hendrick motorsports plane goes down

[tlcartman]

10 people killed including rick hendricks son, and brother.

[muskie770]

That's a shame.

Funny, how so many racers die in a plane.

This upholds my theory that bad things happen to bad people. Way to go Rick!

[plain spoken]

Originally posted by muskie770
That's a shame.

Funny, how so many racers die in a plane.

This upholds my theory that bad things happen to bad people. Way to go Rick!

10 people just lost their life and you make a comment like that! What an idiot. Maybe when you sober up you will realize what an ass you just made of yourself!

[Steve Wiggins]

I bet he meant to say bad things happen to good people.....hopefully it was just a typo

[muskie770]

I didn't write this but it's the way I see it.



After an investigation in the mid 90's, it seems that Rick was bribing Honda officials for dealerships and driving littler guys out with illegal tactics.

Hendrick pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud in U.S. District Court in Asheville.

He had been facing a trial on criminal charges that included one count of conspiracy and 13 counts of money laundering. A conviction on all charges could have resulted in $5 million in fines and potentially 270 years of prison time.

Here's the rest of the story though....

Virtually on the eve of sentencing, Hendrick was "diagnosed" with Leukemia and as a result, was sentenced to but one year of incarceration, UNDER HOUSE ARREST.

Magically, his leukemia went away a little while after his year was up.

Then Hendrick, a staunch and vocal republican, talked his good buddy and ceo of nationsbank (I didn't feel like looking up his name) decided to make a "donation" to the Democratic National Committee in exchange for a pardon from Clinton on Clinton's second to last day in office.

[tlcartman]

well that removes all doubt. you are an idiot. not everyone on that plane was kin to hendrick. what's your reasoning on that? are you saying hendrick didn't have lukemia? what about all the work with the bone marrow foundation? hopefully you never have to face something like this in your life, but if you do, remember your response to this post.

HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS STATEMENT

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Oct. 24, 2004) - Hendrick Motorsports officials have confirmed that an airplane owned by the organization was reported missing and downed today. The craft was en route to Martinsville, Va., from Concord, N.C.

The following is a full list of passengers: Randy Dorton, Hendrick Motorsports engine director; John Hendrick, Hendrick Motorsports president; Jennifer Hendrick, daughter of John Hendrick; Kimberly Hendrick, daughter of John Hendrick; Ricky Hendrick, son of Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick and owner of two NASCAR teams; Joe Jackson, sponsor representative; Scott Lathram, employee of NASCAR driver Tony Stewart; Elizabeth Morrison, co-pilot; Richard Tracy, pilot; and Jeff Turner, Hendrick Motorsports general manager.

Hendrick Motorsports asks that those affected be kept in your thoughts and prayers, and respectfully requests that privacy be considered throughout this difficult time.

[Senior Tech]

I must agree...a man lost a son, brother, and others and you see fit to post something like that? Congratulations, you are now on my list of people I have no respect for. You need to do some real deep soul searching...if you have one.

[king nothing]

Terrible news. I was saddened to hear it. When something like this happens, it doesn't matter who your "favorite driver" is. Regardless of whether he had leukemia or not a lot of people benefitted from the money raised to fight leukemia. I wonder muskie, what terrible thing did Mark Martin do to have his father, stepmom, and half sister die in a plane crash? Or the Allisons? MORON!

[tobyrogers]

Muskie770,you're reply is unacceptable.You either have never lost a loved one or you are so callous you did'nt care.All life is precious.I wonder about your customers.

[ripley]

Your a ass if you think that way,remember that when it happens to you!

[pabull]

Originally posted by muskie770
That's a shame.

Funny, how so many racers die in a plane.

This upholds my theory that bad things happen to bad people. Way to go Rick!
Muskie, I am shocked beyomd words, I wouldnt wish this type of tragedy on my worst enemy. I think you'll burn in hell for this.

[bja105]

Muskie is going to burn in hell for this?????


Lighten up guys. I'm sure muskie has just as close a personal relationship to the Hendricks as you do. He made a comment about some people we only know on TV. Its a tragedy and all, but come-on...Is Nascar a sacred cow?

If you condemn someone to hell over Nascar...... you might be a redneck.

Did you guys cry when Princess Diana died, or JFK Junior? Put down people magazine, turn off the tv, Take your nitro pills,and go clean a furnace.

