Rick Hendrick and his beloved wife, Linda Hendrick, persevered and coped with the loss of their son together, finding solace in their daughter, Lynn.
NASCAR Hall of Famer Rick Hendrick recently made headlines after winning the first 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 (VIN 001) for $3.7 million at the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Auction on January 25, 2025.
Highlights
- Rick and Linda lost their son, Ricky, in a 2004 plane crash.
- Their son-in-law, Marshall Carlson, is the president of Hendrick Companies.
- Rick credits his wife, Linda, for the success of the Hendrick Motorsports.
While the initial bitting started with $1 million, it ended when the auction showed a whopping $3.7 million as the top bid.
However, Hendrick wrote the check to the American Red Cross, which would help people affected by Hurricane Helene and Milton in North Carolina last fall and the recent wildfires in California.
Rick and His Wife, Linda, Honored Their Late Son Through Philanthropy And Founding Non-profits
The passing away of one’s child is the most agonizing and inconsolable tragedy someone can go through in life.
American businessman Rick Hendrick and his wife, Linda Hendrick, went through the same harrowing experience when they lost their son, Ricky, to a plane crash.
This tragedy occurred on October 24, 2004, around 12:30 p.m. EDT.
The Pilot’s mistake caused the plane to crash on Bull Mountain while traveling to the Martinsville Speedway for the Subway 500 in dense fog.
Hence, Ricky perished in the aircraft crash in Martinsville, Virginia, alongside nine others.
Ricky and the other nine passengers had a long and bright future ahead of them. However, this deadly incident took their lives.
We remember Ricky Hendrick on what would’ve been his 40th birthday.
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For Rick and Linda, the loss of their son was daunting, and they were looking for ways to cope with his sudden death.
Nevertheless, the pair persevered and cherished their late son by supporting causes close to his heart.
They founded the Hendrick Foundation for Children to support children with medical and financial needs, a cause Ricky cared about.
Likewise, they established the Hendrick Marrow Program in partnership with Be The Match.
This initiative attempts to expand the bone marrow donor registry while providing financial aid to transplant recipients.
Rick battled with chronic myelogenous leukemia in the 1990s. Hence, this program is deeply personal to the Hendrick family.
Furthermore, the family donated to Levine Children’s Hospital in Charlotte, North Carolina, in memory of Ricky.
Similarly, Rick became more focused on contingency planning for the Hendrick Motorsports and Hendrick Automotive Group.
Beyond these attempts to cope with his son’s loss and honor his death, Rick and Linda found solace in their daughter, Lynn Carlson.
Lynn is the elderly couple’s sole source of hope as a remaining child.
Moreover, her husband, Marshall Carlson, is the President of Hendrick Companies.
Carlson assumed this position following the death of Rick’s brother, John Hendrick, in 2004.
Rick trusted his son-in-law’s leadership, stating that he had excellent business competence and a good reputation inside the organization.
Therefore, Carlson has overseen day-to-day operations at Hendrick Motorsports since 2005, helping the team win four NASCAR titles.
Lynn and Marshall also became grandparents to Rick and Linda, restoring the joy and happiness they had lost after losing Ricky.
Late Ricky Hendrick’s Fiancée, Emily Maynard, Named Their Daughter After His Name
The late Joseph Riddick Ricky Hendrick IV was born on April 2, 1980, as the only son of Rick and Linda Hendrick.
He was an American stock car racing driver and partial owner at Hendrick Motorsports, a NASCAR team his father founded.
Ricky was greatly influenced by his father and pursued a racing career. Beginning his career with the Legends Series Summer Shootout and winning multiple races, Ricky progressed to the NASCAR Winston Late Model Series, winning several races between 1998 and 1999.
Similarly, he competed in the ARCA Menards Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
He won his first race at Kansas Speedway in 2001, becoming the youngest winner in the series at that time.
Then, in 2002, he transitioned to Busch Series with crew chief Lance McGrew. He drove the No. 5 GMAC Financial Chevrolet Monte Carlo.
However, he sustained a shoulder injury in an accident at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, resulting in surgery. Hence, he retired from driving due to mental and physical health concerns.
But unbeknownst to everyone, two years later, Ricky would perish in a plane crash in 2004. A few days after his death, his fiancée, Emily Maynard, discovered that she was pregnant with his child.
Maynard gave birth to their daughter on June 29, 2005. She named her after her late fiance, Josephine Riddick Ricki Hendrick.
Ricky Hendrick’s death deeply wounded many people in his life.
However, they have learned to cope with his absence by honoring his brief yet glorious existence.
Rick Hendrick Considers His Wife, Linda, As The Reason Behind The Success Of His Motorsport Empire
While specifics regarding Rick and Linda’s marriage and personal information are unclear, the pair has remained devoted to one another throughout the years.
Rick has frequently expressed gratitude to his wife and lauded her for staying by his side through the stellar and challenging times.
The couple married when Hendrick opened his first car dealership in South Carolina.
We’ve always been able to work the balance, and I give her a ton of credit for supporting me all those years.
Rick Hendrick
I was in school and she was cleaning up cars that I would sell in the paper back in those days and still found time to race. She deserves as much, if not more than I do in what the company has been able to do. She’s the rock. We used to go to boat races and she would sell T-shirts out the back of the van, and we just so happened to have the most popular boat out there. But she took care of the kids and did that part of the business, and she put up with it.
Rick Hendrick
Then, Rick founded his first race team in 1984, working with Geoff Bodine in the No. 5 Chevrolet, following a brief stint in boat racing.
"Just as important as the trophies and all the records are the people you meet and the friends you have." pic.twitter.com/AFWPhaSgyv
— Hendrick Motorsports (@TeamHendrick) June 1, 2021
Rick invested a lot of money in the team, almost closing it down before Bodine’s win in April 1984, the team’s first win.
According to Rick, his wife’s perseverance is why Hendrick Motorsports succeeded.
Maybe I didn’t have the money to do it but she never said, ‘Hey, you shouldn’t be doing this. It’s putting us in a financial jam’ or ‘You could be and you need to be with the kids more. We’ve always been able to work the balance, and I give her a ton of credit for supporting me all those years. Linda said, ‘Hey, if you don’t do it, you’ll regret it, and if it doesn’t work, we’ll start over.’ So [we] sold the house, sold the cars, all we had when we moved to Bennettsville was a bean bag and we bought a $28,000 house in Bennettsville, and back against the wall, and it was nowhere to go but up.
Rick Hendrick
Their love and dedication to each other have remained constant throughout life’s ups and downs.
Therefore, Rick and Linda remain formidable in motorsports, demonstrating the value of family, resilience, and resolve.
Additional Information
- Rick Hendrick was born Joseph Riddick Hendrick III on July 12, 1949.
- His team has won 304 NASCAR Cup Series races till 2024, making him the winningest team owner in NASCAR.
- In 1997, Hendrick pleaded guilty to mail fraud for giving bribes to Honda executives in exchange for product allocations.
- He paid a $250,000 fine and was sentenced to 12 months home confinement. In 2000, President Bill Clinton pardoned him fully.
