Rick Hendrick responds to Jesse Love’s emotional speech that brought Jeff Gordon to tears

Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick recently reacted to NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Jesse Love's emotional speech, which made Jeff Gordon cry. Love delivered an emotional speech during the post-championship party for his crew chief after winning his maiden Xfinity Series title.The California native made his debut in the series with Richard Childress Racing in 2024. Since then, he has been proving his worth in stock car racing. In the 2025 season, Love was the sole RCR driver to compete in the Championship 4 race. He clinched his first-ever championship title in his sophomore season.Following that, the RCR driver delivered an emotional speech praising his crew chief and made former NASCAR Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon cry. Reflecting on that, stock car racing team owner Rick Hendrick praised Love and told him:"You keep that humble spirit, buddy. That's a champion."Rick Hendrick's team, Hendrick Motorsports, fields four full-time entries in the Cup Series. Kyle Larson pilots the #5 Chevy Camaro ZL1, followed by William Byron in the #24, Alex Bowman in the #48, and Chase Elliott driving the #9 Camaro for the team. Also, Larson clinched his second Cup Series title for the team at Phoenix Raceway."Things are really hard under these rules": Rick Hendrick got candid about winning NASCAR titles under the current formatNASCAR Cup Series team owner Rick Hendrick appeared in an interview with the Cup Scene after wrapping the Championship 4 race. The 319-lap race was held at Phoenix Raceway on November 2, 2025. Later, during the post-race interaction, Hendrick gave his take on the unpredictability of the current format.Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson took home the 2025 Cup Series champion title, defeating Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin. Reflecting on that, the team owner stressed the unpretentious nature of the championship format. Larson's victory brought the 15th Cup Series championship title for the team.Reflecting on the same, Rick Hendrick told the press:“I think Kyle (will) win a lot of championships. It’s so hard. I look at Denny and how good Denny’s run and he hadn’t got one. These things are really hard under these rules to win a championship. You can win all the races, you can win a ton of races, you get here, have a flat tire, things can happen. A lot of these things are out of your control.” (21:25 onwards)Rick Hendrick referred to the current playoff format featuring three elimination rounds with three races each round. With each round, four drivers are eliminated until only four remain to compete in the Championship Four race at Phoenix Raceway.The team owner also acknowledges that the new format didn't always favor the most dominant driver in the season. Hendrick still believes that the Chase format was more promising, during which Jimmie Johnson recorded seven Cup Series titles from 2006 to 2016.