Hendrix, 46, a retired Navy Chief, is a Florida Highway Patrol Officer. Fittingly, he is known as Trooper Tim to many fans and fellow racers at Five Flags Speedway.
“Racing is a lot like being in a chase on the highway,” Hendrix said. “You have to be able to control your adrenaline and make quick decisions. People joke and ask me if racing is practice for being a trooper, or if it’s the other way around.”
Hendrix ended the 2008 racing season in a way that every driver hopes to avoid. During the Bomber division Snowball Derby feature, he was turned head-on into the wall, hitting at full speed. His car then rolled violently on to the driver’s side and skidded along the front straight.
The crash hospitalized Hendrix for three days with a concussion and six out-of-place disks in his neck.
It may seem unusual that someone, whose job is to police those who drive too fast on the highway, spends his free time driving as fast as possible on the track. But Hendrix finds similarities in the two and enjoys doing both.
“When I was in the Navy, I always said I wanted to eventually be in law enforcement and drive a race car,’’ Hendrix said. “Now I’m doing both.”
A life-long race fan, Hendrix became involved with local racing when he moved to Pensacola three years ago. Hendrix’s neighbor, Charlie Phillips, helps many local racers. In late 2007, Hendrix bought his first race car and prepared for his rookie season with Phillips as his advisor.
“Charlie has helped me out a lot and has really become a second father to me,” Hendrix said. “I wouldn’t be able to do it without his help.”
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