As president of Hendrick Motorsports, Jeff Andrews executes a lofty vision in the power of “all of us.”

Like many racing professionals, Jeff Andrews grew up around racers and race tracks, and he started his career assembling engines for racing teams. But after he went to work for Hendrick Motorsports, the organization saw leadership potential in him. Andrews progressed through management ranks and today serves as president and general manager of Hendrick Motorsports, one of the most successful organizations in NASCAR history.
We caught up with Andrews to ask him for the Hendrick recipe for success, and to explain how a wrench spinner ends up in the corner office. What we got is a master class on motivating and facilitating excellence in motorsports and in life.

PRI: Tell us a bit about yourself and how you got to be president of Hendrick Motorsports.
Andrews: I’m originally from Fresno, California, and I grew up in a rich environment out there, racing in the Central Valley of California. My dad had always been involved in racing in the Central Valley, mainly on the engine side. So I grew up in it, spent weekends at the race tracks, and I got an opportunity.
I grew up with Billy Vukovich III, and also a good friend of my dad’s was [Indy car builder] Fred Gerhardt out there in Fresno. Between those two, I was urged to take an opportunity in my early 20s to go professional racing. That started with an introduction to Dennis Swan, who ran Shierson Racing at the time. I took that opportunity and worked for Shierson for two years in the engine shop. When that program closed down, I was given an opportunity to go to work for Penske Racing and their engine program. I was there for three years. Those two teams were my start in professional motorsports.
Then I had an opportunity to meet Randy Dorton at Hendrick Motorsports. Randy offered me a job at the end of the 1991 race season, and I moved down here to Charlotte. I’ve been with Hendrick ever since, so 32 years. I assembled engines for Randy for many years, and then he started giving me some managerial opportunities. Long story short, I ended up overseeing some different areas of the program for Randy, and then sadly, when Randy passed away in 2004, Mr. Hendrick graciously looked to me to help him continue that program.

I did that until 2016, and then I was given an opportunity by Mr. Hendrick to move within the company to vice president of competition for the whole company. I did that until the 2021 season, at which time Mr. Hendrick offered me the president and general manager role.
PRI: It’s fairly unusual for somebody to go from a hands-on engine assembler into upper management. Was there more to that story, or did you just have a knack for it?
Andrews: I like people and I enjoy working with people. I enjoy passing along the values of Mr. Hendrick and the work ethic, and I enjoy motivating and rewarding people. I think if you asked me one of the hardest things in my career, quite honestly was watching the team win a race when I was not the engine assembly man anymore. I was not solely responsible for that race part. I’m not saying it came naturally, but it took some time for me to get used to a role where I was contributing to the company more on a global basis than just an individual team member with a job of building engines for one race car. But as I did it, I enjoyed it, and I found myself with even more of a rewarding position within the company.
PRI: What drives you to succeed?
Andrews: I learned to be part of something bigger and not just me. I use Mr. Hendrick’s slogan when I talk about it: “All of us are better than any one of us.” So, all of us together are better than any one of us alone. Early in my career, I hadn’t grasped that concept yet, but the Hendrick culture teaches you to be part of the team, part of an organization in which we all need each other. And as I learned that, I appreciated it and I found value in it, and I enjoy passing that value on and motivating our folks. I don’t need to be that guy in Victory Lane in front of the camera. I like being that guy who knows I helped contribute. I helped give them the tools that they need to go out and do the great things they do, whether it’s people or technology or physical machinery and tools.

