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

stock car racing Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It or ...

driver and partial owner at

Hendrick Motorsports Hendrick Motorsports (HMS) 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 291 Cup Ser ...

, 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. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and h ...

team that his father Rick Hendrick founded. He was born in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

, on April 2, 1980, and began his career in racing at the age of fifteen. He competed in both the

Busch Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...

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 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. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organi ...

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 In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the rac ...

on July 18. One year later, he entered the

at Myrtle Beach Speedway, where he qualified fifth and finished 20th. Hendrick continued to run the series in 2000, with the addition of competing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series 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 th ...

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

Kansas Speedway Kansas Speedway is a tri-oval race track in the Village West area near Kansas City, Kansas, United States. It was built in 2001 and it currently hosts two annual NASCAR race weekends. The IndyCar Series also held races at the venue until 201 ...

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 Travis Wade Kvapil ( ; born March 1, 1976) is an American professional stock car driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series, driving the No. 1 Chevrolet Silverado for Beaver Motorsports. He was the 2003 NASCA ...

winning the award. 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 city in Monaco, the Monte Carlo was marketed as the first personal luxury car of the Chev ...

. Hendrick suffered an accident in the third race of the season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway 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. He continued to be employed by

, as the owner of two teams:

Brian Vickers Brian Lee Vickers (born October 24, 1983) is an American 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 injured ...

in the Nextel Cup Series and

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

in the Busch Series. Hendrick also founded a motorcycle dealership in Pineville, North Carolina, 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, killing him and nine others. The plane, on its way to the

Martinsville Speedway Martinsville Speedway is a NASCAR-owned stock car racing short track in Ridgeway, Virginia, just south of Martinsville. At in length, it is the shortest track in the NASCAR Cup Series. The track was also one of the first paved oval tracks in ...

for the Subway 500, crashed on Bull Mountain due to pilot error in heavy fog. After Hendrick died, his fiancée Emily Maynard learned that she was pregnant. 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 Hendrick Motorsports drivers