[plain spoken]

I do not think this has anything to do with NASCAR or any organization. The fact that anybody would gloat about innocent people losing their life, whoever they may be, is repulsing. No, I would not condem Muskie to Hell over this (A power much bigger than any of us takes care of that), but I am sickened that one human being can express such callus regard for human life. As someone earlier said, I have no respect at all for anyone who would make such a statement, not once but twice. Of course today when he has sobered up, maybe he would not say the same thing. I would hope not anyway.

[condenseddave]

Originally posted by bja105
Muskie is going to burn in hell for this?????


Lighten up guys. I'm sure muskie has just as close a personal relationship to the Hendricks as you do. He made a comment about some people we only know on TV. Its a tragedy and all, but come-on...Is Nascar a sacred cow?

If you condemn someone to hell over Nascar...... you might be a redneck.

Did you guys cry when Princess Diana died, or JFK Junior? Put down people magazine, turn off the tv, Take your nitro pills,and go clean a furnace.

Ditto. I said "What a shame" when Princess Di was killed, and when John John crashed, I said, "What a shame about his wife and sister-in-law".

[dayton_koop]

it is a very sad thing

on a nother note nascar is for drunk white trash redneck's that live in mobile homes

{for every on trailer you see their is a thousand unseen}

[plain spoken]

First, that statement is totally out of place in this thread.

Second, apparently you have never been to a race. You could not be more wrong. There was a time is was more of a redneck sport (being a proud redneck myself). Most of the poorer economical class people you refer to can not afford to go to a race today. It is very much a family sport with lots of good people. Sure there are some people who drink to much, name me a sport where they do not. Certainly not football, baseball, hockey or basketball.

The fact still remains, some innocent people lost their lives and should not be made light of. Who cares if they were associated with Nascar or someone you never heard of that are just a statistic on the news. They are still dead and did not deserve to be.

[tlcartman]

muskie read the following obituaries and tell me why these peoples deaths are a just punishment for rick hendrick

Some News on the Victims

* From ThatsRacin.com/Charlotte Observer and DuPont:

John Hendrick, Kimberly Hendrick, Jennifer Hendrick
John Lewis Hendrick, the president of Hendrick Motorsports, was born in 1951 in tiny Palmer Springs, Va. The town is about a hundred miles east of the crash site where Hendrick died Sunday.John and his older brother, Rick, grew up on the farm owned by his father, Papa Joe Hendrick. By age 12, they were working in the fields.
"We worked from sunup until sundown in tobacco, cotton, cucumbers and soy beans," he recalled in a commemorative book published on the 20th anniversary of Hendrick Motorsports. "I knew when I left there that I didn't want to do farming for a living."
Instead he became a mortician after graduating with a B.S. from the University of Cincinnati. But he lasted only five years. He couldn't stand dealing with the deaths of children. So in the late 1970s, John moved to Charlotte and followed his brother into the business of selling automobiles.
He was fond of telling people that he didn't know the first thing about the way cars worked. But employees said he was good at listening and easy to work for. By 1998, he owned five dealerships.
Then his brother changed his life again. In December 1997, Rick Hendrick pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud on charges of sending money to Honda in exchange for receiving better cars to sell at his dealerships. He was pardoned by President Clinton in 2000. John Hendrick was charged with conspiracy; he paid a $120,000 civil penalty and the charge was dismissed.
When the court barred Rick from running his dealerships or his racing team, John stepped in to run Hendrick Motorsports just in time for the 1998 Daytona 500, NASCAR's biggest race.
"My role is not to replace Rick Hendrick," he said at the time. "I don't know that anyone could."
But John Hendrick earned respect among the motorsports industry for his tenure leading the company in his brother's absence, said Bruton Smith, CEO of Speedway Motorsports Inc. and auto dealer Sonic Automotive Inc.
"I've never met anyone who didn't like John," Smith said.
When Rick resumed his role as CEO a year later, John remained with the racing team as president.
He is survived by his wife, Cathy, and by his eldest daughter, Alesha. His twin 22-year-old daughters, Kimberly and Jennifer, died with him in the crash.
Kimberly Hendrick was an honor roll student at UNC Wilmington. Jennifer Hendrick worked in the marketing department at Hendrick Motorsports.

