NASCAR's Rick Hendrick Sends Planes for Kids and Gets Dough for HAITI Relief!!!

 

"I can easily tell you that after flying for 37 years, this was by far the most awesome experience I've had as an aviator. The best flight of my career. There is nothing that will come close. I mean I got to hold those babies." says Dave Dudley, Director of Aviation for Hendrick Motor Sports.

I just said, 'Look board them and let's go, crank the engine. I will deal with customs at Fort Pierce(FL)," Dudley said. "Honestly I think all of us were willing to risk our pilot's license to get them home."

Their time on the runway was running out and their passengers had not arrived.  Then a van appeared, the doors opened and out climbed 26 Haitian orphans.  The orphans * some as young as 6 months old * were exhausted and visibly distressed from their week long ordeal.  They filed into the same plane NASCAR Championship owner Rick Hendrick uses to transport his drivers and crew to races during the regular NASCAR season.

Showing the TRUE SPIRIT of NASCAR * Hendrick provided 2 45-passenger aircraft and 2 flight crews in addition to support staff to help a non-profit group, Missionary Flights International, fly support missions in and out of Port-au-Prince.  MFI is tasked with getting the mission workers trapped in Haiti out of the area.

Dudley reports that he thought it would be impossible to transport the orphans because of the bureaucratic red tape and the time required to clear the mission; however, once he saw the children were within his reach, he became overwhelmed with emotion.

"It was surreal.  The children were traumatized and scared.  It was extremely quiet at first, but within 45 minutes they were laughing and all over the plane," said Dudley, who rode in the plane's jump seat.

Starved for affection, Dudley said he had children climbing on his lap, putting their tiny hands on his legs and just wanting  to be held.

When NASCAR.COM talked to Dudley on Tuesday night, he was unclear on how long the flights would continue; however, we was scheduled to fly another dozen orphans out on Wednesday.

Driver Mike Wallace's family supports a children's medical clinic in Haiti which received support from personnel flown in on the Hendrick plane.

Hendrick has put the "arm" on his sponsors also and has raised an additional $3.8 million for relief efforts * GM is donating $100,000; Lowe's (#48 team sponsor) is giving $1m to the Red Cross; Pepsi (#88 and #24 team sponsor) is giving $1m; Bank of America is giving $1m and GoDaddy (sponsor of the #88 Cup and Nationwide #5) will give $500,000.

 

Wallace S. Gibson, CPM
GIBSON MANAGEMENT GROUP, Ltd.
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