Johnson Takes Subway 500
MARTINSVILLE, Va. - There was no joy in victory Sunday at Martinsville Speedway for Jimmie Johnson and team.
Soon after Johnson took the checkered flag in the Subway 500, the team was told that a Hendrick Motorsports plane had crashed near an airport in the Martinsville area. Ten people, including team owner Rick Hendrick’s brother, John, and Rick’s son, Ricky, were killed in the crash.
Johnson was met by a team spokesperson, members of his crew and NASCAR officials as he climbed from his No. 48 Chevrolet and led to an area where he was told of the tragedy.
There were no interviews with any of the Hendrick teams’ personnel following the race, in which Johnson scored his second straight Nextel Cup victory and got his sixth win of the season.
Before learning about the plane crash, Johnson had stopped at the Turn 4 end of the track’s frontstretch and smoked his rear tires with the nose of his car pressed against the pit road wall. He headed for a stage being set up at the start-finish line for the usual post-race festivities, but those ceremonies were immediately canceled.
The other Hendrick drivers entered in the race and their crews were also not told until afterward about the plane crash. Jeff Gordon finished ninth, Terry Labonte 25th and Brian Vickers 27th in Sunday’s race.