Jeff Turner
Jeff Turner was named general manager of Hendrick Motorsports in March of 2002, overseeing the day-to-day operations of the company and its five NASCAR teams.
But Turner was well known in the community outside racing, too. He had just donated $5,000 to the booster club at Central Cabarrus High, where his daughter Bailey is a cheerleader.
The club met in the garage area of LMS on Saturday night, and when Turner's donation was announced, all assembled stood and cheered.
Turner also served on the Cabarrus Economic Development Corp. board and the N.C. Motorsports Association board, pushing among other things for the construction of a test track for local teams.
"For many of us, he made the Hendrick organization come alive, especially in Cabarrus County, by plugging into the EDC and the big concerns we have in motorsports," said John Cox, chairman of the Cabarrus Regional Chamber of Commerce.
Turner joined Hendrick Motorsports in 1984 as tax director of dealership and racing operations after five years with Price Waterhouse as a senior tax consultant. From 1986 until 1990, he was vice president and controller of the Hendrick Automotive Group, then known as JRH Inc.
In 1990, Turner was named vice president and general manager of Hendrick Sportswear and Motorsports Traditions, companies involved in the manufacturing, distribution and licensing of apparel, souvenirs and novelty items in racing and for the NBA's Charlotte Hornets.
The New London, N.C., native returned to the automotive group in 1993 as vice president and chief financial officer of JL Hendrick Management Corporation, a company owned by Hendrick Motorsports president John Hendrick that operates automobile dealerships.
Before assuming the general manager position, Turner, a UNC Charlotte graduate, was vice president and chief financial officer of Hendrick Motorsports from 1998 through 2002, focusing on finances and marketing during a period of unprecedented company growth.
Turner is survived by daughters Bailey and Shannon Turner.

Randy Dorton
Randy Dorton, 50, directed the engine department at Hendrick Motorsports, where he had worked for about two decades. He was responsible for building more than 600 engines each year.Dorton was a legend in the sport. His engines had powered five Winston Cup championship cars.
He joined Hendrick in 1984 after Rick Hendrick bought his company, Competition Engines, to provide motors for his then-emerging team. Two years later, Dorton won the "Engine Builder of the Year" award, given by NASCAR and Clevite Engine Parts.
A strong man with a confident smile, Dorton was known for giving Christmas gifts to everyone in Hendrick's engine department -- about 150 people, according to Lowe's Motor Speedway spokesman Jerry Gappens. His drivers thought he gave them gifts, too.
When Jeff Gordon, who drove for Hendrick Motorsports, won the Auto Club 500 earlier this year, he said, "Randy Dorton in the engine department, thank you, thank you. This was the baddest engine we've ever had under the hood."
Property records show Dorton was a homeowner in Lincoln County. Survivors include his wife, Dianne, and a son, Jonathan.

Ricky Hendrick
Joseph Riddick Hendrick IV, named for his father and known as Ricky, was the future of Hendrick Motorsports. Rick Hendrick was grooming the 24-year-old to run the company.
"He was prince of the royal family," said Max Muhleman, a family friend.
Ricky Hendrick began in stock car racing as a driver. He began in the NASCAR Crafstman Truck Series, where he became the youngest driver to win a race in 2002.
The next year, he moved up to the NASCAR Busch series, but he crashed and injured his shoulder at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, which forced him to stop driving in October 2003.
While still a driver, Ricky was asked in an interview with Nascar.com what he would do if he could no longer race. His answer was prescient.
"Definitely selling cars and staying in racing," he said. "Cars is my passion, my love. I think I inherited that."
And indeed, shortly after retiring, he began to follow more closely in his father's footsteps. He purchased a Honda dealership in Pineville in February 2003. And he joined with his grandfather to manage two of the Hendrick Motorsports cars.
When he was asked whether he lived in his father's shadow, Ricky said he wasn't much troubled by the thought. He said he was his own person. He just happened to share his father's love for cars.
"The way he grew up, on a farm ... well, I grew up in the city, and was this punk kid that snowboarded and all this stuff," he said.
But Ricky Hendrick was growing up. It was his decision to put Brian Vickers behind the wheel of his Busch Series car, against his father's wishes. Vickers went on to win the series championship. And when Ricky's grandfather, Papa Joe, died this summer, Ricky took full control of both teams.
He was recently engaged to be married.

