Racing legend Jimmie Johnson recently shared a powerful and emotional message as he reflected on the tragic plane crash from 2004.
Johnson, who was then competing in the 2004 NASCAR Cup Series for Hendrick Motorsports, remembered a season filled with triumphs, challenges, and a deep sense of loss.
Ultimately finishing in second place that season, Johnson secured eight race victories. However, that 2004 season was marred by a heartbreaking accident that deeply affected Johnson and everyone at Hendrick Motorsports.
Many fans still recall the Atlanta Cup race that became a crucial moment in Johnson’s 2004 season. This victory came during a week of mourning for the Hendrick team, as it was marked by the tragic plane crash that took the lives of ten beloved team members.
Among those lost were Ricky Hendrick, the son of team owner Rick Hendrick, and several other important figures within the organization. The crash occurred on October 24, 2004, with the aircraft crashing during a missed approach to Blue Ridge Airport in Virginia.
Johnson has spoken about the impact of the crash on the team, reflecting on how racing during such a painful time helped unify the team. Leadership from Rick and Linda Hendrick was vital in motivating the team during the challenging time. Johnson recounted:
“It was unbearable. I wasn’t sure how Rick and Linda were going to go on and obviously, there were other families impacted by the crash as well. There was just so much there, god, I just didn’t know how we were going to go on. We were attending all those services and we weren’t sure if we were even going to go to the race track … There were rumblings. ‘Are we going to be putting our cars in the transporters and shipping them?’
“But Rick and Linda stood up in front of all of us at Hendrick Motorsports and gave us an authentic and real point of view of where their hearts were, the pain they were going through, what the company meant to them … they let us know that the ones we lost would’ve wanted us to go to the track. To this day, I don’t know how they found the courage to be there, but we went down to Atlanta on a mission.
“It was out of control. During the week we show up at the track and have a press conference and then finally got a bit of normalcy back into the schedule and that helped shake some of the sadness. Then to stand there in victory lane and turn our hats around backwards to honor those we lost, it really put a smile back on a lot of faces.
“For me, it was more about the unity of the group. Every team member, every driver, anyone in Hendrick Motorsports apparel, we just stood there, cried and hugged.”
Hendrick Motorsports paid tribute to the victims by featuring their images on the team cars for the remaining races of the season.
The post Jimmie Johnson Shares Emotional Message As He Looks Back On Tragic 2004 Plane Crash appeared first on Newsweek.
