I suspect most of us who've been around the tracks have a racing hero. Maybe he's a driver who led races you listened to on the radio from places you hadn't been yet... Darlington, Riverside, Daytona, Bridgehampton. Maybe your racing hero was a mechanic or car owner.
Maybe your racing hero came from the weekly ranks. Maybe he was a Friday and Saturday night hero who held down a full time job when not racing. Modifieds, Late Model Sportsman, Sportsman, 6 Cylinder, Hobby or Amateur division. These were the backbones of stock car racing after WWII.
My racing hero (the name won't surprise those who know me) hailed from my hometown of Richmond, Va. He came from the ranks of the weekly racers, but turned down many opportunities to race for a number of Grand National owners. He liked his "day job" working as a construction foreman for his brother, Ed.
I first saw him in 1964 at the weekly Richmond asphalt NASCAR venue of Southside Speedway and at a "Special Event" NASCAR National Championship Double Point Modified race at Rchmond's dirt Strawberry Hill. He won both races - equally at home on dirt as asphalt.
Later in his career, his hometown fans saw little of Ray Hendrick in Richmond. He was busy being paid to make special appearances at NASCAR Modified races all over New England for significant "deal money." Ray said he made more in deal money than he could running Grand National full time.
He was called "Mr. Modified" "Rapid Ray" or just plain Ray .
My racing hero passed 24 years ago today - on September 28, 1990 , after a four year battle with cancer. I find it difficult to believe that in just 12 days, I'll be 5 years older than Ray was when he passed. Ray was buried in his racing firesuit - something he only wore late in his career. It was the one with the Firestone logo. His name was misspelled on that driving suit. An embroiderer added an "s" to his last name, something many sports writers were also guilty of doing.
Stock Car Driver Loses Four-year Cancer Battle
Ray Hendrick , who thrilled stock car fans throughout the Southeast and Middle Atlantic states for four decades, died Friday morning in Richmond.
The 61-year-old racer died after a four-year battle with cancer. Burial will be Monday from Woody Funeral Home in Richmond.
Hendrick won more than 500 NASCAR races and achieved near-legendary status among the Modified and Grand National drivers who faced him weekly for almost 35 years.
During the '50s and '60s he teamed with car owners Ira Smiley, John Tadlock and Jack Tant-Clayton Mitchell to win hundreds of Modified races from South Carolina to New England.
Among the most important were the 1969 Langhorn (Pa.) Race of Champions, a 100-miler at Dover Downs (Del.) the same year and the Trenton Race of Champions in 1975. Little wonder he was dubbed "Mr. Modified" in the mid-'60s.
Hendrick didn't miss a beat in the early '70s when Sportsman cars replaced Modifieds at most Southern tracks.
He drove the Tant-Mitchell "Flying 11" for years, then spent several seasons driving the long-distance, better-paying races for New Englander Dick Armstrong.
He was a frequent competitor and long-time favorite at Langley Raceway in Hampton. Joe Carver, who ran the track between 1974 and 1983, still calls Hendrick "the best Virginian I ever saw and one of the best three or four drivers in the whole country."
Among Hendrick's brightest moments were 300-mile Late Model victories at Charlotte, N.C., in 1976-77 and a 300-miler at Talladega, Ala., in 1977. He holds the record of 20 career victories at Martinsville Speedway.
Hendrick began racing at Richmond's Royall Speedway (since renamed Southside) in 1950. His son, Roy, won 23 races and the track's Late Model title this season.
Many fans consider the Modified battles among Ray Hendrick , Sonny Hutchins , Bill Dennis , Ted Hairfield , Lennie Pond and the late Runt Harris and Gene Lovelace the best weekly racing ever seen in Virginia.
Later, he scrapped on and off the track with Sportsman foes Hutchins, Dennis, Tommy Ellis, Jimmy Hensley, Geoff Bodine and the late Butch Lindley.
Despite glowing credentials, Hendrick never actively pursued a Winston Cup ride and never won a NASCAR national chamnpionship.
His last competitive race was in the early '80s. He came back briefly several years ago in an emotional race in his son's car at South Boston Speedway.
Weak and pale, Hendrick made a sentimental trip to Langley for "Ray Hendrick Appreciation Night" on April 21.
Survivors include his wife, Janet; sons Raymond, Roy, and Ronnie; a daughter, Lindsey Rae; a brother, Stuart; and nine grandchildren.
Hats off. a prayer and thanks to all of our racing heroes.
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Why don't we all check the birthday or passing date of our own personal racing hero and post a tribute to that individual during the coming year on the individual's special date? We should hear a number of interesting stories from our RR members and perhaps learn of drivers, owners and mechanics whose stories are new to us. What do you think? Can you pen a line or two about your racing hero at the appropriate time to share with us? Doesn't have to be long or fancy. Just tell us a bit about your racing hero.
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"Any Day is Good for Stock Car Racing"
updated by @dave-fulton: 12/05/16 04:00:58PM
