_{*Quick Summary: The author tells more about the restoration of Ricky Hendrick’s late model race trailer.*}

In several interviews and TV glimpses into the Hendrick Heritage Center, Rick Hendrick has mentioned the thing that got him thinking about building the Heritage Center was when he received his son Ricky’s trailer we restored for him in 2006. A surprise, he and his wife Linda were so touched when they first saw it, they knew they needed to keep it in a special place. For months after the presentation, they each tried unsuccessfully to go through it several times, but were overcome with emotion, paused and would try again later. When Ricky’s mom Linda finally went all the way through it, I felt privileged to be by her side. She went slowly and deliberately, taking in every item, every photo. It was special to her, and very special to me to be able to hold her hand and escort her through it.

While the restoration was done secretly by my group along with the Metal Shaping Department at Hendrick Motorsports, I can’t take much credit for it. It was truly a team effort, but certainly wouldn’t be what it is without the people who spent days and days polishing aluminum, measuring and building displays, creating decals, and acquiring the items, many of which were donated. In fact, most of the personal items on display like Ricky’s helmets, uniforms, sunglasses, etc. were all given to the effort when the people Ricky originally gave them to years ago found out what we were doing. I gave two uniforms, a pair of shoes, and a few other items to the effort myself. It sure felt good to know they were finally going back where they belonged – with Ricky’s family.

Because it’s Ricky’s birthday today, and because the trailer has been shown publicly a few times, I wanted to finally share these photos. I hope you enjoy seeing them as much as we enjoyed this labor of love!

You may also find this post about the restoration of one of Ricky’s cars of interest: https://michaelmyrick.org/ricky-hendrick-late-model-restoration/

UPDATE May 6, 2021: Someone sent me this related video the other day, so I thought I’d include it here: https://www.facebook.com/NASCARonFOX/videos/963640494490561/