PRI: What do you do with your days and how do you work with Jeff Gordon and Mr. Hendrick?
Andrews: I report directly to Jeff Gordon. I have to say about Jeff, he’s one of the most impressive individuals I’ve been around in terms of his understanding of the business, whether it be marketing or our relationship with NASCAR or Chevrolet. I’ve learned a lot from Jeff, and I continue to do so. Obviously, he learned a lot of that from Mr. Hendrick. But on a day-to-day, week-to-week basis, Jeff and I meet about three to four times a week on different topics, or we are involved in different meetings.
As to my work week, on a Monday we’re reviewing the race weekend and how did that go? That involves meeting with the drivers and crew chiefs, the competition side of the company. My role is just listening in on that and being there for guidance or help. Then the rest of the week, I have meetings and we talk about either personnel or about NASCAR rules. We talk about our race teams, our staffing, all those things. I’m relying on the people under me and I’m meeting with them, listening to them, offering advice, giving direction.
Sometimes those are financial decisions that we’re talking about. Sometimes those are competitive decisions if our performance isn’t where it needs to be. Sometimes we’re having a lot of discussions on NASCAR and rules. Sometimes we can be having some discussions on capital expenditures, and all this stuff is just kind of rolled into a week. Of course, at the top of the list is competition. I want to help those three or four key individuals stay sharp and give them the tools they need to make sure we’re executing and winning on a weekly basis.
PRI: Hendrick Motorsports is one of the most successful teams in NASCAR history. What would you say is your secret ingredient for success?
Andrews: I would say it’s our culture. It’s a culture of winning. Mr. Hendrick will tell you this anytime you talk to him, that it’s all about our people fostering and creating an environment in which people can thrive and work and succeed. And we have a respect for each other. Let me start with that. I think we respect each other first and foremost, and that’s easier said than done at times within big companies. Let’s be honest, racing has egos, right?
Egos exist, and they can be a real problem and a real distraction, but when things aren’t going well, it’s easy to say, “That’s not my area to work on,” or get yourself into a silo. But this company doesn’t do that. Our culture is to treat each other with dignity and respect, and we work as a team. I used the phrase before, no one of us is better than all of us together, and we live by that.

