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Jimmie Johnson's series-high sixth victory of
the 2004 season on October 24th, 2004 was tempered by word that a
team plane carrying two pilots and eight passengers crashed into a
mountain Sunday afternoon en route to the Subway 500 NASCAR Nextel
Cup race.
|
Those departed |
| Ricky Hendrick, 24 |
Team owner Rick
Hendrick's only son; team owner; former driver |
| John Hendrick, 53 |
Rick Hendrick's brother
and president of the organization |
| Kimberly Hendrick, 22 |
Twin daughter of John
Hendrick |
| Jennifer Hendrick, 22 |
Twin daughter of John
Hendrick |
| Jeff Turner |
General Manager of the
Hendrick Motorsports |
| Randy Dorton, 50 |
Engine Builder for
Hendrick Motorsports |
| Joe Jackson |
DuPont Executive
|
| Richard Tracy, 31 |
Pilot for Hendrick
Motorsports |
| Elizabeth Morrison, 31 |
Pilot for Hendrick
Motorsports |
| Scott Lathram, 38 |
Helicopter pilot for
NASCAR driver Tony Stewart |
NASCAR learned of the plane's disappearance
during the race and withheld the information from the Hendrick
drivers -- Johnson, Gordon, Terry Labonte and Brian Vickers -- until
afterward, spokesman Jim Hunter said. All the Hendrick drivers were
summoned to the NASCAR hauler immediately after the race, and
Johnson was excused from victory lane.
The 10 were travelling in a Hendrick-owned
Beech King Air 200 turboprop plane when it crashed in the Bull
Mountain area, seven miles to the west of Martinsville airport in
Virginia. Rick Hendrick was not on board the flight as he
usually would have been. He was not feeling well and decided not to
go to watch the race.
At the time of the crash, Rick Hendrick
currently owned the teams of Nextel Cup drivers Jeff Gordon, Jimmie
Johnson, Terry Labonte, and Brian Vickers. Hendrick's team had
128 wins and five championships in NASCAR's top series through this
point in time.
Our thoughts are with the members and families
of the Hendricks Motorsport team.
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