American race team owner and former driver Rick Hendrick has owned Hendrick Motorsports since 1984. He has also driven racing cars in the past. Throughout his NASCAR career, he participated in just four races as a driver. He is the father of the late NASCAR driver Ricky Hendrick.
Table of Contents
- Rick Hendrick’s Appearance (Height, Hair, Eyes & More)
- Facts About Rick Hendrick
- Rick Hendrick’s Net Worth
- Rick Hendrick’s Early Life and Education
- Rick Hendrick’s Wife and Family Life
- Rick Hendrick’s Career
- Rick Hendrick’s Controversies
- Rick Hendrick’s Humanitarian Works and Activism
- Rick Hendrick’s Real Estate and Other Properties
Rick Hendrick’s Appearance (Height, Hair, Eyes & More)
| Height | 5 ft 6 in 1.68 m |
|---|---|
| Weight | 198 pounds 90 kg |
| Hair Color | Blonde |
| Eye Color | Hazel |
| Body Type | Average |
| Sexual Orientation | Straight |
Facts About Rick Hendrick
| Nationality | American |
|---|---|
| Estimate Net Worth | $1 Billion |
| Religion | Christianity |
| Zodiac Sign | Cancer |
| Birthplace | Warrenton, North Carolina, USA |
| Birthday | July 12, 1949 |
Rick Hendrick’s Net Worth
Rick Hendrick is an American businessman, entrepreneur, and former race car driver with a \$1 billion net worth. The most notable accomplishment of Rick Hendrick is his ownership of the NASCAR team Hendrick Motorsports.
The 73-year-old billionaire owns 140 franchises across 14 states and the Hendrick Automotive Group. The sixth-largest dealership in the United States, the company is led by Rick. Since 1984, he has owned the Hendrick Motorsports racing team.
See the net worth of other famous athletes here.
Rick Hendrick’s Early Life
On this date in 1987:
— NASCAR Memories (@NASCARMemories) November 8, 2022
Rick Hendrick made his Winston Cup debut. He started 21st and finished 33rd at Riverside. pic.twitter.com/3ZRhBICSam
Joseph Riddick Hendrick III was born in Warrenton, North Carolina, on July 12, 1949. (1) Rick and his brother John were raised by his parents, Mary and Joseph, on a farm near Palmer Springs, Virginia. At 14, Rick built a 1931 Chevrolet and began to drag racing. At 16, he took first place in the Chrysler-Plymouth Troubleshooting Competition.
Rick Hendrick’s Education
Though he first pondered a future in baseball, Hendrick attended Park View High School in Virginia. After graduating, he joined a co-op work-study program provided by Westinghouse Electric Company and North Carolina State.
Rick Hendrick’s Wife and Family Life
At an ice cream shop, Rick met Linda, the woman he would later marry. Together, they had two children, Ricky and Lynn. Ricky was a race car driver when he was younger but tragically passed away at 24 in an aircraft crash in 2004. Rick’s brother and two nieces were among the nine other collision victims.
Rick and Linda were passengers on a jet that made an emergency landing at Key West International Airport in 2011. Linda had only minor wounds, but Rick sustained three broken ribs and a fractured collarbone.
Rick Hendrick’s Career
Hendrick started a modest used vehicle business after graduation and, at age 23, was promoted to general sales manager. At age 26 and after acquiring a franchise in Bennettsville, South Carolina, Rick became the nation’s youngest Chevrolet dealer before founding the Hendrick Automotive Group, which now employs over 10,000 people. The business generated $9 billion in revenue in 2016.
Hendrick participated in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series, and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series as a race car driver. In the late 1970s, he also founded a drag boat racing crew that went on to win three championships and set a world record.
Later, Rick co-owned and sponsored a couple of NASCAR Late Model Sportsman Series vehicles, taking home a victory in 1983 alongside Dale Earnhardt. Hendrick launched All-Star Racing the following year, now known as Hendrick Motorsports, and fielded a NASCAR Winston Cup team. The squad participated in 30 races with driver Geoff Bodine and placed ninth overall.
With Hendrick Motorsports and JR Motorsports (which Hendrick co-owns with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kelly Earnhardt Miller), Rick has experienced 16 Drivers’ championships, 345 race victories, and 290 pole positions as a team owner. Many people view him as NASCAR’s most successful team owner. The 430,000-square-foot, 140-acre Hendrick Motorsports headquarters is located in Concord, North Carolina, and employs 600 employees. After Rick Hendrick retires, Jeff Gordon will take over Hendrick Motorsports, Hendrick stated in December 2018.
Rick Hendrick’s Controversies
In 1997, Hendrick admitted to mailing fraud with a Honda executive. He was given three years of probation, a $250,000 fine, and a year of home confinement. In 2000, President Clinton granted him a pardon. (2)
Rick admitted to gifting American Honda Motor Company officials BMWs, homes, and substantial sums of money in the 1980s, but President Bill Clinton pardoned him in 2000.
You may also be interested in: Steven Furtick’s net worth
Rick Hendrick’s Humanitarian Works and Activism
To help patients pay for transplant expenses that are not covered by insurance, Rick and Linda established the Hendrick Marrow Program in 1997. This program raises money to register potential donors with the Be The Match Foundation.
The Leadership for the Life Award was given to Rick and Linda by the Be The Match Foundation in 1999. Hendrick also contributes to The Hendrick Foundation for Children, established by his late brother in 2004, and Charlotte’s Levin Children’s Hospital.
The Hendrick Marrow Program, which has raised over $15 million since its start, is now a part of the Hendrick Family Foundation, which Rick and Linda founded in 2016. The Jimmie Johnson Foundation has donated to several charities. It raises money for K–12 public education through its Jimmie Johnson Foundation Champions Grant program. The Chase Elliott Foundation, both of which were founded by Hendrick Motorsports drivers, is supported by the Hendrick Family Foundation.
North Carolina’s highest civilian award, The Order of the Long Leaf Pine, was bestowed to Hendrick in 1996. That same year, the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans also gave him a Horatio Alger Award. At the Sprint Cup Series Awards Ceremony in 2009, Rick was given the Bill France Award of Excellence. In 2014, he was given the Automotive News Lifetime Achievement Award. He was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame (2013), the NASCAR Hall of Fame (2017), and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America.
Rick Hendrick’s Real Estate and Other Properties
Rick spent $3.65 million in Charlotte, North Carolina, on a 12,803-square-foot house. There are six bedrooms and eight bathrooms in the home. Hendrick apparently also has a $15 million Gulfstream G-V private plane and a $35 million yacht. (3)
References
- Emmy Wallin, Rick Hendrick Net Worth, retrieved from https://wealthygorilla.com/rick-hendrick-net-worth/
- Kathryn Underwood, NASCAR Team Owner Rick Hendrick’s Net Worth Is in the Billions, retrieved from https://marketrealist.com/p/rick-hendrick-net-worth/
- Web Post, Rick Hendrick Net Worth, retrieved from https://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-businessmen/ceos/rick-hendrick-net-worth/