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A NASCAR BLOG BY Art Weinstein

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Hendrick shows generous side

Dec 16

Team owner Rick Hendrick is often vilified by NASCAR fans for various reasons. I think some fans are just tired of his teams winning all the time. With seven NASCAR Cup championships in the last 13 years, Hendrick Motorsports is NASCAR’s version of the New York Yankees during their heyday. You either love them, or you hate ’em.

Well, however you feel about Rick Hendrick, the man, here’s how he’s been spending his offseason. On Dec. 8, he read a story in The Charlotte Observer about an injured U.S. soldier, Cpl. John Hyland.

Hyland was riding in a Humvee in Iraq on Sept. 10 when an explosion ripped through the vehicle, crushing his feet and breaking bones in his back and pelvis. Hyland has spent most of the past three months recuperating in a Texas military hospital. That has created a struggle for his wife and two young sons, because they live more than two hours away, in Fort Hood, Texas, but they don’t have a car.

And for Hyland to return home, he would need a specially equipped – and expensive – van.

“When I saw that boy [Hyland’s son Wyatt] walking beside the wheelchair, I knew I was supposed to do something,” Hendrick told The Observer.

So Hendrick called Hyland’s mother and arranged to give the family a brand-new, handicapped-equipped Honda Odyssey, worth more than $50,000. He also called Hyland, thanking him for his sacrifices for his country.

Hearing this story of Hendrick’s generosity might not make a difference how you feel about him. But Hendrick’s actions made a difference for one grateful soldier.

“It just humbles me,” Hyland said. “It’s the real meaning of Christmas.”