Joseph Riddick " Ricky " Hendrick IV (April 2, 1980 - October 24, 2004) is an American NASCAR stock car driver and partial owner at Hendrick Motorsports , a team founded by his father Rick Hendrick. 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 the Busch Series and Craftsman Truck Series before his death due to a plane crash on October 24, 2004. He was killed with seven family members and other friends during the accident.
Video Ricky Hendrick
Racing career
Hendrick started his career in auto racing at the age of 15 with a race at Legends Series Summer Shootout. In 1998, he received his first victory on May 23, and earned his first pole position on July 18th. A year later, he entered the NASCAR Busch Series (now Xfinity Series) at Myrtle Beach Speedway, where he qualified fifth and finished in 20th place.
Hendrick continued to run the series in 2000, with the addition of competing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (now Camping World Truck Series). During the Busch series season he was involved in two accidents, and received a mild concussion on one of them.
In 2001, he started competing in all Truck races. He recorded his first NASCAR career victory on July 7, becoming the youngest rookie to win the race. Hendrick was also able to reach 19 top ten finishes, most by a rookie at the time. However, at the end of the season, he finished second in the Rookie of the Year Standings, with Travis Kvapil winning the award.
In 2002, he moved to the Busch Series with Jack Sprague. During the season he was involved in an accident at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, suffering a shoulder injury. He needed surgery and two months of healing before he could race again. Hendrick decided to retire from driving in October of the same year. He continues to be hired by Hendrick Motorsports, as the owner of two teams: Brian Vickers in Nextel Cup Series (now Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series) and Kyle Busch in Busch Series. Hendrick also founded a motorcycle dealer in Pineville, North Carolina, named Ricky Hendrick's Performance Honda.
Maps Ricky Hendrick
Death
On October 24, 2004, at about 12:30 pm EDT, Hendrick died in a plane crash near Martinsville, Virginia, killing him and nine others. The plane, en route to the Martinsville Speedway for the Subway 500, crashed at Bull Mountain due to pilot error in heavy fog.
After Hendrick died, his fiancé 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.
Motorports career results
NASCAR
(lock) ( Bold Ã, - Pole position is given by qualifying time. Italics - Pole positions received by points standings or practice time. * Ã, - Most lead round. )
Busch Series
Craftsman Truck Series
References
External links
- Driver statistics Ricky Hendrick in Racing-References
- Owner Ricky Hendrick's stats on Racing-References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
0 Comments