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Martinsville Speedway has a special place in the heart of NASCAR powerbroker Rick Hendrick.
His drivers have won eight of the past 10 Nextel Cup races at the tiny jewel of a track, yet Hendrick has 10 other reasons to feel a special attachment.
On an overcast October day in 2004, 10 members of the Hendrick Motorsports organization perished in a plane crash in the Bull Mountain area of Martinsville. Hendrick lost his son (Ricky), brother (John) and two nieces.
Hendrick had a good excuse for not joining the latest victory celebration after his driver Jimmie Johnson won Sunday’s Subway 500.
“This race has a lot of emotion for me,’’ Hendrick said. “It’s hard to come up here, but it’s better to be here than at home.’’ Allen Gregory, TriCities.com
Hendrick was emotionally drained.
“Probably ask me [how I feel] about two hours from now and I’ll probably be laying flat in the floor somewhere, ” he said.
This would be an emotional day for Hendrick regardless whether his drivers were battling for a title. Three years ago, on an overcast, foggy day that was nothing like this sun-splashed afternoon, one of his planes crashed into Bull Mountain on the way to the track.
He lost his son, his brother, and eight other family members and employees.
“It’s hard to come up here, ” said Hendrick, who dedicated a wing of a Charlotte children’s hospital to his son, Ricky, on Saturday.
But Hendrick would rather be here playing referee/psychologist/owner with Johnson and Gordon—and occasionally Kyle Busch—than sitting at home.
As much as this track is a reminder of great tragedy in his life, it also is a reminder of great memories. David Newton, ESPN.com
Hendrick’s decision to skip most of the postrace partying wasn’t because he has grown tired of dominating the paper clip-shaped oval in his home state. For all the triumphs he has enjoyed at Martinsville, Hendrick also has associated tragedy with the track since Oct. 23, 2004, when a team plane en route to the race slammed into a nearby mountain and killed 10, including Hendrick’s brother, son, two nieces and several key employees.
Sunday was the first Martinsville fall race attended by Hendrick since the crash. Johnson said his 30th career victory left the boss smiling, but the celebration still was subdued
“I wasn’t sure he was going to be here today, ” said Johnson, who sat beside a vacant black stool normally occupied by Hendrick in the postrace winner’s news conference. “There’s a sense of satisfaction, but unfortunately I think it was going to be too tough on him hanging out in victory lane. The stuff that man has lived through and still shows up with a smile on his face, it’s amazing. ” Nate Ryan, USA TODAY
