Current, past Hendrick Motorsports drivers gather to share stories in exclusive SPEED special

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick, his current drivers and some of his past drivers gather to reflect on Hendrick Motorsports’ road to a milestone 200 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victories in an exclusive one-hour special premiering Nov. 11 at 8 p.m. ET on SPEED.

Hendrick moderates the group’s discussion in Beyond 200:  The Hendrick Motorsports Story, produced by Emmy® Award-winning NASCAR Productions. The show captures behind-the-scenes anecdotes and emotional revelations along the path to greatness for this storied organization. The past meets the present as current Hendrick Motorsports drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Kasey Kahne join past drivers Geoff Bodine, Terry Labonte, Ken Schrader and Darrell Waltrip to share tales in the one-hour special.

“It’s rare we have the opportunity to not only witness such an assembly of iconic NASCAR drivers but also to eavesdrop as they reminisce and tell stories none of us have heard before,” said SPEED President Scott Ackerson. “For NASCAR fans and those of us in the industry, this SPEED special is like a front-row invitation to a once-in-a-lifetime Hendrick Motorsports reunion.”

It will be many years before another team approaches the 200-win milestone; however, Hendrick Motorsports’ history runs deeper than mere statistics and figures. Beyond 200:  The Hendrick Motorsports Story is a story of family, both at home and within the race team, as revealed in the special by Hendrick and some of the drivers who captured those 200 checkered flags.

Hendrick Motorsports, gunning for its 11th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship, looks to build on its already impressive legacy as Johnson sits atop the standings, two points ahead of Brad Keselowski with three races remaining in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. A NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship in 2012 would come 17 years after Gordon captured Hendrick’s first title in the sport’s premier series.  

Highlights from the special include:

•Bodine relays to Earnhardt Jr. tales about swapping sheet metal with his father, Dale Earnhardt Sr.
•Schrader finally exacts some revenge on Gordon for wrecking him at Talladega
•Hendrick reveals why the "Dream Team" with Waltrip failed and why that dissolution ultimately was best for Hendrick Motorsports
•Earnhardt Jr. reveals why his father was once furious with Schrader
•Johnson shares a story of his friendship with Ricky Hendrick and a mishap that ensued
•Hendrick, Gordon and Johnson recall the emotional aftermath of the plane accident that involved 10 members of the Hendrick Motorsports family

(Photo courtesy of Scott Hunter/NASCAR)