Hendrick Motorsports has a long, entrenched history of winning in NASCAR with the likes of Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Terry Labonte and Darrell Waltrip.
But the team’s winning ways began with Geoff Bodine.
Hendrick Motorsports and Kasey Kahne will honor Bodine by using his Levi Garrett paint scheme from the 1985 season in the Sept. 3 Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.
Kahne and his No. 5 Chevrolet will be sponsored by Great Clips.
Bodine raced for Hendrick Motorsports from 1984-89 and won seven times. Among those was his victory in the 1986 Daytona 500, which was Hendrick Motorsports’ first of eight wins in the “Great American Race.”
Kahne’s paint scheme is the third throwback scheme in Cup to be announced for the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, joining Ryan Blaney’s and Brad Keselowski’s.
Bodine made his first Cup start in the 1979 Daytona 500 and his last in the 2011 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. In the intervening 32 years, Bodine made 575 starts and earned 18 wins. His first, in the April 1984 Martinsville race, also was the first Cup win for Hendrick Motorsports.
Go back to 1985 with @kaseykahne's @GREATracing replica of Geoff Bodine's No. 5 Levi Garrett Chevrolet.
— Hendrick Motorsports (@TeamHendrick) June 14, 2017
See it @TooToughToTame Sept. 3. pic.twitter.com/vEPtqzCZoJ