NASCAR team steps up for Haiti

[Mopar151]

For the past week, (Rick)Hendrick has been sending two planes a day to Haiti, transporting medical personnel, search and rescue crews and supplies to the ravaged nation.

With the 2010 season less than a month away, NASCAR’s top organization has been as busy helping people in Haiti as it has been preparing cars for the Daytona 500. Pilots have worked around the clock, mechanics have been servicing planes and administrators have coordinated the logistics of Hendrick’s relief efforts.

Carlson estimates that the company has already spent hundreds of thousands of dollars sending planes to Haiti, and the efforts will continue long after the engines fire at Daytona next month.

“ Rick is paying for every bit of it,” Carlson says.

http://www.scenedaily.com/news/articles/

[Tailormyst]

1. Good for them !!!!!!!!!!!

I am not a Nascar fan and honestly have no idea who is who, but that's a damn nice thing they have done.

[Rebubula]

2. I will stash...

...this thread away for the next Southern or NASCAR bashing thread.

Not a NASCAR fan, but know plenty of good, liberal rednecks that enjoy racing.

[DainBramaged]

3. Hendrick has always been and always will be a class act....

and I will bet his voting record does not reflect the norm in NASCAR.


On October 24, 2004, Hendrick's son, Ricky Hendrick, two nieces and his brother were killed in an airplane crash en route to the Subway 500 in Martinsville, Virginia. All eight passengers and both pilots died in the incident.




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Hendrick

[saigon68]

15. Yes he's a class act alright.

As a convicted FELON, for various Federal Crimes

His "pursuit" and acquisition of a clinton Pardon in the last 2 days of "Draft Dodger Bill's" administration was noted for its venal exuberance and stubbornly avaricious quest.

[Mopar151]

28. Where was he convicted, and of what?

I know, and it does'nt bother me. IMHO, he was the biggest "name" involved, and the real crooks cut a deal.

[saigon68]

29. RICK HENDRICK CRIMINAL---- Just for you "Sporty"

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1997/04/28/225534/index.htm

FALL OF A MEGADEALER RICK HENDRICK'S LEGAL WOES--AND A BIG HEADACHE FOR HONDA
(FORTUNE Magazine)


(FORTUNE Magazine) – In the 1980s, a North Carolina car dealer named Rick Hendrick built an unprecedented empire in the auto retail business and ushered in the era of the "megadealer"--massive franchise networks that sell a dozen different makes or more at dealerships from coast to coast. At its peak, Hendrick Automotive had $2.2 billion a year in revenues at more than 60 dealerships.

The Department of Justice, however, paints a different picture of Rick Hendrick. A 15-count criminal indictment handed down by a federal grand jury suggests Hendrick built his empire on a foundation of corruption. Between 1981 and 1992, Hendrick bribed executives of American Honda Motor, the U.S. sales subsidiary of Honda, to acquire top-selling models like the Accord and to land new franchises in hot markets, says the 49-page indictment. In return he became the biggest Honda dealer in the country just as the Accord became the country's biggest-selling car.

THIS COCK SUCKER (Hendrick was convicted of numerous felonies Mail fraud, money laundering under the RICO Act, convicted of these after extensive "plea bargaining". The mother fucker avoided jail by claiming to be suffering from CANCER. He then served his Jail time at home on a monitor.

Then after a LARGE and SUBSTANTIAL Bribe to Draft Dodger Bill Clinton's Library, Clit-thong gave him his PARDON ala Marc Rich.

MORE

[Mopar151]

31. And the Honda exec's rolled over on him.

The case was tried in Concord, NH, because a failed Acura dealer blew the whistle. He did'nt have anyone to blame for the L/M dealership next door which also tanked, or the real estate development which also sank.
You seem to have some serious anger issues, dude - or do you work for Sonic Auto Group (Bruton Smith) where they REALLY know how to work a customer over?

[bvar22]

4. Good move.

Hendricks Racing has always been a class act, and a giant step away from the (justifiable) stereotype of Stock Car Racing.

Fan here since the late 50s.

Just a note:
My wife is from Montana.
When I met her 10 years ago in Minnesota she was incredulous when I revealed I was a NASCAR fan.
She could not understand what possible interest there could be in "Southern Rednecks" racing 500 miles in a circle. :shrug:

But I am a dedicated fan, and so she started watching with me.
As she became more familiar with the people and strategic micro-details of this form of racing, she gradually became interested.

We now both watch every weekend.
My Montana wife NOW shouts out things like things like..."Martin should only take two tires and forget the gas if he wants to go for the win !!!"...and other such things.
LOL

NOW, we are both anxiously awaiting the Valentines Day Daytona 500.
:)

[DainBramaged]

5. Bud Shootout...........Feb 6th, the long drought is over....

:hi:

[bvar22]

7. We'll be watching.

I still sometimes yearn for the good old days when back yard privateers dominated the sport instead of the Corporations, and regulations to slow the cars down and enforce "parity" weren't necessary, and the cars still visibly resembled something you could BUY at a dealer.

