CONCORD, N.C. – As Hendrick Motorsports embarks on its 40th anniversary, the NASCAR Cup Series kicks off its year in California with the Clash at the Coliseum at the famed Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The race will take place on a purpose-built 0.25-mile track inside the historic venue.
RELATED: Everything to know for the Clash at the Coliseum
While the organization has yet to win the Clash in the two years it has been held in Los Angeles, the company has fared quite well in "The Golden State." Its 22 wins in California are the most by one team and have come at three tracks – Riverside International Raceway (three wins), Sonoma Raceway (seven wins) and Auto Club Speedway (12 wins). Their victory totals at Sonoma and Auto Club are the most by one team in each track’s history.
PHOTOS: Road course wins for Hendrick Motorsports
The first three California wins for Hendrick Motorsports came at Riverside, a 2.62-mile road course that hosted 48 Cup Series races from 1958 to 1988. Geoff Bodine’s win on Nov. 18, 1984, was just the third Cup win for the organization and its first on a serpentine layout. Tim Richmond would add two more wins at Riverside in 1986 and 1987.
RELATED: Historic cars and the stories behind them in the Hendrick Motorsports Museum
Jeff Gordon is responsible for five of the organization’s seven wins at Sonoma, including a run of three straight victories there from 1998 to 2000. Jimmie Johnson notched a win there in 2010, while Kyle Larson grabbed a victory in 2021. This road course has been a fixture on the schedule since 1989 (with no race there in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic). It is interesting to note that all seven of the team’s wins have come from California natives – Gordon was born in Vallejo, Johnson in El Cajon and Larson in Elk Grove.
Auto Club hosted 33 Cup Series races from 1997 to 2023 and Hendrick Motorsports won over one-third of those events, including the first one by Gordon. Johnson accounted for six of the team’s 12 wins at the 2-mile track followed by Gordon at three and Larson, Kyle Busch and Alex Bowman tallying one win apiece. Johnson’s win in 2002 and Busch’s triumph in 2005 were the first Cup Series wins for each and also marked the first victories for their respective crew chiefs, Chad Knaus and Alan Gustafson. Bowman's victory is the last to date for the No. 88.
RELATED: Every Hendrick Motorsports win at Auto Club Speedway
CALIFORNIA WINS LIST
Nov. 18, 1984: Geoff Bodine at Riverside
Nov. 16, 1986: Tim Richmond at Riverside
June 21, 1987: Richmond at Riverside
June 22, 1997: Jeff Gordon at Auto Club
June 28, 1998: Gordon at Sonoma
May 2, 1999: Gordon at Auto Club
June 27, 1999: Gordon at Sonoma
June 25, 2000: Gordon at Sonoma
April 28, 2002: Jimmie Johnson at Auto Club
May 2, 2004: Gordon at Auto Club
June 27, 2004: Gordon at Sonoma
Sept. 4, 2005: Kyle Busch at Auto Club
June 25, 2006: Gordon at Sonoma
Sept. 2, 2007: Johnson at Auto Club
Aug. 31, 2008: Johnson at Auto Club
Oct. 11, 2009: Johnson at Auto Club
Feb. 21, 2010: Johnson at Auto Club
June 20, 2010: Johnson at Sonoma
March 20, 2016: Johnson at Auto Club
March 1, 2020: Alex Bowman at Auto Club
June 6, 2021: Kyle Larson at Sonoma
Feb. 27, 2022: Larson at Auto Club