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Joseph Riddick " Ricky" Hendrick IV (April 2, 1980 – October 24, 2004) was an American stock car racing driver and partial owner at Hendrick Motorsports, a NASCAR team that his father Rick Hendrick founded. He was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, on April 2, 1980, and began racing in Go Karts at a young age, then the Legends Series at fifteen. He competed in both the Busch Series and Craftsman Truck Series before his death from an airplane accident on October 24, 2004. He was killed with nine other family members and friends during the accident.
Hendrick competed in two ARCA Menards Series races — October 4, 2000, at Charlotte Motor Speedway and the 2001 Daytona event in February.
Hendrick continued to run late models in 2000 while adding select NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series starts in the No. 17 GMAC/Quaker State Chevrolet Silverado. He also made starts in the No. 24 Busch Series car but was involved in several accidents and suffered concussions.
In 2001, Hendrick ran the full Truck Series schedule. He earned his first NASCAR win at Kansas Speedway on July 7 — at the time, the youngest Truck Series race winner — and posted nineteen top-ten finishes, then a rookie record. He finished second in Rookie of the Year to Travis Kvapil.
In 2002, Hendrick moved to the Busch Series with crew chief Lance McGrew driving the No. 5 Ally Financial Chevrolet Monte Carlo. Hendrick suffered an accident in the third race of the season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway that resulted in a broken shoulder. He required surgery and missed 3 months of racing before he returned in May and finished fifteenth at Richmond. Hendrick decided to retire from driving in October of the same year due to mental health and physical concerns. He continued to be employed by Hendrick Motorsports, as the owner of two teams: Brian Vickers and Kyle Busch in the Busch Series. Hendrick also founded a motorcycle dealership in Pineville, North Carolina, named Ricky Hendrick's Performance Honda.
In January 2006, Carolinas HealthCare System announced a US$3 million commitment from the Rick and Linda Hendrick family to benefit the new Levine Children’s Hospital; in recognition, the hospital dedicated its pediatric intensive care centers as the **Ricky Hendrick Centers for Intensive Care**.
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