Hendrick dealing with loss

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – There are no easy days for Rick Hendrick. He can throw himself into working with his NASCAR teams or his car dealerships, but not an hour goes by that he isn’t flooded with thoughts about the plane crash that killed 10 of his relatives, employees and friends.

He thinks about how he was supposed to be on the plane Oct. 24, when it took off from his Charlotte hangar headed for a race in Martinsville, Va. Illness kept him home.

He thinks about the fog that day. If it had been clear, would his son, Ricky, have traveled by helicopter instead?

Hendrick knows he’ll never have the answers to all the questions in his head.

“You think, ‘Well, if there wasn’t a race’ or ‘If it wasn’t for this’ or ‘If it wasn’t for that,’ ” Hendrick said.

“You can go nuts trying to figure all that out. You just have to accept it as God’s plan and know you’ll meet again.”

Lost that Sunday morning were his son, brother, two nieces and company employees so close to the car owner that he considered them family, too.

He gains strength from the thousands of letters of support he’s received, including one from San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds. Hendrick is personally replying to each letter.

“One thing I learned is, it doesn’t get any easier, you just have to learn to deal with it,” Hendrick said. “It’s a situation in life and you can’t believe you have to go through it. Every day you’re challenged here. It takes your faith, your friends and your family to help you.”