This week the Cars On Line newsletter announced that some actual NASCAR race cars have been put up for sale. Newsletter readers are in for a treat. Rick Hendrick’s muscle car shop in Concord, North Carolina is selling some of the treasures in the Hendrick Collection. Among them is Mark Martin’s 2009 Chevy Impala NASCAR race car which won two Cup races that year. Also included in the sale are the 2011 Dale Earnhardt National Guard NASCAR race car and a 2011 Chevy Monte Carlo Lowe’s Jimmie Johnson NASCAR race car. This is a collector coup, buying actual NASCAR race cars. But buying them from the legendary Rick Hendrick himself? That is an opportunity of a lifetime for any collector.
The Mark Martin 2009 Chevy Impala NASCAR race car actually won at Phoenix International Raceway in April and New Hampshire Motor Speedway in September of 2009. Chassis #5-538 is a “Car of Tomorrow” (COT) Impala SS that was raced by Mark Martin seven times during the 2009 Cup season. In addition to these wins the car garnered five Top 5 finishes and never finished outside the Top 20. This successful chassis was eventually retired after the 2009 season.
Hendrick Motorsports Chassis #88-616 is a 2010 Chevy Impala SS NASCAR race car. It is recognized as a “Car of Tomorrow” (COT) Impala that possesses unique history as it was campaigned by both Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. during the 2010 and 2011 Cup seasons. Jeff Gordon piloted the car at the September 2010 New Hampshire Sylvania 300 where he brought home a fourth place finish. Jeff also raced this car the next month at Martinsville. The following year the car transitioned between shops and was raced again at Loudon, New Hampshire, only with Dale Earnhardt Jr. at the wheel. This chassis was eventually retired after the 2011 NASCAR season as a #88 National Guard race car.
Hendrick Motorsports Chassis #48-592 is a 2011 Chevrolet Monte Carlo that was raced by 6-Time NASCAR Cup Series Champion Jimmie Johnson during the 2010 and 2011 seasons. Jimmie drove this race car 7 times during these two seasons at Charlotte, Pocono, Atlanta, Kansas, Bristol (both 2011 races), and the 2011 All-Star race. Four of these races were with Top-5 finishes. This race car is also very unique in that Jimmie raced this car in a #5 Lowe’s scheme for the 2011 All-Star race to promote Lowe’s “5% Off Every Day” sales program. The buyer will get the option of having this race car finished in this unique one-off paint scheme, or the standard Lowe’s/Kobalt scheme used in its last race at Bristol (Aug. 2011).
Actual NASCAR race cars are in high demand by a cult group of collectors who are time tested NASCAR fans. Most often these cars are discovered in poor condition and have to be restored. But these Hendrick cars are in “as raced” condition already without the hassle of restoring them. What an opportunity for a tried and true NASCAR follower.
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