Plane Carrying Nascar Team Crashes in VA; 10 Killed
Posted: Sun Oct 24, 2004 5:54 pm
http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/10/24/nascar.plane.crash/index.html
CNN) -- A twin-engine plane owned by stock car racing team Hendrick Motor Sports crashed en route to Sunday afternoon's Subway 500 race in Martinsville, Virginia, aviation authorities and NASCAR officials said.
The fate of the eight passengers and two crew members was not known.
Arlene Murray, a Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman, said the Beech 200 plane took off from Concord, North Carolina, for Martinsville about 12:30 p.m. Sunday.
It crashed in the Blue Ridge Mountains about seven miles from Martinsville, Highway Patrol spokesman Paul Knipple said.
Hendrick driver Jimmie Johnson won the race Sunday afternoon but skipped his appearance at Victory Lane, NASCAR spokesman Jim Hunter told reporters.
"We don't have a lot of details at the moment, but we're going to say an extra prayer for everyone in the Hendrick organization at this time," Hunter said.
He said the racing crew was not told about the crash until after the race.
Hendrick also owns cars driven by Brian Vickers, Jeff Gordon and Terry Labonte.
