Rick Hendrick

Rick Hendrick
Hendrick in 2012
Born	Joseph Riddick Hendrick III (1949-07-12) July 12, 1949 (age 67) Palmer Springs, Virginia
Residence	Charlotte, North Carolina
Nationality	American
Occupation	Owner, Hendrick Motorsports
Years active	1984–present
Employer	Hendrick Motorsports (owner)
Home town	Palmer Springs, Virginia
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Linda Hendrick
Children	Ricky Hendrick (deceased), Lynn Carlson
Parent(s)	Joseph Hendrick Jr. (deceased) Mary Hendrick (deceased)
Awards	NASCAR Hall of Fame Inductee (2017)
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career
2 races run over 2 years
Best finish	63rd (1988)
First race	1987 Winston Western 500 (Riverside)
Last race	1988 Budweiser 400 (Riverside)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
1 race run over 1 year
Best finish	64th (1987)
First race	1987 Amoco 300 (Road Atlanta)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career
1 race run over 1 year
Best finish	88th (1995)
First race	1995 Heartland Tailgate 175 (Topeka)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0

Joseph Riddick "Rick" Hendrick III (born July 12, 1949) is the current owner of the American NASCAR team, Hendrick Motorsports and founder of the Hendrick Automotive Group and Hendrick Marrow Program. He attended Park View High School in South Hill, Virginia, and began his career in auto racing at age 14. He is also a retired race car driver himself, driving in only four NASCAR races throughout the course of his NASCAR career. He is the father of the late Ricky Hendrick, a former NASCAR driver.

Hendrick, born on July 12, 1949, in Warrenton, NC, was raised on his family's farm. Hendrick, at the age of 14, began drag racing in a self built 1931 Chevrolet. Two years later, at age 16, Hendrick won the Virginia division of the Chrysler-Plymouth Troubleshooting Contest, a two-part test consisting of a written exam and a timed hands-on diagnosis and repair of defects planted on a car. While attending Park View High School in South Hill, Virginia, he considered being a professional baseball player. After high school, he decided to pursue a co-op work study program with North Carolina State University and Westinghouse Electric Company in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Afterward, Hendrick opened a small used-car lot with Mike Leith, named Hendrick Automotive Group. Leith, an established new-car dealer, was convinced to name Hendrick the general sales manager of the company, at age 23. In 1976, he sold his assets to purchase a franchise in Bennettsville, South Carolina. After doing so, he became the youngest Chevrolet dealer in the United States. Hendrick's influence increased sales to make the once troubled location become the region's most profitable. The success of Bennettsville was a precursor to the Hendrick Automotive Group, which now has 98 franchises and 10,000 employees across 13 states. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, his company had a revenue of excess of $3.5 billion in 2009, after selling 100,000 vehicles and servicing 1.5 million, and is the sixth largest dealership in the United States. Hendrick is also the chairman of the company.