“Wiped out my family and company”: When Rick Hendrick opened up on his ‘strength’ to handle the ups and downs of life

Team owner Rick Hendrick has had a lot of success in the world of NASCAR, with his team having won 14 NASCAR Cup Series Championships. He has also faced tragedy in the form of a place crash that happened in 2004, where his family and members of the Hendrick Motorsports organization perished. In an interview from 2023, the Chairman of the Hendrick Automotive Group opened up about dealing with the highs and lows of life.

Rick Hendrick, in an interview with Bahakel Sports, was asked about how he deals with the ups and downs he's faced in his lifetime. He described what helped after tragedy struck the company:

"I lost my son, my brother, and my nieces in the plane crash going to Martinsville and the president of this company and my CFO. I mean, wiped out my family and the company and I didn't know if I could ever come back and do it again. I came over two weeks later and all the folks were together and we cried and I had to protect them and I wanted the dream that those folks on the plane had to go forward. So we kind of grabbed our hands and said let's do this and then we just kept it rolling." [5:20 onwards]

October 2024 marked the 20th anniversary of the accident that claimed the lives of Ricky Hendrick, John Hendrick, Kimberly Hendrick, Jennifer Hendrick, along with Jeff Turner, the organziation's general manager, long-time engine builder Randy Dorton, Richard Tracy, Elizabeth Morrison, Joe Jackson and Scott Lathram.

Rick Hendrick continued:

"[E]very time we win a race we point to the heavens and turn our hats backwards to honor my son. Your strength comes from your people and your faith and family."

The weekend after this terrible tragedy, the Hendricks Motorsport team went to race at the Martinsville Speedway. Driver Jimmie Johnson in the #48 car secured the victory at the race, making it race win number 129 for the team.

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Rick Hendrick talks about the significance of the #5 car

Speaking to Bahakel Sports in the same interview, Rick Hendrick talked about why the #5 car holds a special place for him. Currently driven by Kyle Larson in the Cup Series, the #5 car has accumulated 55 race wins to its legacy, and has been driven by Kyle Busch, Mark Martin and Geoff Bodine among others.

Hendrick explained why the car number is important to him:

“So when [Kyle] Larson came in we went back to number five, our first number and it's so special to me because it's got my son's paint scheme on it. So, I've got the first number in the paint scheme my son drove, and then we put Hendrick cars on it when we started and that's been so good for the company.” [8:06 onwards]

The #5 car, piloted by Larson ended the 2024 season in 6th place in the standings after securing six wins, fifteen Top 5s and eighteen Top 10s.