By Dick Mittman
allstate400atthebrickyard.com
Monday, October 25, 2004
The tragic crash of a Hendrick Motorsports plane, in which all 10 people aboard were killed, blunted the success of the team's drivers on the track Oct. 24 at Martinsville, Va.
Jimmie Johnson won the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Subway 500 at Martinsville Speedway to jump to fourth in the Chase for the NEXTEL Cup standings, and teammate Jeff Gordon finished ninth to move to second behind Kurt Busch in points.
However, after the race, the drivers were informed that a plane carrying, among others, team owner Rick Hendrick's son, Ricky, brother John and twin nieces Jennifer and Kimberly Hendrick, had crashed in heavy fog into the mountains about 7 miles from the Martinsville airport shortly before the race began.
Rick Hendrick and Gordon had celebrated Gordon's fourth Brickyard 400 victory Aug. 8 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Hendrick's father, Joe, had died a couple weeks before that race.
Also lost in the crash were Randy Dorton, Hendrick Motorsports engine director; Joe Jackson, DuPont sponsor representative; Elizabeth Morrison, co-pilot; Richard Tracy, pilot; Jeff Turner, Hendrick Motorsports general manager; and Scott Lathram, driver Tony Stewart's helicopter pilot.
Rick Hendrick, 54, was reared on a small farm in South Hill, Va. At 25, he purchased an ailing Chevrolet dealership in Bennetsville, S.C., and eventually formed Hendrick Automotive Group, consisting of 60 dealerships and 4,700 employees across the country with annual net revenues of $2 billion.
In 1984, he formed Hendrick Motorsports, and this year the organization was celebrating 20 years of NASCAR racing. Gordon became the star driver by winning four championships, and also capturing the Brickyard 400 in 1994, 1998, 2001 and 2004. In the late 1990s, Hendrick battled leukemia and turned leadership of Hendrick Motorsports over to his brother John.
Rick Hendrick brought his brother into the firm when he saw John had the same passion for automobiles and business acumen that he did. John was in command when Gordon won his fourth NASCAR title in '98.
John Hendrick owned a company, JL Hendrick Management Corp., which operates car dealerships throughout the Carolinas. He was heavily involved in charity work involving disadvantaged youth. He was 54 and survived by his wife, Cathy and a daughter, Alesha. The Hendrick twins who died in the crash were 22.
Ricky Hendrick, 24, was being groomed to become the next member of the family to run Hendrick Motorsports. He started his career as a driver, and in 2001 at age 21 he became the youngest driver to win a race in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. He raced in the Busch series in 2002 and then became an owner after suffering a shoulder injury in a racing accident.
His driver, Brian Vickers, won the Busch Series championship last year making Ricky Hendrick the youngest winning car owner. Ricky Hendrick also founded a motorcycle dealership, Ricky Hendrick's Performance Honda, which is part of the Hendrick Automotive Group.
Dorton founded an engine-building business that Rick Hendrick purchased when he started his team in 1984. A former crew chief for Harry Hyde, Dorton built engines that are some of the best in the business. They not only propelled Gordon to four championships but also Terry Labonte to his second title and the organization's fifth, in 1996. Vickers won the 2003 Busch title with a Dorton engine, and Jack Sprague won three Truck titles with his powerplants.
Turner took over as general manager of Hendrick Motorsports in 2002 after holding several jobs within the company, including vice president and chief financial officer.
Lathram retired from the Kentucky State Police and joined Stewart, past pole starter for the Indianapolis 500 and Brickyard 400, two years ago. He had been called up from the National Guard and was due to be sent to Iraq.
Lathram had an award that he wanted to present to Stewart at Martinsville and hitched a ride on the Hendrick plane. He turned 38 on Sept. 29. He lived in Benton, Ky., and is survived by his wife, Tracy, twin sons and a daughter.
At Martinsville, Johnson won for the sixth time this season but immediately was directed away from the normal Victory Circle ceremonies along with Gordon and Vickers to the NASCAR headquarters trailer, where they were told of the tragedy.
It was Johnson's second straight victory and moved him from eighth to fourth in the NEXTEL Cup standings. Still, he only gained 20 points and trails Busch, who came home fifth, by 207 points. Busch increased his lead by 72 points and now tops second-place Gordon by 96. Gordon picked up a position but lost 24 points in the standings.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. was second to Busch by 24 points entering the race. He started third but experienced car woes from the start and dropped out in 33rd place after 449 of the 500 laps.
The next race is the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 on Oct. 31 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
THE CHASE
1. Kurt Busch 6,015 (Chase finishes: 1-5-5-6-4-5)
2. Jeff Gordon -96 (5,919; 7-3-19-13-2-9)
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. -125 (5,890; 3-9-1-9-3-33)
4. Jimmie Johnson -207 (5,808; 11-10-37-32-1-1)
5. Mark Martin -224 (5,791; 13-2-15-20-13-12)
6. Tony Stewart -246 (5,769; 39-6-14-10-15)
7. Elliott Sadler -255 (5,760; 8-20-22-4-7-32)
8. Matt Kenseth -260 (5,755; 2-32-14-17-11-16)
9. Ryan Newman -266 (5,749; 33-1-16-33-14-3)
10. Jeremy Mayfield -364 (5,651; 35-7-38-5-30-6)
2005 tickets: The 12th Brickyard 400 is scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 7, 2005. Customers who are upgrading or purchasing Brickyard 400 tickets for the first time should act quickly to increase their chances of obtaining their desired seats.
To purchase tickets, camping or parking, contact the IMS ticket office at (800) 822-INDY outside the Indianapolis area, (317) 492-6700 locally or log on to www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com.
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