Ray Hendrick

Ray Hendrick (April 1, 1929 – September 28, 1990) was an American race car driver. He was known as "Mr. Modified" during his 36-year career in motorsports, mainly in the modified stock car racing class.

Born(1929-04-01)April 1, 1929
Richmond, Virginia, U.S.

DiedSeptember 28, 1990(1990-09-28) (aged 61)

Cause of deathCancer

AchievementsAll-time wins leader at Martinsville Speedway (20 wins)

Quick facts Raymond Hendrick, Born ...

Raymond Hendrick
Hendrick in 1968
Born	(1929-04-01)April 1, 1929 Richmond, Virginia, U.S.
Died	September 28, 1990(1990-09-28) (aged 61)
Cause of death	Cancer
Achievements	All-time wins leader at Martinsville Speedway (20 wins)
Awards	Named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers (1998) National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame (1993) Virginia Motorsports Hall of Fame (2003) International Motorsports Hall of Fame (2007) Ranked No. 4 on All-Time Top 10 Modified Drivers list (2010) Named one of NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers (2023) NASCAR Hall of Fame (2026)
NASCAR Cup Series career
17 races run over 10 years
Best finish	75th (1969)
First race	1967 Southern 500 (Darlington)
Last race	1974 Old Dominion 500 (Martinsville)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 6 0
NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series career
7 races run over 1 year
Best finish	27th (1982)
First race	1982 Eastern 150 (Richmond)
Last race	1982 Harvest 150 Richmond)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 4 0
Statistics up to date as of April 24, 2013.

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The Virginia native collected more than 700 victories in modifieds and the NASCAR Late Model Sportsman Series (later known as Busch Grand National Division). Ray Hendrick was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 2012, the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2007, and will be inducted in the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2026.

Hendrick raced his famous winged No. 11 Modified coupe fielded by Jack Tant and Clayton Mitchell. Rick Hendrick (no relation) was a pit crew member on his car in the 1960s.^[1] The Richmond, Virginia star won five track championships at South Boston Speedway, four of them while competing in the NASCAR Modified division and one in the NASCAR Late Model Sportsman division.

Hendrick never won the National Modified Championship but finished in the top-ten in points nine times:

• 7th in 1960,
• 9th in 1961,
• 6th in 1963,
• 3rd in 1964,
• 7th in 1965,
• 3rd in 1966,
• 5th in 1967,
• 6th in 1968, and
• 10th in 1969.

Hendrick also finished eighth in 1974 and ninth in 1975 in the National Late Model Sportsman Points before it became known as the Busch Grand National Division. Ray won the Modified "Race of Champions" 2 times, in 1969 on the 1-mile Langhorne Speedway asphalt and in 1975 on the Trenton Speedway 1.5-mile oval. Hendrick is first on the all-time winners list of Martinsville Speedway with 20 wins between 1963 and 1975. Next on the list is Richard Petty with 15 wins, followed by Geoff Bodine, Darrell Waltrip, and Richie Evans. Hendrick also won a 100 Lap National Championship race on Memorial Day Weekend of 1970 at Stafford Motor Speedway.

Hendrick was best known for his racing philosophy of racing anywhere and everywhere. Hendrick's modified career and philosophy of racing anywhere and everywhere prevented him from competing full-time in NASCAR Winston Cup. In 17 starts, he collected two top-five and six top-ten finishes.