NASCAR legends Jimmie Johnson and Rick Hendrick make a pit stop at LU

Liberty University students heard from Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick and NASCAR drivers William Byron and Jimmie Johnson at Convocation April 10.

“I never thought I’d be in the position I am today,” Johnson said. “My passion helped drive me to put in the time and the work to get it done, to fight through the tough times and also take a moment every now and then to celebrate the accomplishments.”

Byron, a Liberty University Online student, said he has always been a fan of racing and taught himself racecar driving online.

“I was trying to figure out a way to race as a kid, and (growing up), (Johnson) was my favorite driver,” Byron said. “And a way I was able to become closer to the sport was to learn to drive on a simulator.”

Johnson said when Byron was a child, he went trick-or-treating at Johnson’s house and told Johnson he was going to race against him someday. Now, a decade later, the two are racing against each other.

Rick Hendrick talked about his three pillars of life: faith, family and friends. When Hendrick lost his son, brother and two nieces in the 2004 Hendrick Motorsports aircraft crash, he said his faith in God was what got him through.

“It’s hard to get over losing a child,” Hendrick said. “But we’re convinced, and we know because of our faith, we’ll see him again.”

Hendrick believes family is another integral part of life because he grew up on a farm, and his family depended on each other for survival. Today, they are still close.

“Faith, family and friends will get you through almost anything,” Hendrick said. “In life, sometimes you’re at the top of the mountain, or you’re in the bottom of the valley. But if you have that foundation, it will get you through.”

Hendrick helped start Liberty’s automotive dealership management program in 2017 through the School of Business. The program currently has 12 interns working for the Hendrick Automotive Group.

The guests wrapped up Convocation with a go-kart race in the Vines Center with Jerry and Becki Falwell, Liberty Football Head Coach Hugh Freeze and Senior Vice President for Spiritual Development David Nasser. Jerry Falwell won the race.