Rick Hendrick sat in a skybox high above a crowd of thousands at the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Auction in Arizona, eager to own the first production version of the fastest production car in America.

On the stage below sat what represented the object of his desire, a pre-production model of the 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 in black with blue racing stripes and a massive rear spoiler to help with aerodynamics and stability should a driver hit the car's top speed of 233 mph.

Hendrick, a Chevrolet dealer and NASCAR Hall of Fame team owner, casually held up one finger to start the bid to own what will one day be a production model with VIN 001, according to a video of the auction. The board barely registered his $1 million offer before he was outbid by a person bidding by phone, a Barrett-Jackson spokesperson said. Within seconds, the bid changed to $1.5 million, then it grew to $2 million, $2.5 million, $3 million. The men kept battling for the right to own the car.

Whoever would win the car would be giving the money to charity, a standard of these auctions.

"Cheering them on are NASCAR hall-of-famers Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon ... who's going to win it?" the announcer asked the crowd. Gordon drove for Hendrick Motorsports from 1992 to 2015 and is now the vice chairman of the racing company.

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Then, the auction showed a whopping $3.7 million as the top bid. Seconds later, the auctioneer bellowed: "Sold! To Mr. Hendrick."

'Death and devastation' the motivation

With that, Hendrick wrote a check for $3.7 million to the American Red Cross. The money will go to help people affected by Hurricane Helene and Milton in North Carolina last fall and the recent wildfires in California.

The bid tied the record for the annual auction of collector cars. The only other vehicle to fetch that much was the 2022 sale of the first retail 2023 Corvette Z06 70th Anniversary Edition. Hendrick bought that car, too, for $3.6 million. Another donor threw in $100,000 to support the charity during that auction, pushing the total donation from sale to $3.7 million, said Chevrolet spokesman Trevor Thompkins.

Hendrick's motivation Saturday wasn't just to add another rare Corvette to his collection of 150 other unique Corvettes, all housed at his 58,000-square-foot garage called the Heritage Center, located about 900 miles from Michigan in Concord, North Carolina. Getting inside his unique personal museum to see his massive collection of rare cars, guitars and movie paraphernalia, is invitation only and the Detroit Free Press toured the Heritage Center in 2023.

It is there that Hendrick keeps his 20 VIN 001 retail Corvettes — all of them in his favorite color, black. That figure includes the ZR1 bought Saturday, which is yet to be built. Hendrick's spokesman David Harris said they expect it will roll off the assembly line at GM's Bowling Green Assembly plant in Kentucky later this spring or summer. Hendrick will be there to take delivery.

Hendrick said supporting charity has become "a passion" to him as much as his love of rare Corvettes.

"I visited western North Carolina ... the death and devastation was unreal," Hendrick told the Detroit Free Press on Sunday, referring to the aftermath of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, which struck the area last fall. "People are cold, sleeping in tents, an orphanage with nowhere to store food. It breaks my heart. God has blessed me."

Hendrick, who grew up on a tobacco farm in Virginia and once sold everything he owned to buy a run-down car dealership, is now worth about $1 billion, according to published reports. Harris declined to comment on Hendrick's personal net worth, but Hendrick Motorsports is the winningest NASCAR team in the history of the sport.

His car dealership company, Hendrick Automotive, is one of the largest, if not the largest, privately owned car dealership group in the nation. It employs about 10,000 people and generates about $12.2 billion in annual revenue.

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Making history to help others

The folks at Barrett-Jackson are grateful to Hendrick and GM, they said.

"We made history by selling this rare collector vehicle for $3.7 million, while also helping the Red Cross fulfill its mission to feed and provide emotional support to victims of disasters," Craig Jackson, CEO of Barrett-Jackson, said in a statement. "Between the recent hurricane on the East Coast and fires in California, the money is certainly needed.”

Hendrick said that, in total, including Saturday's check to the Red Cross, he has donated nearly $6 million to help hurricane victims and, more recently, people impacted by the wildfires in Los Angeles.

Harris said that as part of that $6 million, Hendrick paid for supplies to be flown in by special helicopter flights and driven in by semi-trucks to North Carolina charities and rescue groups to help people in western North Carolina last fall. Also, Sonic Automotive, Speedway Motorsports, Hendrick Motorsports and Hendrick Automotive group worked together to donate $2 million to Samaritan's Purse, a Boone, North Carolina-based international relief organization.

"This has become a passion (helping charities), and you know I love Corvettes," Hendrick told the Free Press. "I really appreciate GM helping these organizations."

Hendrick’s winning bids over the years on 38 different cars have raised more than $25 million for charity, said DJ Downs, a spokesperson for Barrett-Jackson. Downs said this weekend's auction raised $6.2 million for charity with the sale of five vehicles, led by the ZR1 VIN 001. To date, Barrett-Jackson has raised over $162 million for charity.

Chevy cars raise millions

GM chose the Red Cross for this auction because the automaker said it has had a long-standing relationship with the organization and regularly supports its disaster relief efforts.

“The Red Cross is working around the clock to provide help and hope to people across the country impacted by disasters big and small, including wildfires, floods and other crises,” Cliff Holtz, CEO of the American Red Cross, said in a statement. “We cannot thank Chevrolet enough for their tremendous generosity as we work together to offer critical relief and comfort to families and communities in dire need.”

GM has worked with Barrett-Jackson and the charity auction program for 15 years. “General Motors has shared some of our biggest and most memorable moments when we have raised money together for charity on the Barrett-Jackson auction block,” said Jackson.

Hendrick said when he takes delivery of this ZR1, it will be housed at the Heritage Center with his other Corvettes. As for driving it at 233 mph, that will never happen, he said. Hendrick never drives any of the Corvettes in his collection.

Jamie L. LaReau is the senior autos writer who covers Ford Motor Co. for the Detroit Free Press. Contact Jamie at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. To sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.