Hendrick Motorsports Plane Crashes
Sunday, October 24, 2004
Associated Press

MARTINSVILLE, Va. — A plane owned by the Hendrick Motorsports
(search) organization crashed on its way to a NASCAR race Sunday and
all 10 aboard were killed, federal officials said.

Eight passengers and two pilots died in the crash, a spokesman with
the National Transportation Safety Board (search) said.

A spokesman for a funeral home where the bodies were being taken said
the dead included four relatives of team owner Rick Hendrick — his
son, his brother and twin nieces.

Harry Litten, manager of Moody Funeral Service in Stuart, said the
state police had given him this list of those on the Beech 200:

Ricky Hendrick, Rick Hendrick's son and also a retired NASCAR
(search) driver; John Hendrick, Rick Hendrick's brother and president
of the organization; Kimberly and Jennifer Hendrick, John Hendrick's
twin daughters; Joe Jackson; Jeff Turner; Randy Dorton, the team's
chief engine builder; Scott Latham, a pilot for NASCAR driver Tony
Stewart; and pilots Dick Tracy and Liz Morrison.

Keith Holloway, a spokesman for the NTSB, said investigators were on
their way to the crash site but could not begin their examination
until Monday.

A spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administation, Arlene Murray,
said the plane took off from Concord, N.C., and crashed in the Bull
Mountain area about seven miles west of Martinsville's Blue Ridge
Regional Airport at about 12:30 p.m.

The weather in the area was overcast with a low cloud ceiling at the
time of the crash, according to Jan Jackson of the National Weather
Service in Blacksburg. Murray said the pilot was flying by instrument
flight rules, which is the usual practice in bad weather.

Virginia State Police Sgt. Michael Bailey said rescue workers could
not immediately reach the crash site because of the rough terrain.
However, rescue crews later called the funeral home from the site,
Litten said.

NASCAR has spoken with Rick Hendrick, NASCAR spokesman Jim Hunter
said, adding that neither NASCAR nor the Hendrick organization would
have further comment Sunday night.

Hendrick owns the teams of Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Terry Labonte
and Brian Vickers in the Nextel Cup Series.

Johnson won Sunday's race at Martinsville Speedway.

NASCAR learned of the plane's disappearance during the race and
withheld the information from the Hendrick drivers until afterward,
Hunter said. All the Hendrick drivers were summoned to the NASCAR
hauler immediately after the race and Johnson was excused from
Victory Lane.

Hendrick has been on a season-long celebration of its 20th
anniversary in NASCAR's top series. The organization has won five of
the series' top titles, three truck series titles, and one Busch
series crown.

The team has over 100 Cup series wins, making Hendrick just the
second team owner in NASCAR's modern era to surpass that mark.

Hendrick employs more than 400 workers at the Charlotte-based
Motorsports compound, which includes race shops and a 15,000-square-
foot museum and team store.

He recently began grooming his son, Ricky, for a larger role with the
company.

Ricky began his career driving a Busch car for his father, but
retired in 2002 because of a shoulder injury suffered in a racing
accident.

His father then made him the owner of the Busch car Vickers drove to
the series championship last season, and Kyle Busch currently pilots.

The main sign outside the facility was covered with a gray tarp, and
the gates were barricaded by deputies who allowed only employees
through.

Some of the operation's 460 employees began gathering in small groups
in the parking lot. They headed inside the building at about 7 p.m.,
remaining for about 90 minutes.

The first bouquet of flowers was dropped outside the offices at about
5 p.m. Several accumulated over the next couple of hours, placed on
shrubbery below a sign denoting "Papa Joe Hendrick Boulevard," which
leads into the compound.

One was left by Donnie Floyd, who said he works on the team of
Hendrick driver Terry Labonte.

"It's just very tough," he said. "We are like one big family.

"When you think about what the Hendrick family has gone through, it's
been very difficult. I couldn't think of anyone who would be better
to work for."

Joe McGovern, a self-described racing fan from nearby Concord who
said he knows the family, drove by to pay his respects.

"It's just devastating," he said. "This was just a great racing team
and they are also such nice people."