Scott Lathram
Scott Lathram, 38, was scheduled to ship off to Iraq on Tuesday to fly a helicopter in the Army Reserves, said lifelong friend Mitchell Lee.Lathram, the father of twin 16-year-old boys and a 14-year-old girl, had been race car driver Tony Stewart's helicopter pilot.
He had headed to Sunday's race to present Stewart a plaque, Mitchell said.
Lathram grew up in Benton, Ky., a rural town near the Illinois border. He worked with the county ambulance service before joining the state police, Lee said.
He leaves behind his wife, Traci, and three children.

Dick Tracy, Liz Morrison
The pilot of the King Air Beech 200, Dick Tracy, had worked for Hendrick Motorsports for four or five years, said Jay Luckwaldt, Hendrick's chief pilot.
Co-pilot Liz Morrison, 31, had worked for Hendrick Motorsports for three years, said her uncle, Bob Morrison.
Morrison, a graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla., was a tall blond woman known for her warm smile. She constantly talked about her joy of flying, said Sara Watkins, a family friend.
"You never talked to Liz unless she was talking about flying," Watkins said. "It was her love. She was in love with an airplane."
Morrison grew up in Harrisburg and lived in Concord with her cat, Gizmo. A graduate of Central Cabarrus High School, she dreamed of flying since she was 16, said her mother, Barbara Schmidt.
"Liz was a very positive personality, always looked on the bright side of everything," Schmidt said. "She always looked up and thought anything was possible."

Joe Jackson
Joe Jackson, of Charlotte, was drrector of DuPont's NASCAR motorsports program, which includes sponsorship of Gordon's car.
Jackson was a longtime employee of DuPont who played a key role during DuPont's 14-year association with NASCAR.
"The relationship between DuPont and Hendrick has been very close for many years, so this tragedy is devastating to all of us," said Edward Donnelly, group vice president for DuPont Coatings & Color Technologies.
Jackson was married and had two children as well as grandchildren, DuPont officials said.

* From Dupont about Joe Jackson: Joe Jackson, director of the DuPont Motor Sports program, was among 10 people killed Sunday when an aircraft owned by Hendrick Motor Sports, the company's partner in the NASCAR #24 DuPont car, crashed en route to the NASCAR race at Martinsville, Virginia. Also on board were members of the Hendrick family and staff. Joe was instrumental in the development of the DuPont Motor Sports program and routinely represented the company at NASCAR races. His entire 36-year DuPont career was spent in the Automotive Refinish business.
The following letter was sent today to DuPont Performance Coatings employees by Ed Donnelly, group vice president – DuPont Coatings & Color Technologies: "By now, many of you have heard that a Hendrick Motor Sports aircraft crashed yesterday near Martinsville, Va., the site of yesterday's NASCAR race. Joe Jackson, a dear member of our DPC family, perished in that crash, along with members of the Hendrick family and staff members. NASCAR was a passion for Joe. He loved the sport and our role in it. His dedication to our business was apparent to all of us. But more than that, Joe, his DuPont colleagues and the Hendrick team were like family. Of course, there will be many tributes to Joe, large and small. And aside from the official observances, we will all mourn and celebrate him in our own way. All of our energies now must be devoted to doing everything humanly possible to support the family of friend and colleague. Joe's wife, Jan, his children, Jane and Jeffrey, and his other loved ones are in our prayers. Their grief is our grief. We will have information very shortly about how all of us in the DPC family can join in an expression of our love and support for Joe and his family. For now, though, just remember Joe."(DuPont Site)(10-25-2004)

[pabull]

Originally posted by bja105
Muskie is going to burn in hell for this?????


Lighten up guys. I'm sure muskie has just as close a personal relationship to the Hendricks as you do. He made a comment about some people we only know on TV. Its a tragedy and all, but come-on...Is Nascar a sacred cow?

If you condemn someone to hell over Nascar...... you might be a redneck.

Did you guys cry when Princess Diana died, or JFK Junior? Put down people magazine, turn off the tv, Take your nitro pills,and go clean a furnace.
Muskie as not condemned to hell because of NASCAR you ignorant ASS! He was not codemned at all. But there is a good chance he'll end up there if that is the compassion he shows his fellow man. (regardless who was killed through no fault of their own.) P.S. Come to NC jackass, I'll show you a redneck.

[bja105]

Originally posted by pabull
[B Come to NC jackass, I'll show you a redneck. [/B]

If I wanted to see a redneck, I'd look in the mirror. Thanks for the invitation, hows the hunting around there?

My aunt lives near you, I think in Huntersville. She is right down the road from one of the race teams, I don't remember which one.