Who Is Ricky Hendrick? About Emily Maynard's Late Fiance and Ricki's Father

Before gaining fame on The Bachelor, Emily Maynard was happily engaged to Joseph Riddick “Ricky” Hendrick IV. However, tragedy struck in October 2004 when he died alongside nine others in a fatal plane crash.

Hendrick was 24 years old at the time of his death and didn’t know that his fiancée Maynard, then 19 years old, was pregnant with their baby. Amid her grief, Maynard found a bright spot when she gave birth to their daughter, Ricki Hendrick, who is now expecting her own baby.

“20 years. How did this even happen? It’s so strange to have a specific marker in time that completely changed my life and soul forever,” Maynard wrote via Instagram in October 2024, reflecting on two decades without Ricky. “I look at pictures and don’t even recognize that girl anymore, no matter how much I wish I could. [On] one hand I feel like I’ve changed so much and then [on] the other, that I’ve been paralyzed at age 18 forever.”

The former Bachelorette, who is now married to Tyler Johnson, revealed she couldn’t “wait” to tell Ricky someday all about her new husband and the parts of her life he missed out on.

“I know they’ll love each other,” Maynard wrote of Johnson and her late fiancé. “And that Ricky is so grateful for how well he has taken care of his girls. Thank you, God, for letting me be a part of his life and for allowing me the gift of being loved by him.”

Scroll down to learn more about Ricky:

Ricky Was Born Into a Racing Family

Ricky was born in April 1980 to Hendrick Motorsports founder Joseph Riddick “Rick” Hendrick and his wife, Linda Hendrick.

He was raised in Charlotte, North Carolina, and prior to his death, Ricky was a partial owner of his father’s NASCAR team. As of 2024, Hendricks Motorsports has won more than 304 NASCAR Cup Series races, making Rick the winningest team owner in the sport.

He Was a Stock Car Racer

Ricky followed in his father’s footsteps, becoming a stock car racer at the age of 15. He had his first NASCAR career win in July 2001, becoming the youngest Truck Series driver to win a race at the time. The following year, Ricky retired from the sport following injuries that season.

The athlete remained part of the Hendricks Motorsports team on the corporate side after retiring in 2002. Under the Hendricks Motorsports umbrella, Ricky owned two Busch Series teams, Brian Vickers and Kyle Busch. Ricky was also the founder of Ricky Hendrick’s Performance Honda motorcycle dealership in Pineville, North Carolina.

He Died in an Airplane Accident

Ricky was one of 10 people who died on October 24, 2004, after a Hendrick Motorsports plane crashed near Martinsville, Virginia, on the way to Martinsville Speedway for the Subway 500 race.

Among the other victims were Hendrick Motorsports president and Ricky’s uncle John Hendrick and his daughters, Jennifer and Kimberly Hendrick, company general manager Jeff Turner and chief engine builder Randy Dorton. DuPont executive Joe Jackson, pilots Richard Tracy and Elizabeth Morrison and Tony Stewart’s helicopter pilot Scott Lathram also died in the accident.

“Looking back 20 years, I remember how much support and love all of you gave to us and continue to. I thank you for that. Thank you for who you are,” Ricky’s mom, Linda, said during an October 2024 memorial for the airplane victims on the 20th anniversary of the crash via a press release.

She continued: “They say that it’s not what you go through in life, it’s how you get through it. I think there’s a lot of truth to that. There are many choices we can make when we feel like we don’t know which way to go and our life is turned upside down. Nothing is ever hopeless. We always have hope.”

His Legacy Lives on With Daughter Ricki

Shortly after his death in October 2004, Maynard discovered that she was pregnant with her and Ricky’s first child. She welcomed daughter Joesphine Riddick “Ricki” Hendrick in June 2005, named after her late father.

Over the years, Ricki has joined her grandparents at Hendrick Motorsports events, especially those that centered on Ricky. In August 2017, for example, the late race car driver was honored with a specialty paint scheme on a new race car ahead of the Cook Out Southern 500 in Darlington, South Carolina.

In August 2025, Ricki revealed that she is pregnant with her first baby. The little one will be both Maynard and the late Ricky’s first grandchild.