Raised on a farm near the small community of Palmer Springs, Virginia, Rick Hendrick worked on and raced cars under the watchful eye of his father, “Papa Joe.” After high school, he pursued a co-op work-study program with North Carolina State University and Westinghouse Electric Company in Raleigh, North Carolina. While in Raleigh, Hendrick opened a small used-car lot with established dealer Mike Leith. Its success convinced Leith to name him general sales manager of his new-car import operation at the age of 23. Founding: In 1976, Hendrick sold off his assets to purchase a struggling franchise in Bennettsville, South Carolina, thus becoming, at 26, the youngest Chevrolet dealer in the United States. His influence sparked a dramatic sales increase as the once troubled location soon became the region’s most profitable. These triumphs paved the way for Hendrick to purchase Charlotte, North Carolina-based City Chevrolet. Under Hendrick’s leadership, the dealership became the No. 1 volume Chevrolet franchise throughout North Carolina and South Carolina. In late 1979, despite strong in-market competition, Hendrick built the first free-standing Honda dealership in Columbia, South Carolina. The location was a showcase for Honda, promoting it as the manufacturer’s premiere dealership on the east coast and a future facility benchmark.