Named among the 75 Greatest Drivers of NASCAR and NASCAR Modified’s All-Time Top-10 drivers, Ray Hendrick is now a NASCAR Hall of Famer. The inductee of the 2026 NASCAR Hall of Fame made a name for himself owing to his willingness to race ‘anywhere and everywhere’. He may not have won a championship in the Modified series, but his racecraft was at a level that earned him multiple accolades. So, without further delay, let’s explore the life of this legendary NASCAR Modified series driver. 

Who is Ray Hendrick, the NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2026 inductee?

Ray Hendrick was born on April 1, 1929, in Richmond, Virginia, in the United States. There isn’t a lot of information surrounding his early life and the start of his career. He was married to Janet and had four children: sons Raymond, Roy, and Ronnie; a daughter, Lindsey Rae. Mr. Modified also had a sibling named Stuart, but little is known about his family background.

He spent more than three decades racing in various divisions throughout America, earning a name for himself. He spent 36 years in the stock car racing class. As a result, he is inducted into various motorsports Hall of Fame, including-

• National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame (1993)
• Virginia Motorsports Hall of Fame (2003)
• International Motorsports Hall of Fame (2007)

Ray Hendrick kept racing until the very end of his life. He was still racing actively in 1988 while fighting cancer. Unfortunately, he ended up losing his life to the terminal disease on September 28, 1990, at the age of 61.

What are Ray Hendrick’s major achievements in his modified racing career?

Arguably, one of the best achievements of his career is the fact that he is among the best drivers in the history of stock car racing. Ray Hendrick has the most wins out of the majority of other drivers in the stock car racing class. 

As per the official NASCAR statistics, he has amassed more than 700 modified and late model sportsman wins between 1950-88. He is ranked No. 4 on the All-Time Top 10 Modified Drivers list (2010).

For a widely successful career, it is surprising that Ray Hendrick never won a Modified championship. He did have 10 top-10 finishes in the championship, however.

• 7th in 1960,
• 9th in 1961,
• 6th in 1963,
• 3rd in 1964,
• 7th in 1965,
• 3rd in 1966,
• 5th in 1967,
• 6th in 1968, and
• 10th in 1969.

He also finished in the Top-10 twice in the Busch Grand National Championship. Ray Hendrick’s racecraft and success have earned him the most wins at the Martinsville Speedway, with 20 wins to his name. He is also a winner of the Modified “Race of Champions” twice in his career.

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Is Ray Hendrick related to Rick Hendrick, the owner of Hendrick Motorsports?

Even though they share surnames, Rick Hendrick and Ray Hendrick are not related. However, it should be known that the owner of Hendrick Motorsports has worked with Rick Hendrick.

When Mr. Modified was racing his famed No. 11 Modified coupe fielded by Jack Tant and Clayton Mitchell, Rick Hendrick used to be a part of his pit-stop crew. In fact, Ray Hendrick was one of the very first employers of Rick Hendrick, before he came to be known as the owner of the massively successful team, Hendrick Motorsports.

Why Ray Hendrick never raced full-time in NASCAR’s top series?

There’s a huge question that pops up almost every time in fans’ minds when Ray Hendrick’s name is mentioned–Why did he never race full-time in NASCAR’s top divisions?

Ray Hendrick was known for his willingness to compete in any stock car race when opportunity existed. As a result, he could not pursue a full-time career in the upper echelons of NASCAR. It did not stop him from leaving his mark on the series, though. Ray Hendrick competed in 17 Cup Series races and ended up with two Top-5s and six Top-10s to his name.

What is Ray Hendrick’s influence on short-track racing and the NASCAR Modified division?

The success he achieved as a Modified racing driver earned him the moniker of ‘Mr. Modified.’ He was among the legendary racers of his time. As his son Roy Hendrick mentions, for him, racing was only about winning and not about coming second or third. It is said that he won every race he was in. There was nobody who could beat him unless an unusual situation arose that would put him at a disadvantage.

His fame spreads beyond NASCAR’s Modified series. He made the No. 11 so famous that it became an inspiration for Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 car in the Cup Series. It is no wonder that even track owners of his time say that he is “the best Virginian I ever saw and one of the best three or four drivers in the whole country.”

Ray Hendrick may not be a celebrated champion. But his love for racing and his ability to dominate any track he was on made him a formidable racer of his time. After being inducted into the Top-50 and Top-75 Drivers of NASCAR, it is about time that his name is added to the NASCAR Hall of Fame.