Ray Hendrick

Infobox NASCAR driver
Name = Raymond Hendrick
Birthdate = birth date|1929|4|1
Died = death date and age|1990|9|28|1929|4|1
Birthplace = flagicon|USA Richmond, Virginia
Cause of Death = Cancer
Best_Cup_Pos = 75th - 1969 (Grand National)
Cup_Top_Tens = 6
First_Cup_Race = 1967 Southern 500 (Darlington)
Last_Cup_Race = 1974 Old Dominion 500 (Martinsville)
Awards = Named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers (1998)

Named one of NASCAR Modified All-Time Top 10

first inductee in the Virginia Motorsports Hall of Fame (2003)

inducted into the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame (1993)

2007 inductee in the International Motorsports Hall of Fame
Years_In_Cup = 10
Total_Cup_Races = 17

Ray Hendrick (born April 1, 1929, died September 28, 1990), was known as "Mr. Modified" during his 36-year career in motorsports mainly in the modified stock car racing class.

The Virginia native collected more than 700 victories in modifieds, NASCAR Winston Cup series, and late model sportsman series (later known as Busch Grand National division). Ray Hendrick was the first inductee into the Virginia Hall of Fame and will be inducted in the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2007.

Hendrick raced his famous winged No. 11 Modified coupe fielded by Jack Tant and Clayton Mitchell. Rick Hendrick was a pit crew member on his car in the 1960s. [cite episode |title=Benny Parsons' commentary, ESPN 26 hour marathon for the Top NASCAR races as it turns 50 years old at Riverside International Raceway |network=ESPN2 |station=ESPN |airdate=1999 |minutes=1:00] The Richmond, Virginia star won five track championships at South Boston Speedway, four of them while competing in the NASCAR Modified division and one in the NASCAR Late Model Sportsman division.

Ray never won the National Modified Championship but finished in the Top 10 in Points nine times:
*7th in 1960,
*9th in 1961,
*6th in 1963,
*3rd in 1964,
*7th in 1965,
*3rd in 1966,
*5th in 1967,
*6th in 1968, and
*10th in 1969.

Ray also finished 8th in 1974 and 9th in 1975 in the National Late Model Sportsman Points before it became known as the Busch Grand National Division. Ray won the Modified "Race of Champions" 2 times, in 1969 on the 1 mile Langhorne Speedway asphalt and in 1975 on the Trenton Speedway 1.5 mile oval. Ray is 1st on the all-time winners list of Martinsville Speedway with 20 wins between 1963 and 1975. Next on the list is Richard Petty with 15 wins, followed by Geoff Bodine, Darrell Waltrip, and Richie Evans. Ray also won a 100 Lap National Championship race on Memorial Day Weekend of 1970 at Stafford Motor Speedway.

Hendrick was best known for his racing philosophy of racing anywhere and everywhere. Hendrick's modified career and philosophy of racing anywhere and everywhere prevented him from competing full time in NASCAR Winston Cup. In 17 starts, he collected two top-five and six top-10 finishes.

Awards

*Named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers (1998)
*Named one of NASCAR Modified All-Time Top 10
*First Inductee - Virginia Motorsports Hall of Fame 2003)
*Inductee - National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame (1993)
*Inductee - International Motorsports Hall of Fame (2007)

References

External links

* [http://www.nascar.com/2002/kyn/history/drivers/02/02/rhendrick/index.html NASCAR.com NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers]
* [http://www.nascar.com/2003/news/headlines/official/top_ten/09/12/top10_modified/index.html NASCAR.com NASCAR's Modified All-Time Top 10]
* [http://www.racing-reference.info/driver?id=hendrra01 NASCAR Cup and Busch statistics at racing-reference.info]
* [http://www.southbostonspeedway.com/IndexPageLinks/TrackInformation2004.htm SouthBostonSpeedway.com South Boston Speedway's History]