*Quick Summary: The author, a former member of Ricky Hendrick’s late model race team, reflects on the team’s first victory.*
Ten years ago today, May 23 1998, Ricky Hendrick won his first ever NASCAR Late Model Stock race at Concord Motorsport Park. This win was so big for all of us. With Ricky’s father Rick at home with Leukemia, it was certainly bittersweet. It was also special to Ricky because it was one of the few races where his grandmother Helen Myrick was there to watch us.
I was so fortunate to have been embraced by Ricky’s team when I was. I was a late addition to the team, having come back to HMS in January of 1998. After watching a race from the stands where Ricky’s dash caught fire, it made me feel like I needed to be involved more closely. Rick, Papa Joe, Frank Edwards, and the guys humored me for a while, but I eventually learned my job as a tire specialist and was able to contribute. I was still the least qualified on the team by far, so I did a lot more watching than working. I am thankful they put up with me, taught me what they did, and helped me to become a better team member as time went on. That group of guys will always hold a special place in my heart for the times we spent together.
Ricky made a lot of improvement driving the late models prior to the win, but we noticed he seemed to drive harder when he was upset or when the car was damaged. Because of our lifelong relationship and being the most recent addition to the team, I was asked to rile Ricky up a bit before the race, and I did. In fact, Ricky was quite upset with me by the time the race started. I was picking on him like only an obnoxious close friend or family member could. Just brutal, harsh stuff. Anything I could think of to get him mad. If I was anyone else, he’d have sent me home, and I’d be off the team. Justifiably so. Before the race, we exchanged finger gestures at each other and I said something pretty mean to him through the window net before he pulled off pit road, and kicked the door of the car so he could hear it inside. If my job was to make him mad, I did it well.
He went on to race very hard all night. When he won and pulled into Victory Lane, I peeked my head in the window, said the same nasty thing I said to him before the start of the race, and exchanged finger gestures with him again. This time, we were both laughing!
I can’t take credit for him winning that day; that was a team effort. I did help to set his mood before he climbed in the car though. As we’d noticed, Ricky’s anger caused him to increase focus. He and I talked about it at length the following race. I explained that if he could get his mind to that level of focus on his own, I wouldn’t have to be a jerk, he and I could still be close, and we could win races together. He said even if he couldn’t increase focus, he didn’t want to relive the previous scenario, because he didn’t want our relationship to change, and we both felt it certainly would. How many times can you pretend to be angry at someone you love before it loses its magic, or the relationship changes? We wanted to win races, but we wanted a close and long-lasting relationship even more.
We would go on to have many more great times together over the next few years, but this day sure stands out in my mind as one of the best. Seeing these photos brings it all back just like it was yesterday.
