What was ricky hendrick car number

Upon the purchase, Hendrick changed the number from No. Unfortunately, Ricky would break his shoulder in a wreck at Las Vegas that ended up sidelining him for six weeks.

Those six weeks, which included shoulder surgery, would be an eye opener for the year-old. He would return and finish out the season but not before announcing he was ending his short and young career. So, Ricky decided he wanted to retire from driving and follow his father by being a car owner, and soon thereafter he started exploring the car dealership business. The No. Then in Ricky made his first big car owner decision by hand picking his friend, Brian Vickers, to pilot the car full-time.

Vickers went on to win three races that season and capture the Nationwide Series championship and when Vickers moved to the Sprint Cup Series full-time in , Ricky became the car owner of Vickers No. Ricky was enjoying his new role, saying he was better being outside the car than inside the cockpit.

He had this hat I always loved, nothing but a large blue numeral "5" on its face. I'd bet the No. That leaves the 25, which has long been considered the black sheep of the Hendrick stable despite having won 17 races since Some say it's cursed. He won seven races in 29 starts in '86, and two in eight starts in , for a total of nine wins in 36 starts over two seasons. He came back for race No. He then won the 13th race, too, and drove through the 19th race of the season before he retired.

Hendrick himself drove the No. He started 21st and finished 33rd, the victim of a transmission failure. Betcha he missed a shift! In all, six different drivers have earned victories under the Hendrick banner in the No. But like the 5, the 25 is much more to Rick Hendrick than on-track success. And after he passed, it became Ricky's car. This decision may already be made. It's nearly September, after all, and licensing plans for '08 are well under way, if not close to complete.

Ultimately, I figure Junior will have a new number, something in the 80s. A clean start for all involved, from every angle. On Sept. He finished 35th out of 42 cars after a transmission failure. It was just one race, sure. But it'd be cool. And of course, Ralph is most famous for the very same number Junior covets: 8. Note: Many readers know of my devotion to Virginia Tech athletics, and have e-mailed requesting my take on the Michael Vick situation.

I have a staunch opinion on the whole thing, but it's not my place to discuss it in a public forum. I'll be in Blacksburg Saturday for the Hokies' season opener. If you see me there, say hey and we'll chat about it. But I'll politely decline writing anything. That's someone else's job. You never answer my questions about Clint Bowyer so I'm gonna keep sending them 'til you reply! I'm still wondering why he can't ever contend for wins while still running well.

The only race where he contended for a win was at the second Daytona race, where running up front at the end doesn't mean jack no pun intended in order to pull off a win. At least he didn't finish on his roof, so that's an improvement. This brings me to another question: Why does there seem to be one team and only one team in every major Cup organization that sucks in comparison to their teammates?

Even A. Allmendinger at Red Bull can't compare to Brian Vickers. So what's the deal? Is it the driver or the team?

I don't believe there's a bum team at every organization the No. I know you don't have all the answers, but could you at least provide me with a few. That will feel out the No. Erik Jones as the leading candidate to replace Bubba Wallace at Richard Petty Motorsports, leaving Kyle Larson as the lead driver to take over the fourth Hendrick Motorsports car in Here is why bringing the No.

The No. One of the most successful runs of the No. Labonte won one championship in and earned 12 wins throughout his tenure at Hendrick Motorsports. Once Labonte retired from full-time racing, Hendrick Motorsports pegged development driver Kyle Busch as his replacement. It would be one of the biggest mistakes the team made. Casey Mears would drive the No. Morgan Shepherd made 18 starts in the No. Geoff Bodine was the first to drive the No. Geoff Bodine won seven races in the No.

Terry Labonte would be the next driver to pilot the No. The veteran would wheel the machine for 11 seasons with Hendrick, winning the championship. During his year run in the No. Kyle Busch took a turn behind the wheel of the No. Kyle Busch's first four Cup Series wins came in the No.