But it is still intensely fascinating, totally engaging, even more strategic, and much, MUCH safer.

Shootout restarts are cool.
Good Job on that, NASCAR.

[a la izquierda]

6. sounds like my story...

i love nascar & i'm a leftist. my husband got me in to it.

[bvar22]

8. !

:hi:

My wife's favorites (just asked her):
Mark Martin
Martin Truax
Marcus Ambrose (How can anyone NOT like him?)
Juan Pablo Montoya
Tony Stewart

and gotta love Dale Jr.,
though he seems very troubled living in his father's shadow.

[a la izquierda]

9. We're Mark Martin fans in this house too...

though I like Jeff Burton as well! Sweet! I can't wait for racing to start. It's the only sport I can have on the tube while writing.:toast:
I got into it because when I was 22, I moved to CA from NJ. My boyfriend (now hubby) went back to NJ to work another month. Watching racing was the one thing we could do together, from 3000 miles apart. I positively lost it when Dale Sr. died.
I've gotta tell you, though, the races have been kinda boring.

[bvar22]

13. Some of the longer races CAN get boring in the middle.

We will usually put them on the DVR, and then wait an hour or so before starting to watch.
That way, we can Fast Forward all the commercials, and sometimes when the middle of the race is just a boring logging of laps, fast forward to the last 100 laps.

DITTO on the loss of Dale Senior.
We were watching that day, and still can't believe he died in that crash.
It didn't seem THAT hard, or unusual.
He WAS a cranky old bastard from the Old School, but man, what a driver.

You can still see some of Dale's impossible moves on Youtube.

Pass in the Grass
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uo4y7MJfeIs

Still gives me chills.

[TornadoTN]

21. I like Kurt Busch

Yeah, throw something at me, but I like his attitude on the track. Admittedly, I don't watch NASCAR much, but being located outside of Bristol, it's hard not to pay attention sometimes.

Mark Martin
Carl Edwards
Juan Pablo Montoya

Round out my favorites.

[anakie]

23. As an Aussie

I would be interested why the remark about Ambrose. He is getting Australians into NASCAR racing - me for one. I just have to see how #47 goes each week. NASCAR is really different from any racing here in Oz where our V8's race exclusively on street/road circuits.


Peace

[bvar22]

24. Marcus Ambrose is a class act.

I overuse that phrase, but it fits Ambrose.
He is a Terrific driver, one of the very best.
Ambrose seems to have that rare talent to "get the utmost and then some" from his equipment, able to regularly run with teams that have much more high dollar financing.

Seems like he was always running near the front the last half of the season.
Led laps in the last race, even challenging and passing the Champion (Johnson) in the early laps of the final race of the season.
He is getting more "on camera" time (that happens when you are leading :)), and lots of positive comments from the announcers.
He races "to WIN", but races very clean.

He is one of the BEST interviews after the race. We are always interested in what Ambrose has to say about the race. Comes across very intelligent, enthusiastic, well spoken, overjoyed at "being allowed to race these cars"...AND that Australian accent is wonderful.
Great Sportsman, willing to accept responsibility when applicable, point out areas where he wants to do better, never whining or blaming the other drivers.

Marcus Ambrose is a "likable" Human Being, a great spokesman and representative for NASCAR.
The exact opposite of Kyle Bush.
Marcus gives the impression that he would race for the absolute JOY of racing even if he wasn't paid.

We expect to see Ambrose leading more races in 2010, AND winning some.

[anakie]

25. thanks for that

n/t

[Mopar151]

27. He has a great crewcheif, too

Frank Kerr was a top shelf sprint car driver before he moved south to make a better living for his family. Jeff Gordon has only been fired from 1 ride in his career - and Frankie kept the ride for 17 seasons, until his car owner, Stan Shoff, retired. Frank will tell you the real problem was the mechanic who set the car up for Jeff - but he took over that end, too.
He and Marcos claim they can't understand each other - Marcos says the car is "toit" , but he also claims Frank can't hear because of racing sprint cars!
IMHO, good short track drivers make some of the best crewcheifs & team members- Ray Evrenham for Jeff Gordon, Kirk Shelmerdine and (team engineer) Bobby Hutchens for Dale Sr., Pete Rondeau, Frankie Bergeron (bodyshop manager at Hendrick), Mike McLaughlin.......

[KittyWampus]

10. my stepmom's family works for Hendrick. They are really wonderful people.

[nadinbrzezinski]

11. So next season when hubby turns on the oval I can root for this team

and I am all but any sports fan

[Elwood P Dowd]

12. Hendrick also did this after Katrina.

Also, Ryan Newman and some of his fellow NASCAR drivers helped rescue and find homes for abandoned Katrina dogs and cats.

More from the story........



CHARLOTTE – When Rick Hendrick sat down with his family for Christmas dinner a few weeks ago, he noticed a small wooden sailboat sitting in the center of the table.

He immediately recognized it as a memento that his wife, Linda, had brought home 10 years ago from a mission trip to Haiti.

“We started talking about how poor they were there and how she wanted to bring them all home,” Hendrick recalls.

