Combined, their organizations have won 1,338 races and 45 championships in NASCAR's top three series.
Among their 770 Cup Series victories are 17 Daytona 500s, 19 Brickyard 400s, 24 Coca-Cola 600s and 34 at iconic Darlington Raceway. Clearly, team owners Richard Childress, Rick Hendrick, Joe Gibbs, Roger Penske, Richard Petty and Jack Roush know a thing or two about racing.
But each of these owners are past what many accept as retirement age: Hendrick is 69, Childress is 73, Roush is 76, Gibbs is 78, Penske and Petty are each 81.
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Hendrick Motorsports
"I've gotta be out here at least one year longer than (fellow owner/automotive magnate) Roger Penske," Hendrick said, grinning at the thought before adding, "No ... just kidding." He quickly got serious: "Really, I love this and still enjoy it so much, and it's tied to my automotive businesses. My health is good, so I expect to be around for a long time."
Until his death in a 2004 plane crash, Ricky Hendrick was poised to take over at HMS.
Nowadays, Hendrick is grooming 47-year-old Jeff Gordon-a four-time Cup champion and 93-time winner-as his successor. "That's the way we're going," Hendrick said. "Whenever I finally step away, it'll be Jeff Gordon in my place."
Richard Childress Racing
"RC" turned 73 in the fall. It's a youngish 73 to be sure, but it's still 73, and in some ways, he seems as spry and competitive as when he incorporated in 1969.
"We have a succession plan in place," he said. "I'd rather not go through it, but we have people who can take over if I'm not here. We had a plan when we lost Dale (Earnhardt) in 2001 and that helped us keep going. That taught me that anybody with a business or an organization has to have a succession plan. Ours includes family and people I trust and can count on.
Team Penske
As expected, nothing at Team Penske is left to chance. While 81-year-old Roger rules the realm, Tim Cindric and Mike Nelson do most of the heavy lifting on the racing side. But most indicators are that Greg Penske, the Captain's 55-year-old son, will take the helm when his father retires.
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See much more on other team owners at Autoweek.