PRI: That’s a great philosophy, but there has to be an edge to it as well. If you’re going to be part of a winning team, you have to be able to perform at a certain level. How do you guys deal with weak links?
Andrews: Of course, we have our issues internally, and we do manage those kinds of things. I start with the Hendrick name and what’s expected. I’ll use our crew chiefs as an example because those are our highest-ranking team members over the race teams. There are four different personalities there, four different individuals who each have their own personality, and each one runs his race team a little bit differently. We allow that, we nurture that, we like to watch that, and they all do a great job.
I think one thing that we have is the fact that those four individuals believe in each other. They trust each other, they share information, and they generally want to see each other succeed. We’ve not always had that. When that happened, we have had to go and make swift changes because you’ll tear a team down from the inside far quicker than you’ll tear it down from the outside. If you’re not performing, and the media’s talking about you, and race teams are pointing fingers at you, we can withstand all those things. But when we start to tear ourselves down from the inside, and we don’t have good leadership or we don’t have trust in teammates, that’s an obvious problem.
I think one of the things we weed out the quickest is if you’re going to look at the driver and you’re going to look at the crew chief and you’re going to point fingers. That’s because you’re a part of that team, and you’re responsible for that team’s performance. If you can’t fit into that and be part of the solution, you’re either on the bus or you’re one foot out the door. Those are some of the tougher things that we have to deal with. It’s very black and white. You’re either with us or you’re not. You can’t be with us in victory lane and with us for championships, and then be off the bus two weeks later when Hendrick Motorsports is in a bit of a slump, and just get back on when things are going good. We look for strong team members who we know will have our back when we’re going to battle.
PRI: That’s a great answer, and to build on that, what do you look for in people you’re going to hire at Hendrick Motorsports, whether that’s a guy sweeping the floor or a crew chief?
Andrews: Of course, there’s the talent aspect, but the one thing that means the most to us is that “can-do, will-do” type of attitude and work ethic. We’re looking for young folks who want to work hard, who want to succeed, and who want to be a part of something bigger than just one person. It’s the same with our drivers. To sum up your question, what are we looking for? We’re looking for someone who wants to be a part of something and not just be something.
PRI: Hendrick Motorsports is known for its charity work, whether it’s Mr. Hendrick buying cars at auction for charity or the various foundations you support. How does that integrate with the business side of the entire enterprise?
Andrews: That starts with the Hendrick family. There are multiple charities and organizations that they support nationally and throughout our community here in Charlotte. That’s a prime example of what the Hendrick name means. The name and culture are associated with success, but it should also be known that the Hendrick name is associated with giving and caring and taking care of people and communities. We just finished a huge spring meal drive where our people go down to food banks in different places and box up meals for different charities.
PRI: NASCAR has been testing hybrid and even all-electric powertrains in different cars. Where do you think NASCAR technology is headed in 10 years? Do you think that they might go hybrid or electric? And if they did, would that change the nature of NASCAR racing?
Andrews: In my opinion, there’s change coming, and I think you’ll see a change in technology within the industry. There’s an image out there that NASCAR is this sport from the 1950s and ’60s and ’70s, and the technology level is not that of F1 or IndyCar or other professional motorsports. I would challenge that. I would challenge anyone who has that belief, respectfully, to come to our facility to see the tools, to see the processes that we work with, to see what we use. We are a sport of emerging technology. Obviously, there are guidelines and precautions that we have to take, and the economy that we have to work in to succeed. Hendrick Motorsports is a privately held company, and it races in the NASCAR series under that sanctioning body, but the teams are solely responsible for our financial models, and our success financially depends on the sponsors and partners we attract by the success of our drivers. We’re not supporting ourselves based off winnings. We have to have partners and sponsors to keep our company going.
What I’m getting to is that there’s a lot of speculation right now about another OEM [automaker] that NASCAR wants to bring into the market. While we support that and we want to see that, we have to be very careful that the financial responsibility of another OEM does not fall back on the race teams in the form of complete spec or engine architecture or vehicle changes that end up costing existing race teams a ton of money. I want to reiterate that change needs to happen for the health of our sport. We need multiple OEMs in our sport, and we welcome whoever is coming next.
That leads me to the technology side. I think the same principle has to be applied to the technology that comes into our sport. Our finances are fixed, our OEMs are set on what they’re going to spend on this sport and what they’re going to put into our companies. So whether it’s EV or hybrid, we’re going to support the direction that General Motors and Chevrolet want to see in our series. We’ll work with Chevrolet to not only support that in NASCAR, but also support that and develop that within our team.

PRI: Along the same lines, NASCAR has been very outspoken supporting social change at its events. The ban on confederate flags is the most obvious example. Does Hendrick Motorsports do anything in support of that effort?
Andrews: Speaking on behalf of Hendrick Motorsports, we welcome any social change and any fairness that is going on in the world today. Our company is very, very supportive of all those initiatives. The world is changing and not only in racing and NASCAR. We have to be smarter as a world and more respectful of humankind in general. We participate in several programs, a lot of them through NASCAR, some of them through our individual drivers. Kyle Larson supports a group called the Urban Youth Racing League out of Philadelphia, which is dedicated to getting minority folks in, not just from a driving side, but getting young folks interested in our sport.
PRI: Is there anything I have not asked you about that you would want to put on the record?
Andrews: I would just want to make sure to note that Mr. Hendrick has probably the biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever met. Many of us have witnessed many, many times, when he and his family take the time to take care of somebody in need. Not only with material things, but over and over as our leader. What amazes me about him, and I don’t know that folks really understand, is just how involved he still is today and how passionate he is. He’s on our calls, talking to our drivers and talking to Jeff and myself and our crew chiefs, making sure that everybody knows that he still has this hunger to win, whether it’s in selling vehicles or winning races.
The unique thing that this builds is an environment where we come to work every day wanting to make him proud. We want his respect. We strive for that all the time, and he makes you want to be better, whether it’s at the race track, at the shop, or in your home life. That builds a sense of pride within our company. We call it “Protect the H,” and the H is our brand. I always go back to our culture. It’s about respect, and we as leaders of our company stand for nothing less than for the Hendrick brand and its name to be respected as the very best.