Business F1 Top 20 Petrolheads: Rick Hendrick, a Showman and a Racer

Rick Hendrick was born in 1949, in the right place at the right time for his future career. Indeed, North Carolina was becoming the centre of American motor racing. Hendrick was immediately fascinated by that world, so much so that his love affair with the automobile lasted a lifetime. A story that had a car at its centre: the Chevrolet Corvette. Hendrick started working in his father's used car dealership and this experience laid the foundation for all his future endeavours. Thus, at the age of 14, he started motor racing in drag races with a 1931 Chevrolet that he had modified himself, proving that he had 'the bump' in mechanics. Before the age of 20, he had already opened a workshop with Mike Leith, who owned a new car dealership next door. Leith immediately recognised his talent, so much so that three years later he appointed him general manager of the dealership.

In 1976, at the age of 26, Hendrick went into business for himself and bought a Chevrolet dealership with his savings. That was only the beginning: today it has 93 dealerships with 10,000 employees in 13 states and an annual turnover of USD 11 billion with over 200,000 cars per year.