DETROIT (Oct. 25, 2013) — Rick Hendrick, tireless philanthropist, creator of an automotive empire and the most successful NASCAR owner of the modern era, has been named the 2014 recipient of the Keith Crain/Automotive News Lifetime Achievement Award, which will be presented at the Washington Auto Show in January.
"Rick has become an auto industry icon through his charity, hard work, grit and determination," said Keith Crain, chairman of Crain Communications Inc., parent company of Tire Business and editor-in-chief of Automotive News, a Detroit-based sister publication of Tire Business.
"He has achieved unimaginable success as an automotive dealer and NASCAR owner and he has persevered through unspeakable grief and continues to give back and that combination makes him unique and the perfect recipient of the lifetime achievement award," Mr. Crain added.
Mr. Hendrick is the founder and chairman of Hendrick Automotive Group, the nation's second-largest privately held automotive dealership group, and Hendrick Motorsports, winners of 13 NASCAR owner's championships and more than 200 victories in the Sprint Cup Series.
He also established the Hendrick Marrow Program in 1997 after he was diagnosed with leukemia. The program has raised more than $12 million, added more than 100,000 marrow donors to the Be The Match Registry, and eased the financial burden of more than 8,000 patients with grants from the Hendrick Family Fund for Patient Assistance, according to Crain Communications.
The Keith Crain/Automotive News Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented at the close of the 2014 Washington Auto Show Public Policy Preview Day, on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2014.