NASCAR driver, Race car owner. Started his career in the Busch series of NASCAR driving for his Dad, Rick Hendrick. a shoulder injury cut his driving career short and he was given Ownership by his father Of the Brian Vickers Car. The car wound up winning the series Championship and his Father was grooming his Son to take a bigger part in the company. His promising Career as a car owner was tragically cut short on October 24,2004, when the plane he was travelling in with 9 other people including his Uncle and 2 twin cousins, crashed just 7 miles from the Airport on their way to watch Hendricks Sports Car Racers Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Terry Labonte and Brian Vickers, who all were summoned afterwords to the NASCAR Trailer and told of the unfortunate accident only after they finished the race. On October 29,2004, 5 days after this accident and only 1 day after he was buried, his fiance, Emily Maynard found out that she was pregnant with Ricky's daughter, Josephine Riddick " Ricki" Hendrick. Josephine would be born healthy on June 29,2005.∼Son of Hendrick Motorsports CEO Rick Hendrick, and owner of a Busch Series NASCAR team and Performance Honda of Pineville, died in a plane crash. Mr. Hendrick, 24, was born in Charlotte, NC, on April 2, 1980. Ricky, as he was referred to by most, was lost with family and teammates on October 24, 2004, in a plane crash en route to the NASCAR event in Martinsville, Virginia. Ricky's strong smile and gentle spirit were his trademarks. In 1998, he graduated from Charlotte Country Day School with his family's affection for motor sports.Wins behind the wheel in Legends Cars and Late Model Stock race cars prepared him for a 2001 victory in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. After moving to the NASCAR Busch Series in 2002, a racing injury prompted him to search for a replacement driver. With the driver he selected and in his initial year as an owner, he won Hendrick Motorsports' first-ever championship in the Busch Series. Ricky and his late grandfather co-owned two of Hendrick Motorsports' pre-eminent race teams, while Ricky's father, Rick, prepared him for increased leadership in the organization. With his mother Linda's influence and his strong Christian faith, Ricky believed deeply about helping those less fortunate. He never passed up an opportunity to give of himself to someone who needed help. Regardless of who was around him, each conversation with family ended with 'I love you.' He was above all a dear son and brother whose spirit lives on in all who knew him. Any day spent with Ricky was an adventure. Time with him was like living on a higher level. He enjoyed big game fishing, SCUBA diving, hunting, water sports, motorcycles, and racing. At once the ultimate kid, and at the same time wise beyond his years, Ricky proved to be a successful businessman, orchestrating a complete turnaround of the local Honda dealership he purchased in 2003. He will be remembered for his abundant kindness and loyal friendship, but most of all his love of family and fiancee, Emily Maynard. He is also survived by a daughter, Josephine "Ricki" Hendrick who was born after his death.