Rick Hendrick is one of the most powerful figures in the global automobile and racing industry currently. His rags-to-riches story is only told one too many times to those seeking the inspiration to make it big in life. But what often goes overlooked is the support that he had from his wife Linda throughout his whirlwind of a journey to the pinnacle of the world of car engines.
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Back before stock car racing caught his eye, Rick was into boat racing for a brief period. He was already married to Linda at this time and has fond memories of those days. “We used to go to boat races and she would sell T-shirts out the back of the van, and we just so happened to have the most popular boat out there,” he told hendrickmotorsports.com in 2021 with a glint in his eyes.
It was after these ventures that he started his first car dealership in South Carolina. The road took him to kick-start Hendrick Motorsports in 1984. Any other companion would’ve knocked sense into him for traversing such dangerous investment-heavy waters but Linda was different. She chose to place her trust in him rather than give him a hard time about their financial difficulties and it served her well.
“We’ve always been able to work the balance, and I give her a ton of credit for supporting me all those years,” he said. The team won its first Cup Series race in 1984 with Geoff Bodine behind the wheel and it hasn’t looked back since. Unfortunately, their journey together carried immense heartache and pain outside the race track.
The personal loss that the Hendricks encountered and their recovery
The couple’s son, Ricky, passed away in a plane crash in 2004. Linda braved the tragedy and continued to be a solid foundation in the Hendrick family. She told Fox Sports in 2021, “We all get our share of heartaches and disappointments in some way. I like to remember that we don’t have to look for the bad because there’s always so much good out there.”
Their daughter, Lynn Carlson, is married to Marshall Carlson who serves as the President of Hendrick Companies. Rick believes that the success of Hendrick Motorsports is an ode to the perseverance of his wife. This is why, even after all the monumental achievements the team has reached, he still wants it to deliver more.
In his words, “I was in school and she was cleaning up cars that I would sell in the paper back in those days and still found time to race. She deserves as much, if not more than I do in what the company has been able to do.” Her latest desire was that the team secure a championship in its 40th anniversary in the Cup Series. And Rick has tasked four spectacular drivers – Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, William Byron, and Alex Bowman – with this mission.
In 2015, Linda established the Hendrick Family Foundation to support a variety of not-for-profit operations. She currently plays a pivotal role in it in addition to instructing drivers on what their goals ought to be when they get on the race track.
