Joseph Riddick "Ricky" Hendrick IV (April 2, 1980 – October 24, 2004) was an American

stock car racing Stock car racing is a form of Auto racing, automobile racing run on oval track racing, oval tracks and road courses. It originally used Production vehicle, production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifical ...

driver and partial owner at

Hendrick Motorsports Hendrick Motorsports is an American professional auto racing organization that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded in 1984 as All-Star Racing by Rick Hendrick. Hendrick Motorsports has won a NASCAR-record 316 Cup Series ra ...

, a

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

team that his father

Rick Hendrick Joseph Riddick "Rick" Hendrick III (born July 12, 1949) is an American businessman. He is best known as the owner of the NASCAR team Hendrick Motorsports. He is also a co-owner of JR Motorsports and founder of the Hendrick Automotive Group, the l ...

founded. He was born in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

, on April 2, 1980, and began racing in Go Karts at a young age, then the Legends Series at fifteen. He competed in both the Busch Series and

Craftsman Truck Series The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck-based stock car racing, s ...

before his death from an airplane accident on October 24, 2004. He was killed with nine other family members and friends during the accident.

Racing career

Hendrick began his career in

auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

at the age of 15 by racing in the Legends Series Summer Shootout. He won 5 races in 1995 and 1 in 1996. In 1998, he won three NASCAR Winston Late Model Series races and one in 1999. Ricky competed in two ARCA Menards Series races, October 4, 2000 at Charlotte Motor Speedway and the 2001 Daytona race in February. Hendrick continued to run the series in 2000, with the addition of competing in the NASCAR

piloting the No. 17 GMAC/ Quaker State

Chevrolet Silverado The Chevrolet Silverado is a range of trucks manufactured by General Motors under the Chevrolet brand. Introduced for the 1999 model year, the Silverado is the successor to the long-running Chevrolet C/K model line. Taking its name from the to ...

. While running races in the No. 24 Busch Series car, he was involved in multiple accidents and suffered from concussions. In 2001, he competed in the full NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races. He recorded his first NASCAR career win at

Kansas Speedway Kansas Speedway (formerly known as Kansas International Speedway in initial planning and construction stages) is a tri-oval Oval track racing#Intermediate, intermediate speedway in Kansas City, Kansas. The track, since its inaugural season of ...

on July 7, becoming the youngest Truck Series driver to win a race at that time. 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. Hendrickricky

In 2002, he moved to the Busch Series with crew chief Lance McGrew driving the No. 5 GMAC Financial

Chevrolet Monte Carlo The Chevrolet Monte Carlo is a two-door coupe that was manufactured and marketed by the Chevrolet division of General Motors. Deriving its name from the Monte Carlo, city in Monaco, the Monte Carlo was marketed as the first personal luxury car ...

. Hendrick suffered an accident in the third race of the season at

Las Vegas Motor Speedway Las Vegas Motor Speedway (track complex formerly known as Las Vegas Speedway Park from 1993 to 1996, Las Vegas Speedway in 1992, Las Vegas International Speedway from 1990 to 1992, as the Las Vegas International Speedrome from 1972 to 1990) is a ...

that resulted in a broken shoulder. He required surgery and missed 3 months of racing before he returned in May and finished 15th at Richmond. Hendrick decided to retire from driving in October of the same year due to mental health and physical concerns. He continued to be employed by

, as the owner of two teams:

Brian Vickers Brian Lee Vickers (born October 24, 1983) is an American former professional stock car and sports car racing driver. He last drove the No. 14 Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing as an interim driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for the i ...

and

Kyle Busch Kyle Thomas Busch (born May 2, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro (sixth generation)#ZL1, Chevrolet ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing and par ...

in the Busch Series. Hendrick also founded a motorcycle dealership in

Pineville, North Carolina Pineville (; locally ) is a suburban town in the southernmost portion of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, United States. Part of the Charlotte metropolitan area, it is situated in the Waxhaws region between Charlotte and Fort Mill. As of ...

, named Ricky Hendrick's Performance Honda.

Death

On October 24, 2004, around 12:30 p.m. EDT, Hendrick died in a plane crash near

Martinsville, Virginia Martinsville is an Political subdivisions of Virginia#Independent cities, independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 13, ...

, killing him and nine others. The plane, on its way to the

Martinsville Speedway Martinsville Speedway is a oval Oval track racing#Short track, short track in Ridgeway, Virginia, United States, a community of Martinsville, Virginia. The track has held a variety of events since its opening in 1947, primarily events sanctione ...

for the

Subway 500 The Xfinity 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car racing, stock car race held at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia. The race is traditionally held in the fall and has been run in every NASCAR Cup Series season, starting with the sixth e ...

, crashed on Bull Mountain due to pilot error in heavy fog. Only days after he died, his fiancée Emily Maynard learned that she was pregnant with his child. Maynard gave birth to their daughter, Josephine Riddick "Ricki" Hendrick, on June 29, 2005, naming the girl after her late fiancé.

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

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hendrick, Ricky 1980 births 2004 deaths Accidental deaths in Virginia NASCAR drivers NASCAR team owners Racing drivers from Charlotte, North Carolina Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 2004 Evernham Motorsports drivers Hendrick Motorsports drivers