The Hendrick Motorsports organization suffered a terrible tragedy as their new star, Jimmie Johnson, won his sixth victory of the season at Martinsville, Virginia.
A Beech 200 aircraft which took off from Concord, N.C. carrying Hendrick family members and employees' en-route to the race at Martinsville, Virginia went down in the Bull Mountains shortly after noon Sunday, approximately seven miles west of the airport. All ten persons aboard were killed. The cause of the crash has not yet been identified. Rescue workers reportedly had a really hard time reaching the plane in the mountainous terrain.
The flight manifest included team owner Rick Hendrick's son Ricky Hendrick; Rick's brother John Hendrick and his twin daughters Jennifer and Kimberly; chief engine builder Randy Dorton; Joe Jackson; and Jeff Turner. Scott Latham, Tony Stewart's pilot, was also on board along with the planes pilots, Dick Tracy, and Liz Morrison.
Ricky Hendrick was the owner of the #5 Busch Series Chevrolet which is driven by Kyle Busch, who is competing for the Busch Series Championship, and is currently in second place. Ricky used to drive the entry himself, but retired a couple of years ago after suffering a debilitating shoulder injury in a racing accident.
The Hendrick Motorsports team fields racecars in the Cup Series for four-time Cup Champion Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Terry Labonte, and Brian Vickers. Jeff Gordon is now in second place in this season's championship chase, down just 96 points from Leader Kurt Bush. Jimmie Johnson is in fourth place, 207 points down.
John Hendrick was the president of Hendrick Motorsports, and was the guiding hand in the organization when Rick Hendrick fought a hard battle with leukemia a couple of years ago.
The infamous Hendrick racing organization has been celebrating its 20th year in the racing business this year. Hendrick Motorsports has won five championships in the Cup Series, three Busch Series Championships, and one Craftsman Truck Series Championship. Hedrick Motorsports has more than 100 victories in the Cup Series, only the second team in history to hold that distinction, the other being the Petty organization where Richard Petty amassed 200 victories before his retirement.
Hendrick Motorsports has more than 400 employees at their Charlotte, North Carolina based motorsports facility, which includes a 15,000 sq. ft. museum, race shops, and a racing merchandise store.
All of our prayers and heartfelt condolences go out to the Hendrick family, including family members and friends of all who were lost in this terrible tragedy.
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