“In some of the darkest hours of my life, they’ve been there”: When Rick Hendrick heaped praise for NASCAR during a Hall of Fame indictment

Hendrick Motorsports billionaire owner Rick Hendrick has numerous accolades to his name, courtesy of his NASCAR venture which is currently the winningest among all, having 312 wins. During the 2015 Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame speech, Hendrick expressed his gratitude to NASCAR for their support.

Before becoming a household name in the high-octane sport, Mr. Hendrick braved some dark phases, including when he was about to shut down a few months after entering the sport. Since 1984, HMS has been home to the most dominant drivers NASCAR has ever seen. The former drivers include seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, four-time NASCAR title winner Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Kyle Busch, to name a few.

By the end of the 2014 season, Rick Hendrick's team recorded six wins, 28 top-5s, and 49 top-10s at the Texas Motor Speedway. As a result, the team owner became the 17th individual to get indicted in the Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame.

Much of his indictment can be accredited to Jimmie Johnson's Texas win in 2014 and Chase Elliott's victory that made him the first Xfinity rookie to win at Texas Motor Speedway. Elliott won the 2015 Texas Motor Speedway Racer of the Year Award for his season.

During his speech, Hendrick expressed that he was thankful he could pursue the two things he liked the most outside of his family life -racing and his automobile business. The team owner also praised NASCAR for supporting during the 'darkest hours' of his life.

“This sport’s been so good to me. In some of the darkest hours of my life, NASCAR’s been there. I’ve been to the top of the mountain and all of my friends have been with us. But in any business you’re in today, it’s all about people,” Hendrick said via HMS official release.

Currently, Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman, and William Byron are taking HMS' legacy forward.

NASCAR has contributed to Hendrick's exponential success. However, if Geoff Bodine hadn't driven for the team in 1984, there would be no HMS today.

When Rick Hendrick decided to shutdown HMS' NASCAR operations

Rick Hendrick entered NASCAR with five employees running for HMS, then known as the All-Star Racing team. But after a few months, the money dried and sponsorship wasn't enough to replenish the drought. It instigated the billionaire to shut down the operations but Harry Hyde and Geoff Bodine saved the team from getting doomed.

Bodine was a legendary modified racer with plenty of experience at the Martinsville Speedway, the venue where HMS decided to give its final shot. Hyde believed in Bodine and persuaded Hendrick to bring the dirt racer on board for the Martinsville Cup race.

Things were about to fall apart but Bodine dominated the final 49 laps and won the race. As a result, sponsorships poured in for the following races and Rick Hendrick never looked back thereafter.

"That was a pivotal race. We had decided to shut the doors because we didn't have a sponsor and couldn't go any further. Harry (Hyde) said, 'Hey, Geoff (Bodine) is good at Martinsville (Speedway). Let's go to that race. We won that and got a sponsor, Northwestern Security Life and then Levi Garrett came on," Hendrick said via HMS.

It's worth mentioning that Rick Hendrick was at a Greensboro Church when his fate turned around for good and was informed by his mother that Bodine aced the Martinsville race.