When you’re the owner of Hendrick Motorsports [1] and one of the of the most powerful automotive entities in the world (Hendrick Automotive Group), certain things come a bit easy – like the ability to own what is quite possibly one of the largest and most complete Corvette collections in the world, with many additional rare and sought-after vehicles also sprinkled throughout.
Hendrick Motorsports currently fields four full-time Sprint Cup teams with Kasey Kahne, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. piloting the machines that have won 10 car owner championships since 1984. Hendrick Automotive Group has more than 100 retail automotive franchises across 13 states, along with collision centers and other automotive-related businesses also under the umbrella.
[2]But Rick Hendrick has a passion for all motorsports, not just NASCAR left-turn-only machines and new cars. His private car collection is absolutely incredible, and takes up a huge warehouse facility in the Charlotte area.
Hendrick explains that there are nearly 150 Corvettes on the property, from Pace Cars to 427 Sting Rays to a ’68 L88, to a Corvette owned by a king and another one formerly owned by Roy Orbison – and the very first of the legendary ZR1 Corvettes ever produced.
The Corvette is the car that Hendrick always coveted as a young child, and is part of what drove him to establish the conglomerate he presides over today.
His love affair for the automobile continues with the Camaro – he’s got VIN #1 from the Camaro’s rebirth in 2010 along with one of his record-setting drag boats and one of Don Prudhomme’s Top Fuel dragsters. The place is certifiably awesome, and it’s a shame that the closest most of us will ever get to seeing it is by watching this video.
Perhaps the most interesting tidbit from the entire video is that his favorite current car isn’t a Corvette, or a Camaro, or any of the other lusted-after machines in the collection, but a ’31 Chevy that’s had a Corvette engine transplanted and was built by Hendrick and his father back when he was 14 years old. Sentimental value goes a long way.
Watch the video from Charlotte TV station WCNC [3] and enjoy an awesome car collection.