May 1, 1977: Waltrip goes to Talladega victory lane with a hitchhiker
Stock Car Racing History
Appropriately, it was 7 years ago this past week that Ray Hendrick was enshrined into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame at Talladega, complementing his enshrinement in the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame, Eastern Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame, Virginia Sports Hall of Fame and the Virginia Motorsports Hall of Fame. Only one Hall of Fame is missing for Ray and it's located just down the road from me. Shame, shame, shame.
Ray Hendrick 2007 International Motorsports Hall of Fame Inductee
On Thursday, April 26, 2007, the International Motorsports Hall of Fame (IMHOF) will induct former NASCAR driver Ray Hendrick.
Hendrick is credited with an impressive list of more than 700 NASCAR victories in his 34-year career. Most of these wins were in Modified and Late Model Sportsman racing. In addition, Hendricks son, Roy says his father won several hundred dirt-track Outlaw events.
I heard him tell my mother several times, I dont know what them other guys are out there for, but Im here to win, recalls Roy Hendrick. Thats just the way he was. He wasnt out there to run second.
Instead of pursuing a career in a single racing series, Hendrick bounced around from track to track, winning races literally from Maine to Florida. As the victories increased, his reputation grew, to the point where tracks requested that he compete in their events. This shaped his part-time status that he would keep for the remainder of his career.
After finishing in the top-10 National Modified point standings every year from 1963 through 1969, and in the top-10 points of the Late Model Sportsman division (now known as the Busch Series) in 1974 and 75, Hendrick proved a part-time status didnt determine where he finished.
People always asked him why he didnt run the Grand Nationals on a regular basis, Roy Hendrick recalls. He said he was working for a living and was able to feed us, and he was making more with the (guaranteed) deal money the promoters would give him than he got from winning races. He was doing better than a lot of the regular guys. So he never pursued the big time.
Hendrick made his own big time with the amount of victories he accumulated. Among his accomplishments is being the all-time winner at Martinsville Speedway with 20 wins (13 Modified and seven Late Model Sportsman). Though, Roy Hendrick says his father who died in 1990 after a longtime illness rarely thought of himself that way.
He didnt think about how many times hed won. He just went from week to week, racing.
As a result of Hendricks outstanding performance in motorsports, he has been recognized with several honors including National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame inductee (1993), one of NASCARs 50 Greatest Drivers (1998), earning No. 4 in the NASCAR Modified All-Time Top 10, and being the first inductee into the Virginia Motorsports Hall of Fame (2003).
This year, Hendricks name will be listed among other motorsports achievers in the IMHOF when he is inducted on April 26, 2007. Joining Hendrick in this prominent recognition are Wayne Rainey, Bruton Smith, Warren Johnson, Junie Donlavey and Jack Ingram.
In light of Hendricks induction, a replica of the 1936 Chevrolet Coupe NASCAR No. 11 Modified machine is on display at the International Motorsports Hall of Fame and Museum.
