Ricky Hendrick, the son of Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick, will step out of the #5 GMAC Chevy he’s driven in the BGN series effective immediately and retire from full-time competition. Hendrick, 22, cited lingering effects form a shoulder injury suffered March 2 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway as the reason for stepping out of the car. Extensive surgery and recovery forced the driver to miss six races. “This was an incredibly hard decision to make,” the younger Hendrick said. “I have an obligation to give my sponsors and my team the best possible chance at success on the race track and I’ve come to the conclusion that I am not able to deliver that.” The driver said his decision was not a result of Wednesday’s fatal accident at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Hendrick said an inability to drive hard into corners was the most-prominent of the lingering effects of his accident, which occurred as he drove into a corner in the Las Vegas race. David Green, 44, the 1994 BGN champion, will drive the #5 Chevy for the remainder of the 2002 season, including Saturday’s Little Trees 300 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. “I can’t tell you how proud I am of Ricky,” said Rick Hendrick. “He wants to give his team the tools to be successful, and when he realized he wasn’t physically able to do that, he showed a lot of character by making a tough choice.” Ricky Hendrick will take a position at Hendrick Motorsports and will keep working with the #5 team for the rest of the season. Team officials said the team will remain intact through the 2004 season with a new driver to be determined later.(ThatsRacin.com)(10-10-2002)