Three weeks later, Hendrick remembered the Haitian sailboat when he heard the news that a savage earthquake had rocked Port-Au-Prince, destroying the city, killing an estimated 200,000 people, injuring another 250,000 and leaving 1.5 million homeless.

Driven by his family’s connection to the country and his compassion for the people there – the kind of compassion he seems to have for people everywhere – Rick Hendrick, NASCAR’s preeminent team owner, sprung into action.

He immediately called Marshall Carlson, his son-in-law and the general manager of Hendrick Motorsports, and instructed him to see if the company could send the team planes to Haiti to help with rescue missions and relief efforts.

For the past week, Hendrick has been sending two planes a day to Haiti, transporting medical personnel, search and rescue crews and supplies to the ravaged nation.

With the 2010 season less than a month away, NASCAR’s top organization has been as busy helping people in Haiti as it has been preparing cars for the Daytona 500. Pilots have worked around the clock, mechanics have been servicing planes and administrators have coordinated the logistics of Hendrick’s relief efforts.

Carlson estimates that the company has already spent hundreds of thousands of dollars sending planes to Haiti, and the efforts will continue long after the engines fire at Daytona next month.

“ Rick is paying for every bit of it,” Carlson says.

That’s Rick Hendrick and Hendrick Motorsports, one of the most charitable organizations in NASCAR. They are as quick to respond to a call for help as they are to NASCAR’s latest rules change.

As the Sprint Media Tour descended on Hendrick Motorsports Wednesday, reporters prepared to talk about Jimmie Johnson’s quest for a fifth consecutive championship and Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s efforts to salvage his sagging career, it was the people in Haiti there that were on Hendrick’s mind.

It was the devastation in the country that struck an emotional chord with the proud team owner, and the efforts of his own people that brought a tearful smile to his face.

The day after the Jan. 12 earthquake, Hendrick and his people immediately began looking for ways to help. Hendrick planes had flown medical personnel to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, so its pilots and flight crews were used to responding to tragedy.

<snip>

[Mopar151]

14. Kick for the morning crew

Mark Martin: "Superman wears Jimmy Johnson pajamas!"

[bvar22]

18. Carl Edwards:

After slamming into the wall at 185 MPH in a wild last turn attempt to pass Jimmie Johnson for The WIN in 2008:

"I knew I was going to hit the wall, but I didn't think it would slow me down so much!
It works in the video games."

ROFL!
Amazing Video here:

http://www.nascar.com/video/cup/2008/09/28/cup.kan.high.final.nascar/index.html?MostPopular

Carl Edwards is also a class act.
He could have settled for an easy 2nd Place that day, or put a Bump & Run on Johnson for The WIN, but played it clean even though it meant he would hit the wall.

[taterguy]

16. As some people have noticed, I'm not too fond of all things automotive

But I will give props to NASCAR for their service to the community.

This is only one of many ways that they lend a helping hand to folks in need.

They've raised millions for children's charities in my area, and given their time too, which sometimes is more valuable.

[Mopar151]

17. Racing is an intelligence filter

Even the lowest tire buster has something going for them. And if you are intelligent, conscious of your own image, and the sport's, You figure out that compassion and giving only cost in the short run. The paybacks in satisfaction, pride, and fan support are huge - and that fan support is what keeps your sponsors happy!
Also - racers are, for the most part, problem solvers, wheeler dealers, movers and shakers with little paitence for red tape, muddling in indecision, or beaureaucracy. I talked to a racer from Florida (Daytona area) who pulled together a truckload of water, diapers, and toilet paper to go to the Miami area when the big hurricane hit. "We did'nt call nobody, or get any permits. We drove the truck down 'til we hit the National Guard checkpoint, and told 'em we were supposed to go to the Baptist church, and we needed directions. We figured somebody at the church would send us to the right place!"

[Elwood P Dowd]

19. How is the new ownership doing with the track in Loudon?

What is ole Bruton up to these days?

[TornadoTN]

20. Probably adding another 100k seats to Bristol

Bruton does some really good things for the community surrounding Bristol. Every year at Christmas, they turn the track into "Speedway in Lights", full of lights and decorations and a drive around the track to meet Santa, and all proceeds go to Speedway Childrens Charities. I know a lot of people who have been helped by their support and aid.

[bvar22]

26. Bristol is one of my favorite tracks and favorite races.

If I were going to attend one race in person, it would be Bristol.

I used to go in the late 60s and early 70s...Talladega and Darlington.
Now, I prefer to watch on TV...
Multiple Cameras, instant replay, and the ability of the cameras to follow someone completely around the track for several laps allowing me to watch the incredible ballet of setting someone up for a pass.

While being at Talladega in person is incredible, you only really get to see a "snapshot" every lap as they pass the grandstand at 200+ MPH.

Bristol is one of the few tracks where it is possible to follow someone "All the Way Around".

[Mopar151]

22. Stirring up the natives a bit n/t

[Mudoria]

30. Michael Waltrip has stepped up as well

http://www.gastongazette.com/news/team-42664-lumiere-doctors.html