Topic: Rick Hendrick

Joseph Riddick Hendrick III (born July 12, 1949), better known as Rick Hendrick is an owner of several NASCAR stock cars and teams as well as the Hendrick Automotive Group, one of the largest automotive chains in the United States.

Hendrick was raised on his family's farm near Palmer Springs, Virginia and attended Park View High School in South Hill, Virginia, where he excelled in athletics. Hendrick considered an opportunity to play professional baseball before entering a co-op work-study program with North Carolina State University and Westinghouse Electric Company in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Hendrick Motorsports, founded in 1984, is one of the most successful teams in NASCAR, winning Sprint Cup championships in 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009. Hendrick Motorsports owns several race teams, including the Sprint Cup teams of Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., and Jimmie Johnson. Past drivers include Geoff Bodine, Tim Richmond, Benny Parsons, Jimmy Means, Darrell Waltrip, Ken Schrader, Ricky Craven, Todd Bodine, Wally Dallenbach, Jr., Randy LaJoie, Joe Nemechek, Ricky Rudd, Terry Labonte, Brian Vickers, Casey Mears, Jerry Nadeau, his son Ricky Hendrick, Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, and Rick Hendrick himself.