Hendrick gets big win off track, emotional victory on track

By JENNA FRYER
AP Auto Racing Writer

What a week for Hendrick Motorsports, which scored its first victory in NASCAR’s version of a courtroom and its second win on the track at Richmond Raceway. NASCAR’s winningest team had received the largest penalty ever issued to a single organization for illegal modifications on the Next Gen car. Hendrick Motorsports appealed and a three-person panel last week reversed a significant portion of the penalty. The celebration came Sunday when Kyle Larson picked up his first win of the season on what would have been the late Ricky Hendrick’s 43rd birthday. The winning Chevrolet at Richmond was painted to replicate the scheme Ricky Hendrick used before his death in a 2004 plane crash.