In Concord, N.C., just down the appropriately named Papa Joe Hendrick Blvd., sits the sprawling facility of Hendrick Motorsports. The entire complex is a testament to all that Rick Hendrick has achieved in NASCAR.
Featured prominently between the primary buildings that house the four HMS NASCAR Cup Series teams is a large fountain. In it, 10 streams of water combine into one. Each of those streams simultaneously represent both accomplishment and unachieved potential.
Sunday, Oct. 24, 2004, was cloudy, gray and maybe a bit forlorn even without the tragedy that would eventually unfold. The Cup Series was at Martinsville Speedway for the Subway 500, the 32nd race of the season.
The playoffs were winding down but Jimmie Johnson was heating up. Johnson had won the prior week at Charlotte Motor Speedway and was focused on narrowing the gap between him and championship leader Kurt Busch. The green flag waved shortly after 12:30 p.m. ET.
Around this same time, about 125 miles southwest of Martinsville, a Hendrick-owned Beechcraft Super King Air 200 took off from Concord Regional Airport. On board were 10 people who served a variety of roles in the organization. The plane intended to land at Blue Ridge Airport in Martinsville, allowing the occupants to reach the track around the conclusion of the race.
Back at the half-mile oval, Johnson closed out his second consecutive win as he held off Rusty Wallace during a late restart to pick up his first career short track triumph. On the television broadcast, Johnson parked with his bumper against the pit wall as he unleashed a massive burnout. Suddenly, the burnout stopped and with no additional fanfare, the No. 48 slowly trudged back around to pit road.
Then the broadcast cut to NBC pit reporter Bill Weber, who stood with NASCAR VP of Corporate Communication Jim Hunter. Hunter explained that there would be no victory lane celebrations, as the FAA had informed NASCAR that a Hendrick plane en route to Martinsville had been “lost”.
In aviation lingo, “lost” is a troubling expression. It describes an aircraft that disappeared from radar and is unaccounted for. It’s a situation that almost never ends well. The plane had crashed but authorities just hadn’t found it yet. Neither Hunter nor NBC could provide any information about who was on board the aircraft. But NASCAR leaders knew who was on it. When Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Terry Labonte and Brian Vickers, the team’s drivers, had…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at …