Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick says family issues are priority in his life
Hendrick Motorsports team owner Rick Hendrick says that family remains the priority in his life. // David Griffin, NASCAR Scene
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Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick says that his niece is recovering from the liver transplant surgery that prompted him to forego an unprecedented championship weekend, though she still has a ways to go.
Hendrick left Homestead-Miami Speedway Friday night before Sunday’s championship-determining race to be with his 29-year-old niece, Alesha Gainey, who is the daughter of his late brother, John Hendrick. John Hendrick was one of 10 people who died in a 2004 plane crash as they were traveling to a race in Martinsville, Va.
Hendrick Motorsports driver Jimmie Johnson went on to win the Sprint Cup crown on Sunday for an unprecedented fourth straight title, while the team’s Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon finished second and third to give the organization the first sweep ever of the top three spots in the final standings.
Rick Hendrick said there was no question that he would go to be with his family when the situation arose.
"I got the call on Friday, and it was from her husband," Hendrick said during a national teleconference Tuesday. "I'm really close to her. She lost her dad and her two sisters in the crash. When he called me, I was concerned. As the day went on it became obvious that this was a critical situation.
"I flew home Friday night. You know, everyone said, 'Well, there is nothing you can do here' after we got – after Saturday it was just very grim. Sunday the transplant team had came in, and they found a liver and were able to operate that day. Saturday she was too sick to even have it. Sunday she picked up just enough. It was never a doubt in my mind where I needed to be and where I wanted to be. I couldn't have enjoyed the race or the celebration. I mean, I just couldn't. I couldn't enjoy it. I needed to be there with my family."
Hendrick said he didn't even monitor the season finale, in which only Johnson and Martin were capable of winning the title, closely. He says he went in the waiting room a couple of times and watched part of it and saw the end of the race.
Beyond that, his thoughts were elsewhere.
"My family needed me," he said. "I was perfectly content where I was. I mean I knew, again, I would love to have celebrate with them, but I wasn't in the frame of mind to celebrate. And they were going to get their job done no matter what, and I had a bigger job to do back here. So I'm really proud of what they've accomplished, and I want to thank everybody on the call and the outpouring of support from people all over the country. You know, it just goes to show how people feel about you and concerned and all of the competitors. So I thank everybody for that.
"The good news is the liver's working, and she's stable, and we're going to have a really good Thanksgiving."
Hendrick said there's no timetable on when Gainey will be released, but that right now things appear to be going well.
"It's going to be a while," he said. "These transplants are – her kidneys aren't functioning yet. They should come around, and the doctors are very optimistic, but she's very, very sick. When she's not – she's not conscious yet, but she's responding. You know, we've got – we're not completely out of the woods yet, but all of the things that the signals are pointing to, everything's working. This is just a very slow process. ... These transplants like this are very serious. You've got to worry about infection, bleeding. So far everything looks good."
