a lot of similar heartbreaks. Anyway, that’s part of our life and that’s where we are now.
“I got my grandkids involved, (Coy’s widow) Heather involved. Everything is taking place here. I think my grandkids, a number of them, will want to be with the race team and be involved with it. That’s exciting for me. It’s not the way I thought it would go. Then again, God’s plans many times are not ours.”
“Joe and I have had some good times,” acknowledged Hendrick. “We’ve had some sad times together. There’s nobody I respect any more than I do Joe Gibbs and the great organization he’s put together. I mean, I admire the man for his strength, what he’s gone through.
“I lost a son. He’s lost both sons. We both had plans, and they kind of got shattered. We have a bond and a friendship that no matter what happens on the track, we talk during the weeks. If I win two races, he’s on me. I tell him, Now you’ve won three or four, now it’s time to quit and let us have a chance (smiling).
“We want to win, but we have tremendous respect for each other.”
Dennis Krause has spent decades covering all forms of motorsports, including over 40 Indianapolis 500s, with stints at WIBA Radio, PIT PASS - Radio’s Premier Motorsports Magazine and Motorsports Minute. Follow him on X @DennisKrause500 or motorsportsminute.bluesky.social or motorsportsminute on Threads or MotorsportsMinute+ on Facebook.