Ricky Hendrick

Ricky Hendrick
Born (1980-04-02)April 2, 1980
Charlotte, North Carolina
Died October 24, 2004(2004-10-24) (aged 24)
Bull Mountain (near Martinsville), Virginia, United States
Cause of death Aircraft accident
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
49 races run over 3 years
Best finish 29th (2002)
First race 1999 Myrtle Beach 250 (Myrtle Beach)
Last race 2002 Mr. Goodcents 300 (Kansas)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 3 0
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career
30 races run over 2 years
Best finish 6th (2001)
First race 2000 Grainger.com 200 (Pikes Peak)
Last race 2001 Auto Club 200 (Fontana)
First win 2001 O'Reilly Auto Parts 250 (Kansas)
Wins Top tens Poles
1 23 0

Joseph Riddick "Ricky" Hendrick IV (April 2, 1980 – October 24, 2004) was an American NASCAR stock car driver and partial owner at Hendrick Motorsports, a team that his father Rick Hendrick founded. He was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, on April 2, 1980, and began his career in racing at the age of fifteen. He competed in both the Busch Series and Craftsman Truck Series before his death from an airplane accident on October 24, 2004. He was killed with seven other family members and friends during the accident.

Racing career

Hendrick's 2002 Busch Series car.

Hendrick began his career in auto racing at the age of 15 by racing in the Legends Series Summer Shootout. In 1998, he received his first win on May 23, and earned his first pole position on July 18. One year later, he entered the NASCAR Busch Series (now Xfinity Series) at Myrtle Beach Speedway, where he qualified fifth and finished 20th.

He continued to run the series in 2000, with the addition of competing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (now Camping World Truck Series). During Busch series season he was involved in two accidents, and received a mild concussion in one of them.

In 2001, he started to compete in all the Truck races. He recorded his first NASCAR career win on July 7, becoming the youngest rookie to win a race. Hendrick was also able to accomplish 19 top ten finishes, the most by a rookie at that time. However, at the end of the season, he finished second in the Rookie of the Year Standings, with Travis Kvapil winning the award.[1]

In 2002, he moved to the Busch Series with Jack Sprague. During the season he was involved in an accident at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, sustaining a shoulder injury. He required surgery and two months of healing before he could race again. However, Hendrick decided to retire from driving in October of the same year. He continued to be employed by Hendrick Motorsports, as the owner of two teams: Brian Vickers in the Nextel Cup Series (now Sprint Cup Series) and Kyle Busch in the Busch Series. Hendrick also founded a motorcycle dealership in Pineville, North Carolina, named Ricky Hendrick's Performance Honda.[1]

Death

On October 24, 2004, around 12:30 p.m. EDT, Hendrick died in a plane crash near Martinsville, Virginia, killing him and nine others. The plane, on its way to the Martinsville Speedway for the Subway 500, crashed on Bull Mountain due to pilot error in heavy fog.

After Hendrick died, his 18-year-old fiancée Emily Maynard found out she was pregnant. Maynard gave birth to his daughter, Josephine Riddick "Ricki" Hendrick, who was named after him, on June 29, 2005.[2][3] Maynard later competed in season 15 of The Bachelor and season eight of The Bachelorette.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Busch Series

Craftsman Truck Series

References

  1. 1 2 "Ricky Hendrick". www.rickyhendrick.net. Retrieved 2010-12-13.
  2. ↑ Tyler, Marty (2004-10-26). "A True Hero: Ricky Hendrick". CatchFence.com. Archived from the original on February 9, 2010. Retrieved 2010-12-13.
  3. ↑ Hembree, Mike (2005-07-11). "Special delivery for Hendrick family". SceneDaily.com (Street & Smith's Sports Group, Inc.). Archived from the original on January 7, 2011. Retrieved 2012-02-02.
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