CONCORD, N.C. – On April 29th, 1984, Geoff Bodine led Hendrick Motorsports to its first ever NASCAR Cup Series win at Martinsville Speedway.
The historic victory marked the first of 24 wins at the venue, which leads all Cup Series teams at a track. Bodine’s win kicked off a streak of success at the Ridgeway, Virginia, track and was just the first of many firsts for the organization at Martinsville.
The day of Bodine’s monumental victory also brought with it the first laps led for the organization in the Cup Series. The driver led a total of 55 laps during the 500-lap race, but it was the final 49 that led him to Victory Lane.
Five years later, Darrell Waltrip won his first of nine races while driving for Hendrick Motorsports at Martinsville in September 1989.
Fast forward to 2015, when current Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott took to the track for his first career Cup Series race on March 29, 2015.
William Byron looks to make his Martinsville Cup Series debut this weekend at the track where the 20-year-old rookie attended his first Cup race as a fan in 2006.
The driver of the No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 will hope to join a list of 11 drivers that finished inside the top 10 in their first career start at Martinsville. That list also features Jeff Gordon, former driver of the No. 24 car, who claimed a top-10 in his first race at the venue in 1993.
The organization will look for more success this weekend at Martinsville Speedway, where it has won 35 percent of races won at the track, found Victory Lane at least once in 19 of 34 seasons and led 27 percent of laps raced.