For the greater part of four decades, racers knew that if Ray Hendrick and his famous Flying 11 car showed up, then that was the guy to beat.
The actual number is unknown, but it’s estimated that Hendrick won over 700 NASCAR-sanctioned races in the modified and late model sportsman (now the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series) divisions. The Richmond, Va., native was somewhat of a racing nomad, often noted as being willing to race anywhere and everywhere. He filled his schedule with modified and late model sportsman races up and down the East Coast. He didn’t chase points and championships; he looked for the races that paid the most to win.
Because of that, Hendrick never won any major national championships and didn’t get some of the recognition that some of his peers received. It’s also likely why it’s taken this long for him to get into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
However, Hendrick did win five track championships at South Boston Speedway (four in the modified division and one in the late model sportsman) and won races at some of the most prestigious tracks at the time, including Talladega Superspeedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway and Dover Motor Speedway. He is the only driver with more Martinsville Speedway victories than Richard Petty, winning at The Paperclip 20 times in a 13-year span.
He also won the modified Race of Champions twice, with the first coming in 1969 at Langhorne Speedway and the second in 1975 at Trenton Speedway. Additionally, he won the 1970 National Championship race at Stafford Motor Speedway. And despite not chasing championships, Hendrick finished in the top 10 in National Modified Championship points nine times from 1960-1969 and twice in the National Late Model Sportsman (now O’Reilly Series) points in 1974 and 1975.
Hendrick started his career in 1950, racing and winning on dirt tracks. After switching to pavement, he paired up with Jack Tant and Clayton Mitchell, who fielded the Flying 11 that Hendrick made famous. The all-red car with a white No. 11 with wings around it quickly became one of the most iconic and recognizable paint schemes in all of racing, thanks to its slick look and Hendrick’s dominance wherever he raced. It inspired the font when Ray Evernham started Evernham Motorsports, and Denny Hamlin twice used the scheme as a throwback at Darlington Raceway, winning the 2017 Southern 500.
The driver nicknamed “Mr. Modified” competed in just 17 NASCAR Cup Series races, scoring two top fives and six top 10s. The top fives were a pair of fifths, coming at Richmond Raceway and Langley Speedway.
Hendrick almost had one opportunity to race full time in Cup in what likely would have been decent equipment. At one point in the mid-1950s, Buddy Shuman, who was a Cup winner himself and had recently been named the head of Ford’s NASCAR efforts, offered a ride to Hendrick. But the night before the opening race of the 1956 Cup season, Shuman died in a hotel fire. As a result, the deal fell through and Hendrick never pursued a full-time ride in the premier stock car racing series again.
Instead, Hendrick made as much in appearance money alone at local short tracks than Cup drivers were getting to win some of the smaller races at the time. And making more money is what was more important to this racing legend, as he had a family to provide for.
Hendrick raced until 1988, a career spanning nearly 40 years. He passed away due to cancer just two years later on Sept. 28, 1990. He was 61 years old. On the day that Hendrick passed, his son Roy, who had a great racing career in his own right, lapped the field to win a 300-lap race at Southside Speedway.
Ray Hendrick was named as one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998 and one of its 75 Greatest Drivers in 2023. He was ranked as No. 4 on the All-Time Top 10 Modified Drivers list in 2010. And he was inducted into the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame in 1993, the Virginia Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2003 and the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2007.
Now, he finally gets the equal recognition of his peers as a new member of the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
Michael Massie joined Frontstretch in 2017 and has served as the Content Director since 2020.
Massie, a Richmond, Va., native, has covered NASCAR, IndyCar, SRX and the CARS Tour. Outside of motorsports, the Virginia Tech grad and Green Bay Packers minority owner can be seen cheering on his beloved Hokies and Packers.
Long overdue! I remember as a kid when Eddie Crouse drove the 11. When he parted ways with the team, Jack Tant tried out several drivers on consecutive Friday nights at Southside. Mel Bradley, Ted Hairfield, Sonny Hutchins, all gave the car good turns but when Ray Hendrick got in, it was magic! That combination of Ray, Jack’s engines and Clayton Mitchell’s chassis tricks were hard to beat. Ray was a wheelman for sure!!
thank you for sharing that. I never heard that before.
Thank you for this great article about Ray Hendrick. His son Roy operated a muffler shop off of Broad St in Richmond. I’m hoping to hear some news soon about the status of reopening Southside Speedway.
Great article about a great driver, relatively unknown to the average fan!
Well written article on a legend of asphalt modifieds. I saw him win at Langhorne and with seeming regularity at Trenton. Being a “Yankee” I couldn’t be a fan, but his talent for big money races was undeniable. A great edition to the Hall of Fame.
One of the best I’ve ever seen in any type of car! Well deserved, Ray could get it done.
He nearly ruined a couple modified seasons at South Boston Speedway. He won almost every week. Great driver. Thanks Massie