Tragedy at Hendrick Motorsports.(Competition)

IN WHAT MANY CALL ONE of the biggest tragedies in racing, 10 people aboard a Hendrick Motorsports plane died Oct. 24 when it crashed in fog and drizzle near a small airport at Spencer, Virginia. The plane had left Concord, North Carolina, bound for the Subway 500 NASCAR race at Martinsville Speedway where four Hendrick drivers, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Terry Labonte and Brian Vickers, were competing.

The Virginia State Police released the names of the victims. They are former NASCAR driver Ricky Hendrick, the 24-year-old son of team owner Rick Hendrick; John Hendrick, Rick's brother and president of the organization; Kimberly and Jennifer Hendrick, John's twin daughters, age 22; Joe Jackson, DuPont's motorsports director; Hendrick Motorsports general manager Jeff Turner; noted Hendrick engine builder Randy Dorton; Scott Latham, a pilot for Tony Stewart; and Hendrick Motorsports pilots Dick Tracy and Liz Morrison.

The Beech 200 turboprop left North Carolina midmorning Sunday for the short flight to Martinsville, located in the mountains of southern Virginia. The Federal Aviation Administration said it lost contact with the plane around 12:30 p.m. Because of fog and low clouds, it took several hours for search planes and helicopters to locate the wreckage. Search and rescue crews could not immediately reach the site because of the rough terrain.

The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board notified NASCAR of the accident shortly after losing contact with the plane. NASCAR officials closed ranks and chose to withhold the news until the race was completed around 5:10 p.m. Johnson won the race. The drivers and some crewmen were told in the privacy of the NASCAR hauler. None of them went to victory lane. NASCAR spokesman Jim Hunter declined comment, other than to confirm the accident and say NASCAR had been in contact with Rick Hendrick, who was not at the race.

It was the first fatal aviation accident within the close-knit NASCAR family since Mark Martin's father, stepmother and half-sister died in their private plane in August 1998. Reigning NASCAR champion Alan Kulwicki and three other men died in a crash near Bristol in April 1993, and Davey Allison died when his helicopter crashed at the Talladega Superspeedway three months later.

At press time, there was no indication the organization's Nextel Cup or Busch Series teams will be sitting out the Oct. 30-31 NASCAR races at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

For further information, go to autoweek.com, which will be udpated as more information becomes available.